Unsheathed

Securing a batch of scholarly fortune from the Confucian temple in the capital of the Great Sui Nation was vital to the foundation of Chen Ping’an’s cultivation, but Mao Xiaodong wasn’t in a hurry, instead taking Chen Ping’an on a slow and leisurely stroll toward the Confucian temple.

Along the way, Mao Xiaodong asked Chen Ping’an to share some of the interesting stories from his previous journeys. The majority of the two long journeys that Chen Ping’an had embarked on had been spent traversing through areas of wilderness, so he hadn’t actually encountered many Confucian temples and martial sage temples. As Chen Ping’an shared the stories from his travels, he casually brought up his good friend, the wandering hero, Xu Yuanxia.

Despite his rugged appearance, he had a talent for the arts, and after leaving the military to travel the world, he had made records of all of the scenic locations that he had passed through, as well as illustrations of the ancient wooden buildings from various nations.

Mao Xiaodong was quite impressed and told Chen Ping’an that Xu Yuanxia could come to his academy to serve as an unofficial teacher in the future. He could tell the students about the majestic scenery that he had witnessed and the diverse cultures that he had experienced, and the academy could even run an exhibit for his handmade illustrations.

At this point, Xu Yuanxia had already returned to his hometown, but Chen Ping’an promised Mao Xiaodong that he would send a letter to Xu Yuanxia, inviting him to make a journey to Mountain Cliff Academy.

The largest and most prestigious Confucian temple in the capital was situated in the northwest, so the two of them had to traverse through close to half of the entire capital city from Eastern Splendor Mountain to get there.

Along the way, Mao Xiaodong treated Chen Ping’an to some lunch in a small restaurant deep within a crude alley. Despite its less than ideal location, the restaurant was not short on customers, and it was particularly renowned for its home-brewed rice wine.

According to Mao Xiaodong, not only did the restaurant’s owner personally pick out the finest glutinous rice for each batch of wine that he brewed, he would also travel out of the city with his son to the Pine Wind Spring thirty kilometers away to collect water.

The two of them would take turns carrying the water, and they would set off at the crack of dawn before returning late at night. It was the combination of the meticulously selected glutinous rice and the arduously acquired water that gave rise to this exceptional rice wine that had avid drinkers from all over the capital flocking to this tiny restaurant.

As he left the restaurant, Chen Ping’an purchased a large jar of rice wine, then made his way into a deserted alley before pouring the wine into his Sword Nurturing Gourd, following which he stored the empty jar into his minimization treasure.

At the moment, the minimization treasure was filled with an assortment of miscellaneous items, including clothes, books, stationary, cooking utensils, tools, medicine… Essentially, it was like a portable variety store.

The empty wine jars were barely worth anything, and after noticing that Chen Ping’an had stowed them away, Mao Xiaodong cautioned, “Meticulous accumulation is the key to building a solid foundation, but don’t be overly pedantic and strive excessively for perfection. Otherwise, it’ll be very difficult to maintain a clear mental state, and you could easily exhaust yourself and stretch yourself too thin.”

“I’ll be sure to keep that in mind,” Chen Ping’an replied with a smile.

In reality, Mao Xiaodong was the one who was being overly pedantic here, but he felt the need to lecture Chen Ping’an from time to time in order to display his authority as Chen Ping’an’s senior brother. The Scholarly Sage had never lectured him or seemingly ever cared much for him, and he couldn’t help but want to get back at the Scholarly Sage a little through this final disciple of his.

After traveling for close to another hour, they finally arrived at the Confucian temple that was a sacred place for all of the Confucian scholars in the capital.

Confucian temples were present all over the Majestic World, serving as illuminating beacons of Confucian heritage.

With the exception of certain extremely secluded places, even the smallest of counties were mandated to construct Confucian and martial sage temples, and all county magistrates and prefectural overseers had to offer up incense to the Confucian temple and the martial sage temple following their inaugurations.

That was why the first order of business immediately following the fall of the Jewel Small World was for County Magistrate Wu Yuan to select sites for the construction of a Confucian temple and a mystical realm.

Mao Xiaodong and Chen Ping’an were standing side by side outside the Confucian temple.

“You were drinking rice wine earlier, and now, you’re looking at the Confucian temple. What are your thoughts?” Mao Xiaodong asked.

“The fact that such fine glutinous rice is being used to brew wine, and so many people are willing to purchase the wine, tells me that the residents of the capital are not wanting for necessities and have quite a bit of disposable income. As for this Confucian temple, I have no thoughts on it as of yet,” Chen Ping’an replied.

Mao Xiaodong nodded in response, then said, “It’s completely silent in the temple, which means that the beings residing in those clumps of dirt inside the temple do not think highly of your scholarly fortune.”

A mocking sneer appeared on his face as he continued, “They must’ve become so addled by incense fumes over the past few centuries that they’ve gone blind! If a traveling scholar who bears immense scholarly fortune visits a Confucian temple with a sincere and pious heart, then the deities inside the temple will detect their presence and secretly grant them some scholarly fortune as a gift.

“This scholarly fortune will enhance their scholastic talents, thereby giving rise to the phenomenon in which scholars claim that they feel as if they’re being assisted in their writings by certain profound, unseen entities. However, the deities of the Confucian temples can only do so much. Ultimately, the majority of a scholar’s scholastic acumen comes from themselves.

“The deities willing to do something like this are mostly native scholarly officials who went on to become deities. In contrast, the seventy-two saints worshiped in the Confucian temples alongside the Paramount Sage are nothing more than clay statues. Of course, there are no absolutes in life, and there are always exceptions to every rule. It’s often the case that there will be a sage residing in the Confucian temples of the Majestic World’s nine major empires.”

“Right now, everyone in the southern region of the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent is saying that the Great Li Empire is the continent’s tenth major empire,” Chen Ping’an remarked.

Mao Xiaodong smiled as he replied, “That discussion can wait until after all of the Great Li Empire’s new Five Mountains have emerged. At the moment, it’s still too early to be talking about that.”

He then began to make his way toward the Confucian temple as he said, “Let’s go inside and pay a visit to the sages of the Great Sui Nation’s Confucian temple.”

The two of them entered the temple, and its interior was enormous. There were many scholars and worshipers already inside the temple, but it didn’t feel packed at all.

However, upon arriving in the main hall of the Confucian temple with Mao Xiaodong, Chen Ping’an discovered that it was completely empty.

It seemed that the Confucian temple had received advance notice to vacate the main hall in anticipation for their visit.

Inside the peaceful courtyard was a massive, ancient tree.

An elderly Confucian scholar wearing a tall hat with a longsword strapped to his waist emerged from a clay deity statue in the rear hall, presenting himself in the form of his godly body as he made his way into the courtyard.

This was a vastly renowned scholarly official in the Great Sui Nation’s history books, and he exchanged a salute and a bow with Mao Xiaodong.

Prior to entering this courtyard, Mao Xiaodong had already told Chen Ping’an about the few “living” deities in the Confucian temple in the capital, making mentions of their significant life events, scholarly lineages, and the notable achievements they had made during their respective eras.

This deity was one of the founding fathers of the Great Sui Nation, a Confucian general by the name of Yuan Gaofeng with a long list of significant accolades on the battlefield. He had turned his back on his career as a scholar to step onto the battlefield and found the Great Sui Nation with the first-ever emperor of the Geyang Gao Clan.

After that, he had served as the chief minister of the Ministry of Personnel, where he had a long and illustrious political career. In the wake of his passing, he left behind a glowing legacy, and even to this day, the Yuan Clan was still one of the most prominent clans of the Great Sui Nation, regularly producing brilliant talents in many fields.

At the peak of his political career, the current leader of the Yuan Clan had once served as the chief minister of the Ministry of Justice, and he had since retired for health reasons. Among his descendents, there were many who had racked up fine accolades for themselves in the imperial court, on the battlefield, and in schools.

Yuan Gaofeng was also the first-ever official in the history of the Great Sui Nation to have been personally granted the posthumous title of Civil Justice by the emperor.

“What brings you here today, Mountain Master Mao?” Yuan Gaofeng asked.

“Why ask a question you already know the answer to?” Mao Xiaodong countered.

Yuan Gaofeng’s expression remained unchanged as he insisted, “Please state the purpose of your visit, Mountain Master Mao.”

“I’m going to withdraw a batch of scholarly fortune from your Confucian temple, then also borrow an additional batch on top of that,” Mao Xiaodong replied. “Out of the ceremonial artifacts of your Confucian academy, I’ll be temporarily taking the zhu, the bianqing, a fu, a gui, and two candlesticks. [1]

“Those are all artifacts that our Mountain Cliff Academy is deserving of in the first place. On top of that, I also want that blue and white porcelain vase that was transferred over from that regional Confucian academy. That is something that I’ll be borrowing from your Confucian temple, and I’ll return the vase itself along with the scholarly fortune within it in their original condition.”

“Sounds like a robbery to me,” Yuan Gaofeng scoffed.

As expected of a Confucian general, Yuan Gaofeng wasn’t mincing his words at all.

“If I could secure those things in a robbery, then I wouldn’t be wasting my time talking to you,” Mao Xiaodong replied with a smile.

“You’re certainly being direct and straightforward!” Yuan Gaofeng sneered. “If I didn’t know better, I would be misled into thinking that you had already reached the Unpolished Jade Tier. However, even if that were the case, it still wouldn’t be enough.

“You’ll only be able to achieve your objective by force if you can move the entirety of Eastern Splendor Mountain to this Confucian temple. Not only are you limited by your cultivation base, moving the scholarly fortune of Eastern Splendor Mountain will be another difficult task. It seems like things may not go so smoothly for you today, Mountain Master Mao.”

“How could I possibly move Eastern Splendor Mountain here?” Mao Xiaodong asked with a smile. “The mountain is larger than the temple, am I supposed to have the mountain crash down and cover the entire temple? If I were to do that, then the temple would be completely demolished, would it not?”

“Quit trying to barter with you like a Commercialist! You may have no sense of shame, but I do! You’re well aware of what our Confucian temple can tolerate, so do not overstep your boundaries!” Yuan Gaofeng snapped in a stern manner.

Mao Xiaodong remained completely unfazed, but Chen Ping’an could sense a burst of tremendous righteous energy in the air.

The righteous energy was manifesting itself in the form of bands of rainbow light that were on the verge of taking on a substantial form.

The True Qi circulation in Chen Ping’an’s body instantly stagnated, while the water palace that harbored his bonded water seal involuntarily shut itself off, and all of the water fortune green-robed children inside were trembling in fear.

Mao Xiaodong made no effort to stop Yuan Gaofeng’s intentional display of intimidation, merely allowing Chen Ping’an to bear the weight of this batch of tremendous scholarly fortune on his own.

Mao Xiaodong pointed at the rear hall as he proposed, “Let’s continue our conversation in there.”

Yuan Gaofeng hesitated momentarily, then nodded in response.

Mao Xiaodong told Chen Ping’an to go and explore the anterior hall, while he made his way into the rear hall with Yuan Gaofeng, upon which several more deities emerged from the clay statues inside.

Left on his own, Chen Ping’an began to stroll through the anterior hall. This was the first time that he had entered the main hall of a national capital’s Confucian temple. Back on the Parasol Leaf Continent, he hadn’t gone to the Great Quan Empire’s Mirage City with the Yao Clan. Otherwise, he would’ve most likely visited the Confucian temple there.

After that, he had spent some time in the capital city of the Azure Phoenix Nation, but the debate between Buddhism and Daoism was all the rage there at the time, so he didn’t get a chance to visit the Confucian temple there, either. As for the capital city of the Southern Garden Nation, there was no Confucian temple there in which the seventy-two saints were worshiped.

No matter how far he traveled and how meticulous he was with his exploration, it was simply impossible to see everything that certain places had to offer.

Time passed by slowly, and Chen Ping’an continued to stroll quietly through the anterior hall as dusk approached. At this point, he had already seen all of the deity statues in the anterior hall twice. He had read about the lives of these saints in the Mountain and Sea Chronicle, as well as in the writings and journals of scholars from different nations.

One of the things that was most perplexing to the general public about Confucianism in the Majestic World was that even the mountain masters of the seventy-two academies were referred to as sages, so why was it that these far more knowledgeable and accomplished figures of reverence were only referred to as saints?

As Mao Xiaodong returned from the rear hall, Chen Ping’an noticed that he did not look very happy.

They were still in the Confucian temple, so Chen Ping’an didn’t ask any questions, but as soon as the two of them emerged from the temple, Mao Xiaodong immediately complained, “Talking to those stingy old farts is downright impossible!”

Chen Ping’an nodded in response.

Mao Xiaodong took a glance up at the sky, then continued, “Let’s have some dinner, then go and try our luck in the other places in the city where scholarly fortune is gathered. Let’s speed things up a bit and aim to return to the academy before daybreak tomorrow morning. As for the deities at the Confucian temple, we can’t just allow them to be so stingy. From now on, we’ll be making a visit to the temple every single day.”

After crossing a pair of wide streets, the two of them made their way into a nearby restaurant, and while waiting for their food to be brought to them, Mao Xiaodong said to Chen Ping’an through voice transmission, “The atmosphere in the Confucian temple was a little off today.

“I can understand Yuan Gaofeng being so difficult to deal with, but the two sages of the Great Sui Nation who were voicing their support for him today are renowned in the history books for their mild and approachable personalities, so it’s very strange that they were so abrasive and unyielding to me.”

Chen Ping’an poured out two bowls of rice wine from his Sword Nurturing Gourd, then asked, “Could it be that Yuan Gaofeng was doing this to give us a subtle warning? The deities in the Confucian temple must be aware of the unrest that’s currently brewing in the Great Sui Nation.

“At a time like this, it’s very difficult for them to make decisions concerning the scholarly fortune of the Great Sui Nation, so all they can do passively observe, but they also don’t want to see us being kept in the dark and ruining the scholarly lineage of Mountain Cliff Academy, so they intentionally acted with uncharacteristic hostility to warn us to be wary of the state of affairs outside the Confucian temple.”

A pleased smile appeared on Mao Xiaodong’s face as he confirmed, “That’s exactly right.”

He then looked out the window as he mused, “Even though I’ve thrown out the two of us as bait, I had thought that the opposition would either choose to adopt a strategy of passive observation for now, or send out some small fry to test us at night while there aren’t many people out and about.

“However, it seems like I’ve underestimated their resolve. It’s still not nightfall yet, and not only are we not far away from the Confucian temple, the streets are still teeming with people, yet they’ve already unveiled their trump cards. Since when have the scholars of the Great Sui Nation become so demented and reckless?”

Chen Ping’an continued to sip casually on his bowl of rice wine.

“You don’t seem nervous at all,” Mao Xiaodong remarked with a smile.

Chen Ping’an set down his bowl as he replied, “I’ve taken part in quite a few battles up to this point, so I’m no stranger to significant events.”

“What are the most significant events that you’ve directly experienced?” Mao Xiaodong asked.

Chen Ping’an thought about it for a moment, then replied, “One time, I fought against a Nascent Tier flood dragon presiding over a small world in the Flood Dragon Trench. Another time, I carried the sword of the old great sword immortal from the Sword Qi Great Wall. There was also one occasion where I received a blow from an Ascension Tier cultivator’s bonded Sword Devouring Ark.”

Mao Xiaodong burst into laughter upon hearing this.

Chen Ping’an fought back the urge to grin as he added, “Most significantly of all, I’ve shared a drink with Mountain Master Mao at the same table before.”

Mao Xiaodong hurriedly raised his bowl and proposed a toast upon hearing this.

“I’ll drink to that!”

After finishing the wine in his bowl, Chen Ping’an suddenly asked, “Is it possible to determine roughly how many people have been sent after us and their approximate cultivation bases?”

Mao Xiaodong nodded in response.

“It may appear on the surface that I’ve been doing nothing but running around aimlessly with Little Baoping these past few years, but those outings have not been without purpose. I’ve been striving to accomplish one thing this entire time.

“As for exactly what it is, I won’t divulge that information for now, but all you need to know is that I can clearly detect all Qi refiners below the Upper Five Tiers and pure martial artists below the ninth tier within a radius of ten thousand feet.

“Right now, there are five assassins coming after us, consisting of a Golden Core Tier swordsman, a Dragon Gate Tier Militarian cultivator, a Dragon Gate Tier formation cultivator, a Far Roaming Tier martial artist, and a Vajra Body Tier martial artist.”

“I’m afraid I may not be able to help out much,” Chen Ping’an said in a resigned manner.

Mao Xiaodong smiled as he rose to his feet, then pulled the Day and Night Wandering Deity True Body Talisman out of his sleeve before handing it back to Chen Ping’an as he chuckled through voice transmission, “You can have this back. As your senior brother, it wouldn’t be right for me to take things from you.”

A hesitant look appeared on Chen Ping’an’s face.

Mao Xiaodong smiled as he asked, “Are you worried that I’m taking the enemy too lightly? Have you forgotten what I told you earlier? I can deal with them just fine as long as there aren’t any Unpolished Jade Tier cultivators among them.”

“What if there is?” Chen Ping’an asked with slightly furrowed brows.

“Then that would certainly put me at ease!” Mao Xiaodong replied with a smile. “Even if an Unpolished Jade Tier cultivator appears, they won’t be able to kill me here, and it would tell me that there are no Unpolished Jade Tier cultivators currently targeting the academy.”

Chen Ping’an offered no response as he poured out another bowl of wine.

“What are you doing?” Mao Xiaodong asked with a curious expression.

“I’m drinking a bowl of wine as punishment in advance in case I speak our worst fears into existence,” Chen Ping’an replied.

“You’re just begging for an Unpolished Jade Tier cultivator to show up, aren’t you?” Mao Xiaodong chuckled, and Chen Ping’an gave a faint smile in response.

1. The zhu and bianqing are both ancient Chinese musical instruments, while the fu and gui are ceremonial artifacts used in rituals. If you’re interested in what they look like, feel free to search up their Chinese names in Google: zhu (柷), bianqing (编磬), fu (簠), gui (簋). ☜