Unsheathed

On the morning three days later, Chen Ping’an prepared to leave Mountain Cliff Academy again.

Li Baoping recently noticed Li Huai and Pei Qian secretly meeting up with each other all the time, and even her junior uncle would disappear without a trace from time to time. This caused her to feel a little dejected.

Today, Li Baoping arrived at Cui Dongshan’s courtyard very early in the morning, wanting to bid farewell to her junior uncle.

Pei Qian hadn’t slept in her dorm yesterday either, but she had come over to borrow the saber, Auspicious Talisman, as well as the small silver gourd.

After arriving at the courtyard, Li Baoping was surprised to discover that it was completely empty.

Perhaps her junior uncle had left in secret again?

Li Baoping turned around and was just about to sprint to the foot of the mountain.

However, she noticed Cui Dongshan yawning and walking over from the small path in the distance. Li Baoping jumped around on the spot, ready to shoot off like an arrow at any given moment. “Where’s Junior Uncle? Did he leave a long time ago?” she asked in a hurried voice.

“He left ages ago. In fact, he left at midnight yesterday. You weren’t aware?” Cui Dongshan asked with a baffled expression.

Li Baoping stopped jumping around and scrunched up her face which was mostly still round. Only her chin was starting to become sharper and more defined.

Cui Dongshan sighed in grief as he looked at the young girl who was about to burst into tears, and he hurriedly consoled, “Don’t overthink it. Master was definitely afraid to see this expression of yours, and that’s why he chose to leave early just like last time. Your junior uncle clearly changed into new clothes and new boots already, yet he still decided against entering the academy in the end. I was the only one accompanying Master back then, and he would look back three times with each step that he took.”

Li Baoping sniffled as she listened to this.

“How about I accompany you to the lake so you can take some time to relax? We can also chat about Master while we’re there,” Cui Dongshan suggested in an uncertain voice.

Li Baoping thought about this for a moment before nodding in response.

The two of them walked to the lake.

The sun was only just beginning to rise, and there was not a single person in the surroundings. If this were on a normal day, there would already be a few disciples of the academy loudly reciting sagely scriptures here. Thus, things appeared particularly quiet today.

Cui Dongshan led Li Baoping to a tall platform beside the river, and he suddenly asked, “Little Baoping, I feel like your junior uncle is far too mean to leave without saying goodbye to you. Don’t worry, if you decide to disown your junior uncle, then I’ll also accompany you and disown him as my master. Say, aren’t I very loyal?”

Li Baoping widened her eyes and exclaimed, “What are you talking about? There can only be a junior uncle who doesn’t want Li Baoping, but there can’t be a Li Baoping who doesn’t want her junior uncle!”

Cui Dongshan feigned realization, nodding before dragging on his voice and replying, “Ohhh, is that so.”

He then snapped his fingers.

A dazzling golden ring suddenly burst to life along the small path surrounding the lake.

This was a lightning field etched by the immortal flying sword with a golden tassel, and Cui Dongshan had removed one portion of the illusion technique at this moment.

Afterward, Li Huai suddenly appeared on the small path in the distance.

He was walking beside the lake with a white deer, and he emulated a certain someone with a bamboo hat on his head and a saber, Auspicious Talisman, by his side. Of course, there was also a small silver gourd swaying by his hip.

Li Baoping faltered upon seeing this.

After walking for a while, Li Huai introduced himself loudly, saying, “I, Li Huai, have cultivated in seclusion for three days and finally mastered a myriad of powerful techniques. This time, I’m going to properly gauge the abilities of the elites around the cultivation world as I descend the mountain to travel around the continents.”

Cui Dongshan snapped his fingers again.

Another two figures appeared not far from the elevated platform, and the pitiful Zhu Lian and Shi Rou were reduced to playing the roles of wicked bandits. Right now, they were violently beating two “frail scholars,” Yu Lu and Lin Shouyi.

“Stop!” Li Huai bellowed loudly.

Zhu Lian blocked Li Huai’s path and roared, “You also have to pay a toll to pass with your life!”

Li Huai roared with laughter and replied, “Foolish little bandit, you actually dare to rob me, Great Hero Li? Since I’ve encountered injustice today, I’m going to roar and charge over to deal with the problem. If you’re so capable, then why don’t you try to take the money from me?”

Zhu Lian dashed forward with sharp footwork that displayed his might as a grandmaster, and he unleashed fist after fist into Li Huai’s chest. However, Li Huai remained unmoving as he reared his head and roared with laughter.

Zhu Lian was stunned, and it was as if he had been struck by lightning. His opponent’s body was like a sieve that completely filtered out his power. “T-T-T-This… young hero… Such incredible internal energy!” he stammered.

He then flew backward and collapsed to the ground, convulsing two times. He was most likely dead, and his role was much like that of the lowly subordinates in the cultivation novels. In fact, he already had a significant amount of screen time seeing that he was able to say a few words to the young hero.

Shi Rou awkwardly walked over and unleashed a soft palm strike at Li Huai.

Li Huai casually swung his hand from a distance and said with loud laughter, “Scram!”

As if being wounded by a burst of astral energy, Shi Rou spun several times in the air before thudding to the ground in the distance. She raised a hand and pointed at Li Huai, forcefully suppressing the shame, grief, and indignance in her heart as she asked, “Just where did such a powerful cultivator come from? I’ve never heard about such a profoundly powerful elite in the cultivation world!”

Li Huai raised a palm and held it vertically in front of his chest, pretending to be a monk as he replied, “My sincere apologies. My martial arts ability is far too immense, so I was unable to hold back in the heat of the moment.”

Li Huai put his palm down and walked near the elevated platform before looking around and announcing, “Remember, I’m Dorm Junior Division Leader Li Huai of the Dragon Spring Prefecture’s Eastern Splendor Mountain Division! Those in the cultivation world refer to me as Paramount Fists and Feet Hero Li, someone who stands atop mountains and possesses a pair of invincible fists. Our leader is none other than the mighty alliance leader of the martial arts world, Li Baoping!”

Li Baoping crossed her arms and lightly nodded in acknowledgment.

Cui Dongshan snapped his fingers again, following which Li Huai, the white deer, Zhu Lian, Shi Rou, Yu Lu, and Lin Shouyi all disappeared from view.

Afterward, Yu Lu and Xie Xie appeared on opposite sides of the lake, with one standing there and playing the flute and one sitting there and plucking a guqin. It was as if they were an immortal couple in the cultivation world.

The flute sounded distant, while the guqin sounded melodious.

The tune gradually became increasingly passionate and full.

Cui Dongshan smiled faintly, and a skinny and black-clad figure instantly appeared in front of the lake opposite the elevated platform where Li Baoping was standing. The figure furiously dashed forward, eventually using a hiking pole to launch themself high into the air. As they leaped over the lake, they drew a bamboo sword and a bamboo saber from their waist in midair, performing a twist before they landed on the lake in a domineering manner.

A golden flower would appear under Pei Qian’s foot each time she landed on the lake, allowing her to charge forward without needing to worry about falling into the water.

Pei Qian first used her bamboo saber to perform the White Ape Saber-Wielding Technique, with her aura like a tiger as she lunged forward a dozen or so steps. She roared at the platform where Cui Dongshan was standing before forcefully slashing down with her saber.

With a tap of her foot, she then stepped on a golden flower that Cui Dongshan was controlling for her and suddenly twisted her body, resheathing her bamboo saber before landing on the ground. She then unleashed her self-created Deranged Demon Sword Technique as she continued to charge forward.

In order to pummel the wildest of dogs in the future, Pei Qian felt like she was working very hard to practice these martial arts techniques.

Indeed, she felt like this self-created ultimate technique was peerless in the world.

Pei Qian felt extremely satisfied performing this sword technique.

After standing still, she sheathed her bamboo sword as well.

Pei Qian was standing on the surface of the lake just twenty or so meters away from the elevated platform, and she flicked her wrist and suddenly retrieved a small gourd, raising it high up in the air and exclaiming, “There’s nothing good about the cultivation world, and only the wine is relatively okay. Where’s my wine? Come on, come over here? Who’s going to drink wine in the cultivation world with me?”

Cui Dongshan laughed heartily, with his large sleeves billowing in the wind as he flew toward Pei Qian. With a reach and a flick, he grabbed the small silver gourd as he extracted water fortune essence from the lake to make wine. One stream of wine circled around the silver Sword Nurturing Gourd, and one stream of wine appeared around the small gourd in Pei Qian’s hand.

The two of them stood side-by-side, tilting their heads back and pretending to drink wine.

Afterward, as if they had practiced this countless times, Cui Dongshan and Pei Qian started to stumble around in a drunken manner, swaying back and forth before starting to shuffle sideways like crabs. They spread their arms apart, and their sleeves billowed like large waves as they eventually copied the young girl in red and started to jump around on the spot.

Upon seeing this, Li Baoping who was standing on the elevated platform by herself couldn’t contain her laughter.

Cui Dongshan suddenly sat down, with his large sleeves continuing to billow as he retrieved some items from an unknown place and surprisingly started to sing as he played a percussion instrument.

This was the stinky tofu song that Chen Ping’an and Pei Qian had composed based on a folk song from the Dragon Spring Prefecture.

“Waiter over there, I’ve read some books and learned some characters, I’ve accumulated a belly-full of knowledge that can’t sell for many coins of copper,” Cui Dongshan sang loudly.

Pei Qian had already put her small gourd away, and she puffed her chest out and tilted her chin up as she walked around Cui Dongshan and said, “Stinky tofu is delicious, but I can’t afford any!”

“There are spirits in the mountains, there are ghosts in the rivers, I turn around in fright, only to discover that I’ve left home for many years.”

“I was so terrified that I hurriedly ate a piece of stinky tofu to calm myself down!”

“Young lady, where are you from? You smell like fragrant orchids, so why is your face filled with tears? Oh, isn’t this pitiful?”

“It’s time to eat stinky tofu! The stinky tofu is as fragrant as orchids!”

“May I ask, scholar, what shall we do? A small paper kite is hanging on the branches, the sun is scorching it too.”

“Climb the tree and retrieve the kite, then return home to eat stinky tofu!”

“Offering incense in front of the tombs, the immortal is like a youth; lying inside the tombs, his grandchildren one hundred years dead. Tell me, isn’t this absurd?”

Cui Dongshan suddenly started to sing nonsense, causing Pei Qian to falter for a moment. However, she decided to stop caring about it as well, so she randomly sang, “Huh? Who should I give the stinky tofu to?”

“You speak your reasons, and I rely on my fists. So much chaos in the cultivation world, when will grudges end?”

Cui Dongshan was still changing the lyrics at random, so Pei Qian pretended to be a little drunkard again as she stumbled around and sang, “Enjoying stinky tofu with wine, I’m neither hungry nor thirsty anymore. The cultivation world is boring, but this matters no more.”

“Mortals all yearn to ascend, yet I see no freedom in the mountains…”

Pei Qian shot an angry glare at Cui Dongshan who was randomly and continuously changing the lyrics of the folk song, and she also humphed in a random manner, “If you continue like this, then I’ll become absolutely stuffed on stinky tofu as well!”

Cui Dongshan didn’t make things difficult for Pei Qian anymore, and he stood up and asked, “You’ve had stinky tofu to eat, and you’ve had wine to drink, so where is the sword immortal?”

Pei Qian was also astonished, and she asked in reply, “That’s right, there’s no wine left, so where is the sword immortal?”

The two of them looked at the elevated platform before suggesting in unison, “Why not try to call for him?”

Little Baoping took a deep breath before shouting, “Junior Uncle!”

Cui Dongshan snapped his fingers, and Li Huai and the others reappeared around the lake.

Everyone looked toward the peak of Eastern Splendor Mountain.

Li Baoping also looked over.

A snow-white figure dashed over from the peak of the mountain.

His aura was magnificent as he landed on the surface of the lake.

Golden Sweet Wine billowed in the wind, making him appear like a white-robed immortal standing atop a serene mirror.

Chen Ping’an wasn’t carrying Sword Immortal on his back, and there was only a Sword Nurturing Gourd hanging by his waist.

Chen Ping’an reached forward.

Cui Dongshan retrieved a sword from his minimization treasure, running two fingers over it before copying Li Baoping’s catchphrase and commanding, “Off you go!”

The sword flew out of its scabbard and sliced through the air.

Chen Ping’an caught the hilt of the sword and swung it through the air, bringing it behind his back. He then held two fingers together in front of him, forming a sword seal as he laughed loudly and said, “People all say that it’s a fool’s errand to treat snow as grain and to make mirrors from tiles, but I insist on going against the flow and breaking through the limits! Drinking all of the cultivation world’s wine, comprehending all of the world’s principles, I unleash sword strike after sword strike, with each faster than the former. Until one day, my sword strike is the paramount strike of freedom and liveliness…”

Chen Ping’an started to nimbly run across the water, appearing as if he were gliding across the surface as he freely brandished the sword in his hand. He was like an autumn leaf fluttering in the wind as he twisted left and right, with his body twisting right while his feet moved left and his sword twirled with his movements, sliding back to the right. His eyes followed his sword, and he suddenly lunged forward with his foot, flicking his sword up at the same time. With his eyes now looking at the tip of the sword, he continued, “Immortal flicking his clothes, a sword appears from his sleeve; following his body to brandish the sword, using his eyes to gaze at the tip; on the tip of the sword is the world.”

Chen Ping’an strode forward, with his sword following his movements and the sword intent continuous like undulating mountains. He exhibited both speed and calm, and he suddenly stopped before flicking his wrist and pointing the tip of the sword upward. Sword light burst forth like a white python hissing its tongue, following which the sword left his hand yet continued to fly around him like an adoring bird.

Each time the sword circled around Chen Ping’an, he would use his spirit and fist intent to step forward using the six-step walking meditation that was seemingly one with nature. The flying sword paused intermittently, and Chen Ping’an’s final punch coincidentally landed on the hilt of the sword with a heavy thud. The flying sword spun in front of Chen Ping’an, with its uneven sword light causing it to look like a bright and shimmering moon on the lake’s surface.

Chen Ping’an reached forward, with his two fingers precisely running across the hilt of the sword before he flicked his large sleeve and caused it to fly three dozen meters into the distance. Chen Ping’an slowly walked after it, and the flying sword started to draw numerous circles in midair, going from big to small and illuminating the entire sky with radiance and powerful sword qi.

“Touring the water god temple at night, visiting the city god pavilion at day, a lone boat through the Flood Dragon Trench, an immortal carrying swords like a formation… People all say that principles are the most useless, yet I say the books naturally contain the intents of sword immortals. Each character possesses sword light, I beseech the sages to watch my lasting sword qi soar through the heavens!”

Li Baoping’s face was bright red as she earnestly clapped her hands.

Chen Ping’an untied his Sword Nurturing Gourd and casually tossed it into the air, after which he summoned the flying sword and performed a forward thrust, precisely catching the Sword Nurturing Gourd on its tip.

As he swung the sword, his movements were surprisingly even more casual and carefree than Pei Qian’s display using her Deranged Demon Sword Technique.

However, no matter how he swung the sword, his Sword Nurturing Gourd remained unmoving and attached to the tip of the sword the entire time.

Chen Ping’an was unaware that Cui Dongshan had already retracted the lightning barrier formed by the golden sword qi.

Even though they couldn’t hear Chen Ping’an’s words, many people in the academy were able to witness him wielding his sword.

————

A group of people stood at the entrance of the academy.

Chen Ping’an was already carrying Sword Immortal and his large bamboo bookcase.

Pei Qian was carrying a luggage sack diagonally across her body, also holding a hiking pole in her hand and wearing a bamboo sword and a bamboo saber by her waist.

Zhu Lian and Shi Rou stood beside them.

Li Huai and Pei Qian chattered among themselves, making a promise that they would definitely travel around the cultivation world together in the future. Li Huai then said to Chen Ping’an in a quiet voice, “When you arrive at the Dragon Spring Prefecture, you definitely have to remember to look after my family’s residence.”

“No problem,” Chen Ping’an nodded and said with a smile.

He then looked at Li Baoping, Lin Shouyi, and Li Huai, saying, “You guys should return to class now. You don’t need to see me off. It’s already been a while, and I surmise the teachers won’t be too happy to see me again in the future.”

Little Baoping didn’t insist on seeing her junior uncle off to the gates of the capital, and she instead nodded and said, “Take care, Junior Uncle.”

Chen Ping’an patted her head and replied, “Does Junior Uncle need you to tell him?”

Li Baoping responded with a wide smile.

Chen Ping’an bowed in respect and bid farewell to Mao Xiaodong.

Mao Xiaodong nodded in acknowledgment, stroking his beard as he chuckled, “Remember to visit often in the future.”

In the end, Cui Dongshan said that he wanted to see his master off to the end of Cogon Grass Street.

Pei Qian also chattered in secret with Big Sister Baoping, with their two little heads very close together as they spoke. After a while, Pei Qian was grinning from ear to ear as she finally obtained the coveted title of junior division leader.

Chen Ping’an and Cui Dongshan slowly walked in front, eventually turning out of the main street and entering Cogon Grass Street. After arriving at the end of Cogon Grass Street, Cui Dongshan finally stopped and said in a slow voice, “Master, I don’t feel like the world has become worse than before. There are more and more cultivators in the mountains, but there are even more people enjoying sufficient food and clothing outside the mountains. What do you think?”

Chen Ping’an nodded and replied, “This is most likely the case.”

Cui Dongshan looked up at the sky and murmured, “However, it can’t be denied that the mountains towering above the land are like countless swords. Every one hundred or one thousand years, it’s indeed the case that fewer and fewer mountains are soaring into the heavens. Thus, I hope that our grief and happiness and reunions and separations don’t transform into nothing more than the pecking of chickens, the chirping of sparrows, and the miserable calls of cicadas.”

Cui Dongshan raised a hand and pointed high up, continuing, “In the skies higher above, there are always the calls of cranes that are extremely distant from the earth. Even so, they instill a feeling of melancholy in people. After looking up and seeing them and hearing them, people will no longer be able to forget them.”

Chen Ping’an smiled and replied, “It’s very good that you’re able to think like this.”

He then hesitated for a moment before continuing, “Your master hasn’t read enough books yet, and his knowledge is still limited. I’m not able to give you an answer right now, but I’ll make sure to ponder on the matter. Even if I’m unable to answer you in the end, I’ll still tell you the truth and say that I’m not able to answer and that I’ve been stumped by my student. However, I hope you won’t laugh at me at that time.”

This was probably the first time that Chen Ping’an admitted to being Cui Dongshan’s master.

There was a dazzling smile on Cui Dongshan’s face, and he suddenly bowed deeply before standing straight and saying in a quiet voice, “Ridge in the hometown, blooming flower in the field, Master can return in a leisurely manner now.”

“It’s already autumn,” Chen Ping’an replied in a slightly helpless voice.

Cui Dongshan shook his head earnestly and said, “Here’s wishing that Master’s mind enjoys eternal spring.”