Unsheathed

Chapter 465 (1): A Downtrodden Mountain Without Chen Ping’an

On the second floor of the bamboo building.

Chen Ping’an was seated with his legs crossed and his fists pressed against his knees, panting heavily as blood dripped down from his face onto the ground.

Thankfully, one of the properties of the bamboo building was that it was essentially a giant Cleansing Talisman, so there was no concern about his blood leaving any stains.

However, he had heard that the little girl in pink came to scrub the floorboards of the second floor with her little water bucket in hand every single day, and as a result, she was the only “outsider” permitted to enter the second floor.

The first session of sparring had drawn to a conclusion, and its outcome was apparent from the contrasting physical conditions of Chen Ping’an and Cui Cheng, the first of which was barely recognizable, while the other hadn’t even broken a sweat.

This outcome was nothing out of the ordinary, but things still felt a little strange to Chen Ping’an. In the past, their sparring matches had been nothing more than a case of him enduring one-sided beatings, but this sparring match seemed to have placed more emphasis on honing his techniques and fist intent.

Occasionally, Cui Cheng would even stop for a while to provide instruction to his fist techniques. As for whether Chen Ping’an was in any state to hear his advice and whether he possessed the ability to commit the advice to memory, that didn’t seem to matter to Cui Cheng.

“Do I not need to have my body, three immortal souls and seven mortal forms refined?” Chen Ping’an couldn’t help but ask.

“If I’ve taught a child how to use chopsticks, will I need to teach them again at a later age? Are you that stupid, or am I that blind to have picked such an idiot as my student?” Cui Cheng scoffed.

Chen Ping’an was rather suspicious of this answer. Refinement of purity was a process that had to be carried out at every tier for martial artists, and it was different from Qi refiners after obtaining an immortal secret technique as they were generally taught the basics by their masters before cultivating on their own.

Cui Cheng didn’t seem to want to discuss this matter extensively, and he changed the subject as he asked, “I heard that you often like to spar with Zhu Lian with his cultivation base suppressed to the Vajra Body Tier, is that right?”

Chen Ping’an nodded in response.

“It’s very difficult for me to keep up.”

However, Cui Cheng shook his head as he scoffed, “Those sparring matches are too far from the real thing to serve any purpose! Zhu Lian doesn’t dare to kill you, and you know that, so you two are like a pair of lovers quarreling with each other. He’ll give you a gentle pat, you’ll retaliate with a halfhearted kick. How will that benefit you in any way?”

Chen Ping’an couldn’t help but develop goosebumps at this analogy.

“From tomorrow onward, get Zhu Lian to come to the second floor, and I’ll supervise your sparring matches,” Cui Cheng instructed.

“How will that make any difference?” Chen Ping’an asked.

“You think it won’t make a difference?” Cui Cheng sneered. “If Zhu Lian continues to go at you with no killing intent, then I’ll kill him on the spot! How’s that for a point of difference? Make sure to warn Zhu Lian so he takes this seriously. I don’t want to have to repeat the same thing to his corpse!”

“Have you taken a liking to Zhu Lian, Senior?” Chen Ping’an asked with a smile.

A displeased look appeared on Cui Cheng’s face as he said, “I’ll have to completely beat the quick-wittedness out of you, and only then will you be just barely tolerable to me.”

Chen Ping’an shook his head as he said, “I was never once able to severely wound Zhu Lian during our sparring matches, even with his cultivation base suppressed to the Vajra Body Tier, and it’s clear from his flattery after those sparring matches that he’s never been pushed to his limits.”

“Don’t you worry, I’ll take care of that,” Cui Cheng chuckled.

A pleased smile appeared on Chen Ping’an’s face upon hearing this.

There were many people under the heavens who weren’t afraid of enduring hardships, but rarely was it ever the case that enduring hardships necessarily led to positive outcomes.

Chen Ping’an didn’t know why Zhu Lian had stayed on Downtrodden Mountain for three years without requesting to train under Cui Cheng, but the fact that Cui Cheng had taken the initiative to ask for him as an enormous blessing for him, considering he had encountered extremely stern bottlenecks in both his fist techniques and his cultivation base.

When it came to virtually all other matters, Chen Ping’an would merely raise suggestions to the person involved without insisting that they take any course of action. Sui Youbian’s decision to travel to the Jade Tablet Sect had been made of her own accord, as had Shi Rou’s decision to accept the immortal body.

However, if Zhu Lian were to express reluctance to train under Cui Cheng for some reason, then Chen Ping’an would definitely try to persuade him a little more insistently.

“It’s naturally wrong to be sentimental to those around you, but you must remember that reaching the pinnacle of the Martial Dao is ultimately a very lonely pursuit, so you must be prepared for that,” Cui Cheng suddenly said.

Chen Ping’an nodded in response.

“I once gleaned a theoretical sword technique from watching a game of Go, and it pertains to severance and delineation. It helped me overcome many difficult obstacles during my time in Bamboo Scroll Lake…”

Before Chen Ping’an had a chance to speak any further on the matter, Cui Cheng scoffed, “As expected of the mighty swordsman with Sword Immortal on his back. Your fist techniques are mediocre at best, but you possess such exceptional aptitude in swordsmanship. Looks like I’m holding you back from becoming an almighty sword immortal. Whatever will I do?”

A sense of foreboding welled up in Chen Ping’an’s heart, and he immediately slammed his palms into the ground, sending himself sliding back along the floor while still in a seated position to evade the punch that was sure to come. As for getting up before taking evasive measures, that was completely out of the question as it was clearly going to be too slow.

Sure enough…

Cui Cheng stomped a foot down onto the ground, causing the bamboo building to shudder so violently that Chen Ping’an was knocked up into the air, immediately following which Cui Cheng descended upon him like a harbinger of agony. If he had unleashed the Heavy Cavalry Formation Shattering Technique, then that would’ve been fine.

Chen Ping’an would’ve been knocked out in a single punch, only experiencing a fleeting instant of pain in the process. However, Cui Cheng clearly had no intention of letting him off the hook so easily, instead choosing to use his Deity Drumming Technique. Fourteen punches were thrown in rapid succession, and Chen Ping’an’s body was kept adrift the entire time like a helpless willow leaf in the wind.

By the time he finally fell to the floor, he was already unconscious.

Being struck by over ten punches from Cui Cheng’s Deity Drumming Technique was truly an indescribable experience, and even though Chen Ping’an was completely unconscious, his body was still tumbling around all over the floor.

Cui Cheng observed him momentarily, then gave a pleased nod. This reaction from Chen Ping’an told him that his fist intent had truly “come alive.”

A true martial arts master fist intent was so sensitive that even when they were sound asleep, they would still be able to detect even the faintest hint of killing intent from an assailant, and that would be enough for their fist intent to jolt them to their feet and lash out to kill the assailant in question with a single punch.

However, that was still not the end of Chen Ping’an’s ordeal. Cui Cheng aimed a kick at the burst of pure True Qi that was traveling through Chen Ping’an’s body like a fiery dragon, severing it with unerring accuracy like an elite cavalry unit plowing through the enemy formation.

All of Chen Ping’an’s joints instantly began to crack and pop like firecrackers, and due to the fact that Cui Cheng’s astral energy passed through his body without pause, his scattered True Qi quickly reconvened.

During the battle in Old Dragon City, Du Mao’s bonded Sword Devouring Ark had pierced through Chen Ping’an’s abdomen, and the reason why the after-effects from that injury were so troublesome to deal with lied in the fact that the energy of the Sword Devouring Ark would remain in his body and continue to constantly eat away at his soul, and it was extremely difficult to expel. In contrast, Cui Cheng’s kick had no such drawbacks.

This was why it was said that the fists of an End Tier martial artist were as powerful as city-wrecking tsunamis, but also as delicate and precise as a flying sword racing through the eye of a needle.

The ability to sever a martial artist’s True Qi without harming its purity was one of the signature abilities of martial artists of the Three Mind Tempering Tiers.

For martial artists below the Vajra Body Tier, once their True Qi was severed, then it would be completely severed, forcing them to take in a new breath of True Qi. Whenever they did so, that would be a moment of vulnerability, so there was no way that they would be able to engage powerful cultivators in prolonged battles.

However, this method of training was not suitable for all budding martial artists.

It was like pouring a ladle of fiery hot congee into an outstretched bowl. For the ordinary person, the congee would be too hot, and not only would they drop the bowl, they would also burn their hand.

Both Cen Yuanji and Old Man Yang’s new female disciple were martial arts prodigies, but they were not going to be able to withstand the rigors of this style of training.

However, they each had their own paths laid out before them. It could often appear that there was only a single path available when it came to the pursuit of martial arts, but in reality, that single path had many tiny branches.

There were both advantages and drawbacks to women training martial arts. During his travels through the Middle Earth Divine Continent, Cui Cheng had personally witnessed many incredibly talented female martial arts masters that had reached the pinnacle in the more delicate and gentle aspects of martial arts, leaving even Cui Cheng in awe and amazement. Furthermore, women often lived longer than men, thereby allowing them to walk the path of martial arts longer than their male counterparts.

One of the biggest regrets of Cui Cheng’s life was that he never got the chance to fight that martial goddess of the Middle Earth Divine Continent, and he could only hope that Chen Ping’an would be able to fulfill this wish in his stead.

It wasn’t that Cui Cheng looked down on the heroines of the world, but it didn’t sit right with him that the summit of the Martial Dao of the four worlds was occupied solely by a woman.

At the moment, Chen Ping’an was inferior to Cao Ci, but Cui Cheng wasn’t concerned by that at all.

Chen Ping’an’s most outstanding traits were his resilience and learning ability. So what if Cao Ci was a martial fortune prodigy that had been seen in a thousand years? So what if he reached the ninth tier or even the tenth tier ahead of Chen Ping’an? He would still have to wait for a worthy foe to arise and challenge him for the berth of the eleventh tier.

Of course, if Chen Ping’an were too slow to get there, then perhaps Cao Ci would compete with his mistress instead. If she were already at the eleventh tier, then he would turn to the old man who liked to fish for whales atop the sea of clouds.

Cui Cheng heaved a faint sigh as he crouched down and gently wiped the blood from Chen Ping’an’s face with his thumb.

When it came to his capacity for enduring hardships, he was far superior to Cui Chan at the same age.

For those who came from wealthy and noble upbringings, it didn’t take much for them to rise to great heights, considering the silver spoons that they were born with in their mouths. Even if they harbored no lofty aspirations, they could still while away their days in opulence and materialistic excess.

In contrast, when it came to those who had come from impoverished backgrounds, regardless of whether they were able to make something out of themselves, they were inevitably going to have to be able to endure hardships.

Cui Cheng sat down beside Chen Ping’an, and with a gentle sweep of his sleeve, the doors of the room were flung open, inviting the mountain breeze inside.

Chen Ping’an’s breathing had become very slow and even.

Sleeping like a dead log was the best way for a pure martial artist to rest and recuperate, yet Chen Ping’an hadn’t gotten a single good night of sleep during his entire stay in Bamboo Scroll Lake.

In Cui Cheng’s eyes, Chen Ping’an hadn’t placed enough emphasis on ensuring good sleep on any of the journeys that he had gone on, and only when he was practicing his standing and sitting meditation was he in a somewhat relaxed state. Otherwise, if he were constantly wound too tight, even if he weren’t beaten to death someday, flaws would be sure to arise in his martial arts progression.

However, Cui Cheng chose not to bring up this matter to Chen Ping’an, just as he hadn’t told Chen Ping’an about the martial fortune bequeathments that would befall the most powerful martial artists at each tier. Some hurdles had to be personally overcome for one to truly develop a deep understanding of where they had gone wrong. Otherwise, even a lecture from the Paramount Sage himself may not do much good.

Cui Cheng cast his gaze into the distance as he murmured to himself, “Having said that, prominent clans also came up from humble beginnings. It’s just that wealthy and noble clans fear losing their wealth and power over the course of generations, while the impoverished fear that they’ll never be able to escape the cycle of poverty generation after generation.

“Once Downtrodden Mountain has its own sect, the problems that it’ll face will differ from those of many wealthy clans and immortal manors. Conflicts won’t arise over who’s wrong and who’s right. Instead, it’ll be a case of who’s more right.

“Those types of problems can be completely trivial, but they can also be extremely consequential, and it’s just a matter of whether Chen Ping’an can convince the masses when the time comes. That would be a different trial of his mental state compared with what he had to endure in Bamboo Scroll Lake.”

Cui Cheng turned his gaze to the unconscious Chen Ping’an as he smiled and said, “Fearing death is a good thing. You’re still so young, so make sure you do not die, no matter what. There’s still so much out there for you to see. Right now, you haven’t even seen all of the Majestic World’s nine continents!”

All of a sudden, he burst into laughter as if he were suddenly in a great mood, and he said, “Of course, I would still come out on top even if I were to suppress my cultivation base to the fifth tier, but I would inevitably have to take a bunch of punches from you, so even if I were to win, it would still be a loss of face for me.

“You think you’ve got the guile and cunning to match me now just because you’ve gone on a few long journeys? You still have a long way to go, you little runt!”

A serious look then appeared on his face as he declared, “It’s about time that you made a breakthrough. As long as you aren’t left behind by Cao Ci by two tiers or more, you can always catch back up someday. When that time comes, you can easily beat him even thirty times in a row in vengeance, let alone three!”

A brooding look then suddenly appeared on Cui Cheng’s face. While he was confident that Chen Ping’an had a bright future ahead, the thought that this was going to be an extremely long process had put him in a rather foul mood.

With that in mind, an enraged look suddenly surfaced in his eyes at the sight of the unconscious Chen Ping’an, and he swept a sleeve toward him as he snapped, “Get up! What are you, a lazy pig? Don’t sleep in the middle of my training!”

Chen Ping’an was sent tumbling through the air by a fierce gust of wind before crashing into the wall and awakening in a daze. By then, Cui Cheng had already risen to his feet, and he stepped forward with a dark expression before stomping a foot down forcefully.

Chen Ping’an hurriedly rolled to the side, only just barely evading the stomp.

“Only when you can oppose a Vajra Body Tier martial artist in a battle of life and death and not suffer too crushing a defeat will you be permitted to leave the mountain. Once you fulfill that prerequisite, you can go and do whatever you please, whether that be to visit your friends in the central region of the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent or to travel the Northern Complete Reed Continent.

“However, if you can’t do that, then you’ll have to stay here. Otherwise, you’ll only be surrendering your wealth to others along with your life. Is that something that appeals to you?”

“No, I can’t die!” Chen Ping’an declared with a shake of his head.

“Why? What makes your life more precious than the lives of others?” Cui Cheng asked.

“Because my martial arts teacher is Cui Cheng!” Chen Ping’an replied.

Cui Cheng faltered slightly upon hearing this, then gave a pleased nod as he said, “I can tell that’s not a disingenuous piece of flattery. It would be remiss of me not to reward you with a punch for such a candid statement!”

Cui Cheng descended upon Chen Ping’an like a mountain, and the latter was instantly knocked out again.

Cui Cheng stomped a foot down onto the ground, jolting the unconscious Chen Ping’an up into the air to knock him conscious again, only to knock him out once again with a sweeping kick.

This cycle repeated itself over and over again, putting Chen Ping’an in a tortuous purgatory, while Cui Cheng was more than happy to serve as his tormentor.

Finally, Cui Cheng threw a sweeping kick into Chen Ping’an’s neck, sending him spinning end over end a few times. Upon landing on the ground, he stumbled a few steps, but the kick wasn’t as forceful as the previous ones, so he wasn’t knocked to the floor.

Chen Ping’an crouched down slightly as he adopted Zhu Lian’s Ape Form while retreating by executing his six-step walking meditation backward, and the entire time, his eyes remained firmly locked on Cui Cheng without even an instant of deviation.

He had been beaten so viciously that both his fist stance and fist intent were swaying unsteadily, but there was an indistinct air about him, and he was completely still, like an old monk in a state of deep meditation.

Cui Cheng smiled as he said, “Alright, that’s enough for today. You’re going to fall apart at the seams if I keep this up any longer.”

Chen Ping’an remained completely still.

Cui Cheng nodded in approval as he praised, “Well done, you’ve just saved yourself a punch. Go downstairs by yourself and take a medicinal bath. Make sure that the water never cools, and you’re only allowed to get out of the bath whenever you can bring the water to its boiling point with your True Qi.

“Otherwise, you can stay in there and practice your doggy paddle for all I care. Wei Bo has already prepared the medicinal ingredients, get the little girl in pink to heat up some water for you.”

Only then did Chen Ping’an stagger out of the room before stumbling his way downstairs. As he did so, he was forced to hold onto the railing for support, and it was a little like back when he had stumbled down the mountain in an exhausted state after entering the mountains to burn charcoal as a child.

The little girl in pink had already begun heating up some water downstairs.

While she did this, Chen Ping’an sat down at the stone table on the cliff to practice his sitting meditation, and only after being informed by the little girl in pink that the water was ready did he enter the room on the first floor of the bamboo building.

An hour later, Chen Ping’an had changed into one of the robes gifted to him by Wu Yi of the Purple Sun Residence, while the little girl in pink took care of the bathwater.

Chen Ping’an sat down on a bamboo chair under the eaves and thanked her with a smile. A wide smile appeared on her face in response, and it was as if doing all these menial tasks gave her a greater sense of achievement than even making breakthroughs in her cultivation.

Chen Ping’an interlaced his fingers behind his head, then leaned against the back of his chair as he extended his legs.

Only after resuming his training did he come to realize that bliss was not having to be beaten every day.

In the distance, Zhu Lian was slowly approaching with Cen Yuanji.

Chen Ping’an turned his gaze to Zhu Lian, who dragged over a bamboo chair before sitting down beside him, while Cen Yuanji stood behind Zhu Lian in a timid manner.

“What’s the plan for Cen Yuanji’s martial arts training, Young Master?” Zhu Lian asked with a smile.

“You can teach her the basics yourself. As for whether you want to officially make her your disciple, that’s up to you,” Chen Ping’an said.

Zhu Lian hurriedly shook his head as he opposed, “That won’t do! I’m alright in battle, but I’m nowhere near as good a teacher of fist techniques as you, Young Master. Despite your tender age, you would make an exceptional master that anyone would be fortunate to have.”

A sense of sorrow welled up in Cen Yuanji’s heart.

In her eyes, it was nothing short of a tragedy that a righteous hero like Zhu Lian had been reduced to a servant to this no-good mountain master.

“Has Zheng Dafeng said anything on the matter?” Chen Ping’an asked.

Zhu Lian shook his head and replied, “Brother Dafeng is currently focused solely on constructing a thatched cottage for himself on the mountain. It needs to look good so that it’s worthy of being on Downtrodden Mountain, but it also has to be cheap, so Brother Dafeng really has his work cut out for him.”

Chen Ping’an was beginning to feel the onset of a headache.

Right at this moment, Cui Cheng emerged from the second floor and declared, “Get her to practice the walking meditation of the Mountain Shaking Guide two hundred thousand times before anything else.”