Unsheathed

It didn’t take long before Chen Ping’an and the others tracked down the Fan Clan’s people at the Osmanthus Island ferry station. Last time, the Golden Core Tier swordsman, Ma Zhi, had served as his coach driver, while Fan Er had accompanied him on the trip, so he hadn’t come into contact with any other people from the Fan Clan.

However, as soon as Chen Ping’an declared his own identity, the Fan Clan administrator was immediately delighted, as if he had just heard a piece of fantastic news, and he asked Chen Ping’an to wait for a moment while he sent a message back to Osmanthus Island.

On top of that, he also called for several horse-drawn carriages before personally ushering Chen Ping’an and the others into the carriages, putting on an enthusiastic and respectful display that left Chen Ping’an feeling rather perplexed.

As the connection point between Eastern Treasured Vial Continent and Parasol Leaf Continent, Old Dragon City was even more opulent than the capitals of many major empires, possessing two immortal ferry stations on an island that was close to twenty kilometers away from Old Dragon City, designated for the intercontinental ships of the city’s five major clans.

Back when Chen Ping’an first arrived at Old Dragon City, he was at the western ferry station, and he had to travel over a road that was around a hundred and fifty kilometers in length to enter the city. The road was owned by the Sun Clan, and even to this day, what had happened between himself and Sun Jiashu still left a rather sour taste in Chen Ping’an’s mouth.

Chen Ping’an and Pei Qian were traveling in the same carriage. After drifting around in the sky for so long on an intercontinental ship, they had finally reached solid ground and arrived in Chen Ping’an’s hometown, so she was very excited, and she was eagerly looking outside with a curious expression.

Lu Baixiang and Sui Youbian were playing a game of go together in another carriage, while Wei Xian and Zhu Lian were in a third carriage, with the former taking a nap, while the latter was reading his book.

The inexplicably hospitable reception from the Fan Clan’s administrator struck Chen Ping’an as rather strange, and so, he began to think. He was definitely not an important figure. Back when he left Old Dragon City, he had only just broken through his fourth tier bottleneck back at the Sun Clan’s ancestral residence.

He knew very few people from Old Dragon City, the most prominent of which were Fan Er, Sun Jiashu, who he had parted ways with on rather unfavorable terms, Zheng Dafeng, and Fu Nanhua, who was a sworn enemy of his but had decided not to make a move against him.

At the time, the entire city had been basked in a joyful and festive atmosphere as a girl who was a descendant of the Jiang Clan was marrying into the Fu Clan. To put it more accurately, a marriage alliance was being forged between the two clans, and the male half of that marriage alliance was none other than Fu Nanhua.

It was a widely acknowledged fact that the Jiang Clan was “marrying down” in this case, and that was a notion that even the Fu Clan agreed with.

The Cloud Forest Jiang Clan was the first prominent clan of Middle Earth Divine Continent to move to Eastern Treasured Vial Continent, and its manor was situated on the shore of the southeastern sea, facing out into the ocean. It stretched close to twenty kilometers into the ocean before concluding with a pair of gates in the form of two giant natural rocks, and it was said to be a manor that encompassed the East Sea.

Back when the orthodoxy of Confucianism was first established, the Etiquette Sage created a set of complex etiquette and rules for Majestic World.

In the history of the Jiang Clan, there had been several grand priests that enjoyed a transcendent status, serving as one of the six heavenly officials, and they were responsible for carrying out all types of rituals and ceremonies to attract the blessings of the heavens.

At the time, the entirety of Old Dragon City had been speculating about whether the dowry from the Jiang Clan was going to be a pseudo-celestial tool.

However, for Chen Ping’an, a topic that was so distant from himself was something that he would only discuss in passing with the likes of Zheng Dafeng and Fan Er over some wine. He wasn’t from Old Dragon City, nor was he allied with any of the continent’s major powers, so this was an event that he hardly cared about at all.

So what if Fu Nanhua were to marry someone from the Jiang Clan? Even if he were to somehow become the city lord of Old Dragon City over Fu Donghai and Fu Chunhua, both of whom were far superior to him in cultivation base…

In that case, Chen Ping’an would actually be feeling rather concerned as this meant that there was a very good chance that Fan Er or even the entire Fan Clan could be condemned due to their ties with him.

While it was important to consider these matters carefully, Chen Ping’an knew that overthinking things would only result in unwarranted panic and stress.

After traveling for close to an hour, the horse-drawn carriage slowly drew to a halt, even though it still hadn’t entered the city yet. Chen Ping’an lifted the curtain of the carriage, and he was immediately greeted by the sight of a familiar figure, who was running toward the carriage while waving vigorously.

He was still just as bright and vibrant as ever, and Chen Ping’an heaved an internal sigh of relief upon seeing this, then got out of his carriage. It was Fan Er who had arrived to see him. He had grown from a boy into a handsome young man, but his unique aura of exuberance hadn’t changed at all.

Fan Er gave Chen Ping’an a firm high five, then smiled as he asked, “Chen Ping’an, did you feel my power through my hand just now? I don’t want to scare you, but I’m also a fourth tier martial artist now! From now on, you’ll be the strongest fourth tier martial artist under the heavens, while I’ll be the second-strongest!”

Also a fourth tier martial artist?

Pei Qian and the others were all rather perplexed to hear this.

“That’s very impressive,” Chen Ping’an replied with a smile.

Fan Er walked a quick lap around Chen Ping’an, then asked, “Why aren’t you wearing straw sandals anymore? I almost didn’t recognize you.”

He then looked up at the top of Chen Ping’an’s head before heaving a deflated sigh.

“Looks like you’ve grown a lot taller than me.”

After that, he pulled a bulging money pouch out of his sleeve in a sneaky fashion, then offered it to Chen Ping’an while squinting incessantly.

According to their agreement from last time, Chen Ping’an had to fire a piece of chinaware to give to him as a present. Fan Er didn’t care if it was ugly, as long as it was personally made by Chen Ping’an, and he would show it off to his friends.

Chen Ping’an hurriedly gestured for Fan Er to put the money pouch away, then said in a quiet voice, “I still haven’t made the piece of chinaware that I promised you yet. Once we get to Old Dragon City, I have to buy some pottery firing tools, then find some good clay to work with. The process isn’t as simple as you think.”

Fan Er wasn’t disappointed to hear this, and he replied, “Alright, in that case, let’s go to Old Dragon City. I can help you look for clay.”

He carefully tucked his pouch of pocket money back up his sleeve—a pouch filled with golden ingots that were used only in the mortal world. The rules of the Fan Clan were very strictly enforced, and even though Fan Er was very much spoiled by the seniors of his clan, they refused to give him even a single piece of immortal currency.

Over the past two years, Fan Er had been regularly flattering his seniors, and during the spring festival the previous year, he had visited almost all of the Fan Clan’s households, and only then was he able to save up this much pocket money.

“Come to my carriage, we’ll talk inside,” Fan Er suddenly said.

Chen Ping’an nodded in response, and he instructed Pei Qian to return to their carriage before he followed Fan Er onto his.

After sitting down in the carriage, Chen Ping’an asked, “Has there been some trouble?”

Only in this carriage could they keep out certain sets of prying eyes in the city.

Fan Er nodded in response.

“Some massive changes swept through Old Dragon City not long after you left.”

Chen Ping’an removed his wine gourd from his waist, then handed it to Fan Er as he said, “Tell me about it.”

Fan Er was ecstatic to see this, and he accepted the gourd from Chen Ping’an, then swished its contents around as he said, “I’ll only take a small sip… Oh, this is some good wine. It tastes different from the osmanthus wine that my clan brews, but both are really nice. That sip just now only counts as half a sip, lemme take another one…”

Chen Ping’an sat with his legs crossed as he looked at Fan Er with an amused smile.

No matter what terrible news he was going to hear next, Fan Er was still the same Fan Er as before, and that was the best-possible news that he could ask for.

Only after taking three “half-sips” of wine from the Sword Nurturing Gourd did he return it to Chen Ping’an, following which he said, “You already know about the five major clans of Osmanthus Island. Ranked by power in descending order, it goes Fu, Sun, Fang, Hou, Ding.

“Our Fan Clan has always been content to serve as a subsidiary to the Fu Clan, and the Fu Clan has the city lord of Old Dragon City, who can dominate the other four clans all on his own. On top of that, our Fan Clan has an Osmanthus Island, so there are many people who would like to replace one of the Fang, Hou, and Ding Clans on the hierarchy with our Fan Clan.

“The Sun Clan’s position as the second most powerful clan in the city is undisputed due to the presence of a Nascent Tier ancestor and its exceptional business reputation.”

Chen Ping’an nodded in response.

Fan Er placed his hands onto his knees, then began giving Chen Ping’an a recount of the significant events that had unfolded in Old Dragon City over the past two years.

“In any case, whether you consider that there are five or six major clans in Old Dragon City, as long as the Fu Clan doesn’t try to eliminate the other clans so that it can become the sole dominant force, everyone coexists in harmony, more or less. There have been some conflicts here and there, but before last year, none of those conflicts really escalated into anything significant.

“Not only is City Lord Fu Qi a Nascent Tier earth immortal, he also possesses four pseudo-celestial tools. On top of that, the Fu Clan is very strange in that even the Golden Core Tier cultivators from the clan are able to wield these pseudo-celestial tools, and that’s not even to mention the ancestors lurking behind the scenes.

“Sun Jiashu’s cultivation base is nothing exceptional, but the Sun Clan has one Nascent Tier ancestor and three Golden Core Tier guest elders at just its ancestral residence alone, and one of those Golden Core Tier cultivators recently signed another century-long contract with the Sun Clan.

“Alongside Chu Yang, the Fu Clan’s premier guest elder who’s cultivating on the Dragon Scaling Platform, those two Golden Core Tier cultivators are considered to be the two cultivators in the city that are most likely to reach the Nascent Tier. The Fang Clan has no Nascent Tier Qi refiner, but it does have two seventh-tier martial artists and a Golden Core swordsman.

“On top of that, it has very deep and established roots in the mortal empires and martial arts world of Eastern Treasured Vial Continent’s southern region, so it’s not to be looked down on. The Hou Clan has only managed to establish a foothold in Old Dragon City thanks to that branch descendant who became a virtuous scholar Lake View Academy.

“In the past, it was the weakest of the major clans, but that virtuous scholar suddenly became a noble scholar last spring, so the Hou Clan’s status has been significantly elevated over the previous half-year. The Hou Clan’s ship route through the dragon channel had been taken over by the Fang Clan, but they’ve since returned it, and with a great deal of additional compensation.

“As for the immortal sects that have been raised by the Hou Clan, most of them are fence sitters. The Ding Clan’s situation is similar to the Hou Clan’s in that its success is built on the foundation of an ‘outsider.’

“For the Hou Clan, it’s a virtuous scholar who’s become completely disillusioned with his own clansmen, while the Ding Clan relies on a woman who no one had paid any attention to, but had somehow managed to marry into Parasol Leaf Sect.

“On top of that, she’s a direct lineal descendant of the Ding Clan who’s still very much connected to her clan, unlike the Hou Clan’s virtuous scholar. Last year, she returned to Old Dragon City with her husband, and they were accompanied by several Golden Core Tier cultivators acting as their servants.”

Fan Er paused here momentarily as he reached out to Chen Ping’an and declared, “I’m thirsty.”

Chen Ping’an tossed him the Sword Nurturing Gourd and said, “Just keep the gourd so you don’t have to constantly ask me for it.”

Fan Er gladly accepted this proposal, and after taking a small sip of wine, he continued, “Recently, two events have taken place that have completely turned Old Dragon City on its head. You already know about one of the two events, but I’m certain that you won’t be able to guess what the other one is.”

“The first event is the marriage alliance between the Jiang Clan and the Fu Clan, right?” Chen Ping’an asked.

Fu Clan nodded as he replied, “The dowry that the woman from the Jiang Clan brought with her was tremendous. She has a personal maidservant who’s a Nascent Tier swordswoman, so essentially, the Fu Clan has gained a Nascent Tier swordswoman through her. On top of that…”

Fan Er heaved a faint sigh here, then took another sip of wine as he continued, “Her dowry also included a young flood dragon that traveled all the way from the Jiang Clan’s manor to Old Dragon City along the seabed. Even though it’s only at the Golden Core Tier, given its ancient bloodline, it’s no less powerful than a Nascent Tier cultivator.”

“So that means that the Fu Clan now has the makings to become the sole dominant force to rule over Old Dragon City,” Chen Ping’an summarized.

However, his brows then furrowed slightly as he asked, “But even with this dowry from the Cloud Forest Jiang Clan and its alliance with your Fan Clan, wouldn’t it still be far too costly for the Fu Clan to take over Old Dragon City? The Sun, Hou, Fang, and Ding Clans will surely be forced to forge an alliance, and if a battle is to ensue, the city will be sure to suffer extensive damage.”

A wry smile appeared on Fan Er’s face as he sighed, “You’re right. Initially, things were very tense, but no one seemed to be willing to escalate things into a true conflict. However, something unexpected has happened lately.”

“What happened?” Chen Ping’an asked.

“It has something to do with Mr. Zheng from the Dust Medicinal Shop, which means that by extension, it also has something to do with our Fan Clan,” Fan Er sighed.

Chen Ping’an remained silent, waiting for further elaboration.

This time, Fan Er threw his head back and took a large swig of wine, then wiped his lips with the back of his hand.

“Not long after you left, a woman from the shop was defiled by a direct lineal descendant of the Fang Clan, and she died.”

Chen Ping’an offered no response to this.

“Upon hearing this news, a senior of our Fan Clan responsible for overseeing our ancestral hall immediately went to personally inform Mr. Zheng of the situation. After that senior returned, he appeared to be quite relaxed and told my father that Mr. Zheng didn’t seem to think that this was a big deal, and my father believed him.

“However, my sister’s mother cautioned him that there was more to this than meets the eye, and she told him to be on his guard and help Mr. Zheng peel back the layers to see if there was some foul play involved. If someone was actively trying to target the Fu Clan or Mr. Zheng, then action had to be taken right away to find out who the culprit was.

“However, my father didn’t want to escalate the matter any further, and he said right now, the other major clans outside of the Fu Clan are beginning to forge an alliance, so if our Fan Clan were to show our hand at a time like this, then we could easily be seen as the Fu Clan’s lapdog, and that could result in us being targeted by the other four major clans.

“I went to speak to my father about this once, and I was relegated to the ancestral hall for an entire month as punishment. During that time, I even tasted some of the soil from the pouch that I kept under my bed. You really were lying to me! That stuff is completely inedible!”

Chen Ping’an could see that Fan Er was going to take another swig of wine, and he immediately grabbed the wine gourd back from him as he scolded, “That’s enough. Drowning your sorrows is a myth, don’t believe in that crap.”

Fan Er nodded in response, then rubbed a hand over his face as he sighed, “I tried to sneak out of the ancestral hall several times, but I was caught every time. After a month, I heard that nothing had happened over at the Dust Medicinal Shop. I naturally didn’t believe that, so I personally made a trip to the shop, and at the time, Mr. Zheng was sitting outside the shop, smoking his pipe.

“When he saw me, he gave me a cheerful wave, and I was dumbstruck at the time. After chatting with Mr. Zheng for a while, I discovered that it really did seem like the woman’s death wasn’t weighing on his mind at all. Honestly, I was a little angry when I left.”

A frustrated look appeared on Fan Er’s face as he continued, “I know that in the eyes of many people, including even my father, this is nothing more than a trivial incident, and I suppose it is in the grand scheme of things.

“In Old Dragon City, there aren’t any problems that can’t be resolved with money. Everyone’s telling me that this is nothing important, and that I shouldn’t worry about it, but I can’t help but feel like this isn’t just something that should be brushed off like nothing.”

“You’re right, Fan Er,” Chen Ping’an said. “This is not a trivial incident at all.”

This was the first time that someone had agreed with his stance on the matter, and he exhaled deeply before flashing Chen Ping’an a slightly forced smile.

Even though Chen Ping’an had taken his gourd back from Fan Er, he didn’t drink from it. He had barely drunk at all ever since he boarded the ship on the Heavenly Palace Peak, only having an occasional sip or two with Wei Xian and Lu Baixiang.

“What happened after that?” Chen Ping’an asked.

A smile finally appeared on Fan Er’s face as he replied, “Thankfully, Mr. Zheng didn’t disappoint me. Having him as my Dao mentor is the biggest honor of my life!”

A dejected look then surfaced in his eyes as he continued, “It’s just that after Mr. Zheng stormed into the Fang Clan, I was forbidden from setting foot outside the our clan’s manor, so I could only hear about what Mr. Zheng did through some tidbits of information fed to me.”

Fan Er’s eyes then lit up once again as he said, “According to what I heard, Mr. Zheng went to the Fang Clan’s manor in broad daylight on the first day of the summer solstice and smashed the gate open with a single punch, then walked straight in and ordered everyone below the Golden Core Tier to leave.

“The Fang Clan was furious, and Mr. Zheng was confronted by a pair of Dragon Gate Tier guest elders, both of whom he knocked out with a single punch each. After that, a seventh-tier martial artist came out to challenge him, and once again, Mr. Zheng knocked him down with a single punch, except he never got back up.

“After that, the culprit was dragged out by a representative of the Fang Clan, and he told Mr. Zheng that he could do whatever he wanted with the culprit as long as he spared his life. He could even break the culprit’s arms and legs if he wanted, and the Fang Clan wouldn’t intervene. At the time, the Fang Clan representative was accompanied by the Fang Clan’s Golden Core Tier swordsman.

“Mr. Zheng didn’t even spare a glance at the Fang Clan representative or the culprit. Instead, he turned to the Golden Core Tier swordsman, and he knocked him down with a single punch!”

Fan Er was brimming with excitement as he spoke, and he demanded, “Give me the wine!”