Unsheathed

The shattered corpses of fallen deity statues littered some ancient battlefield ruin in the Golden Armor Continent.

The astral wind here would cause any Qi refiner under the Golden Core Tier to feel torturous pain worse than death, even if they only lingered in the battlefield ruin for a short fifteen minutes.

Many pure martial artists also liked to visit this battlefield ruin to temper their physiques, but a large majority of them would fail to make it out alive. The suddenly rising gusts of astral wind were unpredictable and untraceable, with some as fine as sword qi that was as sparse and hovering down, and some like the sword strikes of sword immortals that were able to envelop entire areas measuring five kilometers in radius. There were many cases of astral winds sweeping by and dissolving the bodies of even Vajra Body Tier martial artists.

A young woman who had once advanced as the most powerful fifth tier martial artist in the world had only managed to drift around and reside in this battlefield ruin for several years thanks to an incredibly unique natural talent.

Right now, she was unleashing thunderous punches at a slowly advancing young man in white.

The young man was only at the Vajra Body Tier.

The young woman could perhaps kill ordinary Vajra Body Tier martial artists with a single punch.

However, she had already thrown several thousand punches at this Vajra Body Tier martial artist who was even younger than her, yet without exception, they were all blocked by his fist intent.

Simply put, her opponent wasn’t fighting back at all, yet as someone who had the opportunity to advance to the Vajra Body Tier from the strongest sixth tier cultivation base, she was still unable to even touch her opponent.

The young Vajra Body Tier cultivator in white was indeed only at the Vajra Body Tier.

However, it was a shame that he was Cao Ci, who had embarked on a distant journey here from the Middle Earth Divine Continent.

Each of Cao Ci’s martial arts cultivation bases was unparalleled in history.

The young woman had come here to train ever since she was a young girl, and she had once refused to believe the incredible strength of Cao Ci.

Afterward, she had experienced eagerness, launched tentative punches, unleashed her full power, gradually slipped into despair, and finally entered a state of numbness. This was a string of complicated emotions.

Cao Ci finally spoke for the second time just as she was about to stop her attacks, asking, “Your fist intent has been rising the entire time, so why do you want to stop?”

Hearing this, the young woman gritted her teeth and continued to persevere, unleashing her fists in a furious manner.

Cao Ci had spoken for the first time following Liu Youzhou’s remark.

At the time, the Pure White Continent’s Liu Youzhou had taken advantage of the fact that he was standing beside Cao Ci to viciously insult the young woman, mocking, “Huai Qian was correct. In Cao Ci’s eyes, your sixth tier cultivation base is as fragile as wet mud.”

Cao Ci hadn’t wanted her to misunderstand, so he had spoken for the first time following their encounter, correcting, “I never said anything of the sort.”

Liu Youzhou was squatting on the palm of a fallen deity statue right now, and a patch of lush grass and flowers had bloomed on the gigantic palm.

This patch of grass and flowers surprisingly wasn’t obliterated by the astral wind howling through the ancient battlefield ruins, and this was quite a strange matter.

Liu Youzhou was unable to understand the current situation. One person hailed from a top-notch immortal sect that had someone place in the top ten cultivators of the Middle Earth Divine Continent in almost every generation, while the other person hailed from a powerful clan in the Middle Earth Divine Continent that produced a large number of martial artists, making this young woman and Huai Qian a very good match for each other. That being the case, why had both of them fled from the marriage and caused such a big joke?

They weren’t being asked to become immortal Dao partners, and they were only being asked to agree to a marriage in name. In any case, this so-called marriage wouldn’t place any tangible restrictions on either of them. If it were Liu Youzhou, he would even be willing to sell himself as long as the price was fair.

Cao Ci was scanning the deity statues strewn across the battlefield ruins the entire time, looking over them one by one.

He wanted to decipher some fist technique true intent.

And truth be told, he was genuinely able to decipher a decent amount.

Thus, the furious fists from the young woman were destined to be futile.

This was because the increase in her fist intent would undoubtedly be much slower than that of Cao Ci.

Cao Ci stopped in front of a broken deity statue that only had half its body remaining, gazing up at the figure that had seemingly been slashed apart by a sword from its shoulder to its waist.

The barefoot young woman dressed in white stopped throwing punches and lowered her head, bending down as she placed her hands on her knees and vomited large mouthfuls of blood.

Liu Youzhou’s skin crawled, and he felt like every single talented pure martial artist in the world was insane.

Qi refinement was indeed better, after all.

As long as one had enough immortal treasures, one could safely hide in their shell.

For example, he had accompanied Cao Ci for a great distance during his trip to train in the outside world, having traveled to the Flowing Dawn Continent and now traveling through the Golden Armor Continent. Apart from several paramount Dao robes, Liu Youzhou also owned two suits of incense god spirit armors. However, he had already gifted one to his friend, Huai Qian, several years ago.

They were nothing more than simple friends.

They weren’t like-minded people, and their friendship was born from the relationship between their two clans. This was essentially one clan becoming friends with another clan.

In saying this, Liu Youzhou actually had a decent relationship with Huai Qian, who was unwilling to take advantage of him. This was unlike many of his so-called friends and brothers, who always wanted to “temporarily borrow” some immortal treasures from him, the single child of the Pure White Continent’s god of wealth.

In reality, there were many times when Liu Youzhou had wanted to say something to those “friends” who borrowed immortal treasures from him with no intention of ever returning them. It wasn’t that these people were very smart, but rather, he had suffered the bad habit of feeling uncomfortable all over unless he gave away money and treasures from a very young age. Fortunately, his parents never tried to restrict him in this regard.

There was one time when Liu Youzhou had sincerely gifted a treasure to a good friend in a rare display, yet he had discovered afterward that the person hadn’t viewed him as a friend at all. Liu Youzhou had only been ten at the time, and he had bawled his eyes out in absolute grief. Seeing this, his father had led him to the treasure-storage mountain of the Liu Clan, a genuine mountain of treasures. The wealthiest man in the continent had then asked his son, “Assuming you give away one treasure every single day, how many days will you need to live to give away this entire mountain of treasures?”

Liu Youzhou had performed some calculations and provided an accurate answer.

His father had then waved a hand and opened a secret restriction, causing an even larger and more magnificent mountain of treasures to materialize behind the existing one. There were truly mountains beyond mountains, and the dazzling iridescent glow of the treasures had almost blinded the young Liu Youzhou.

Liu Youzhou had immediately burst into tears.

How was his family so wealthy?

On that day, the young child had swaggered away from his clan’s restricted lands with a large number of treasures hanging from his body and clanging against each other. A wide smile had returned to the child’s face, and he hadn’t forgotten to wipe his tears and snot on his father’s sleeve.

The same day, however, the Pure White Continent’s god of wealth who wasn’t fond of disciplining his son too much had taught Liu Youzhou an ancestral teaching from their clan’s ancestral hall. “Earning money has always been easy; what’s difficult is accumulating wealth without inviting disaster, and spending money without courting calamity.”

Afterward, he had recounted some tragic and bloody lessons from the history of their clan to his son.

It was only at that moment that Liu Youzhou finally understood the truth. If a large clan with immense wealth wasn’t careful and wise, only focusing on how to earn more money using the same old methods as before, then it was more likely than not that earning more money would be inviting disaster, and spending this money would be courting calamity.

Liu Youzhou had only been slapped by his father once in all his years. That time, a clan with whom they had a longstanding relationship but liked to earn dirty money against their conscience had experienced some trouble, and Liu Youzhou had helped a pitiful friend who had been crying and begging for his help, lending him and his clan some money to overcome their difficulties. He had even consoled his friend and helped him scold the culprit responsible for the troubles. Of course, Liu Youzhou had also expected to receive his rightful compensation in full.

However, Liu Youzhou’s father had appeared immediately following his friend’s departure, brutally slapping Liu Youzhou and causing his face to drip with blood. He had asked Liu Youzhou whether he understood his wrongdoing, and Liu Youzhou had replied that he shouldn’t have lent money to his friend and his clan. This response had earned him another slap, directly knocking him to the ground.

Liu Youzhou had fallen silent after struggling to sit back up.

His father had chuckled coldly and remarked, “What’s wrong with keeping business, business? Money is the cleanest thing in the world.”

Even until today, Liu Youzhou still hadn’t heard the remaining half of the answer from his father.

Perhaps the answer was written on the piece of paper that the old ancestor of Commercialism had given the old ancestor of the Liu Clan back then.

There was a small number of characters written on the piece of paper which the clan leaders of the Liu Clan had always kept enshrined in the ancestral hall: Wealth nurtures conscience, the lack of which dissipates the former.

Liu Youzhou sighed as he squatted in the patch of grass and flowers blooming in the palm of the broken deity statue. Every family had its hardships, and he hoped to become the clan leader of the Liu Clan later rather than sooner. That way, he wouldn’t need to question his conscience all the time.

Liu Youzhou used his mind’s lake to ask Cao Ci in the distance, “Say, when will Huai Qian return from the Northern Complete Reed Continent?”

Cao Ci replied with a nod.

Liu Youzhou rolled his eyes.

This was Cao Ci’s response, showing that he had never thought about this question before and would never think about it in the future.

Liu Youzhou would often ask him some random questions, and Cao Ci presumably felt like it would be rude to completely ignore him. Thus, he would often nod or give a “mhm” to acknowledge Liu Youzhou’s questions.

The young woman felt like an opportunity had come for her to take advantage of, yet after unleashing a punch with her full power, a loud crack came from her wrist. When she hovered to the ground and stood still, she shook her shoulders and found that one of her arms had already become limp.

Liu Youzhou raised his hands and gently massaged his temples, thinking that encouraging Cao Ci to visit this battlefield ruin so that he could borrow the opportunity to take a look at the young woman who had rejected a marriage with Huai Qian was actually a bad idea.

Thus, Liu Youzhou started to contemplate whether this young woman, who had most likely achieved the strongest sixth tier cultivation base in the world, needed any immortal treasures. He had many immortal treasures that she could feel free to take. Even if these treasures weren’t useful for her, she had already left home for many years, so would there not be some juniors for her to give them to when she returned home? These immortal treasures could be treated as New Year’s money for the children.

————

Following the Dragon Spring Prefecture’s promotion to a province…

A new governor from the Yellow Court Nation, a vassal state of the Great Li Empire, arrived near Downtrodden Mountain. There was also a new provincial city god, and at the residence with the plaque reading “Beautiful Water Noble Wind,” the yin god of the Gu Clan was promoted thanks to his contributions, seemingly ascending to the heavens with a single step as he became the mountain god of the Great Li Empire’s old Northern Mountain. Meanwhile, the female ghost wearing the wedding dress also returned to her residence, living in seclusion and seldom venturing out. Only the river god of the Embroidered Flower River would visit her from time to time.

Regarding the mountain gods of the Great Li Empire’s previous Five Mountains, four of them had been reassigned to other mountains in the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent. Thus, apart from the largely unknown yin god of the Gu Clan, three mountain gods of the Great Li Empire who had toiled hard and made great contributions were also rewarded with promotions, becoming mountain gods of the old Five Mountains. Even though they weren’t formal gods of the Five Mountains, they had already become first-rate mountain gods of the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent who were ranked below only the mountain gods of the new Five Mountains.

The Northern Mountain’s Wei Bo had already entered seclusion.

The entire region around Cloud Drape Mountain was heavily guarded and on high alert.

The imperial court of the Great Li Empire viewed this matter with great importance, and with the exception of Sage Ruan Qiong, even Xu Ruo was especially sent over to protect Wei Bo as he broke through to the next tier.

Zhu Lian and Zheng Dafeng were playing Go at Downtrodden Mountain.

Chen Lingjun, the little boy in azure, had spectated the Go game for a while, yet this had caused him to become extremely sleepy, eventually putting him to sleep. He snored loudly and drooled all over the table. Seeing this, Zheng Dafeng placed a hand on Chen Lingjun’s head and twisted it around, using his face to wipe away the mess. He then pushed the young boy’s head further away from the Go board.

Zhu Lian rubbed his chin and said slowly, “Even if we host another Night Travel Banquet following Wei Bo’s breakthrough, we’ll still be facing quite a sizable hole in our finances.”

“If that still doesn’t work, then we’ll send a letter to our mountain master who’s busy traveling around and sightseeing, asking him to cough up some treasures to fund his mountains,” Zheng Dafeng suggested. “He’s been wandering around the Northern Complete Reed Continent for so long, and he’s even managed to trick beautiful young ladies into coming to the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent, so I refuse to believe that he doesn’t have some spare change lying around in his pockets.”

Zhu Lian smiled and replied, “Brother Dafeng, your writing is beautiful, and your calligraphy works are truly a pleasure to read. I’ll leave the letter-writing to you, and I’m sure that Young Master’s mood will definitely improve when he reads your letter.”

There were two young girls sitting side by side opposite Chen Lingjun, with the young girl in black being Zhou Mili and the little girl in pink being Chen Ruchu.

Zhou Mili immediately coughed upon hearing this exchange.

Zheng Dafeng turned around, feigning shock as he exclaimed, “Where did this great water monster come from?”

Zhou Mili crossed her arms and replied, “What a coincidence! I’m also from the Northern Complete Reed Continent, coming from a place called Mute Lake!”

A thunderous boom traveled over from the bamboo building.

Zheng Dafeng’s eyelids twitched, and he immediately said in a righteous voice, “Forget about it; let’s continue to play Go. We’ll accept fate and let destiny decide the matters relating to money.”

Zhou Mili hung her head in a dejected manner.

Chen Ruchu gently offered her a handful of roasted seeds.

Zhou Mili shook her head, not having the appetite to snack.

Chen Ruchu bade farewell, putting away the roasted seeds before running to the bamboo building with Zhou Mili.

The commotion on the second floor would probably stop in about one hour.

It was the same every day.

Chen Ruchu and Zhou Mili needed to boil some water before heading to the second floor of the bamboo building to carry away the limp and unconscious Pei Qian.

Night arrived.

Pei Qian bared her teeth and grimaced for a long time before jumping around and stretching her muscles. Only then did she pretend to be energetic and refreshed as she walked out from the first floor of the bamboo building. Chen Ruchu and Zhou Mili were sitting on two small bamboo chairs near the door.

Pei Qian reached over and grabbed the hiking pole from Zhou Mili’s hands.

Zhou Mili exclaimed in surprise and started to clap, with a bright glimmer in her eyes as she cheered, “You’ve mastered the divine technique!”

Pei Qian nodded and replied, “The old man on the second floor also thinks the same, saying that tomorrow or the day after tomorrow — or at most, two days after tomorrow — might be the last day that he can teach me any new fist techniques. He was shedding tears as he spoke, and his old and blurry eyes were filled with respect for the formidable younger generation…”

Standing on the second floor, Cui Cheng chuckled and asked, “Practicing fist techniques at night is also pretty good, isn’t it?”

“What nonsense are you spewing, Zhou Mili?! Can fist techniques be mastered in just one or two days?!” Pei Qian fumed.

Zhou Mili scrunched her face and replied in an aggrieved voice, “I was wrong.”

Pei Qian secretly raised her thumb.

What a brave and upstanding companion.

As expected of the right guardian of Dragon Riding Alley’s pastry shop — her loyalty was truly unwavering.

On the other hand, the left guardian who ran around wildly all the time truly deserved a beating.

“You’re not going to run along and help Cen Yuanji train?” Cui Cheng asked.

Pei Qian nodded and walked to an empty space outside the bamboo building, looking up and asking, “What percent of my power should I use?”

“That’s up to your mood,” Cui Cheng replied.

Pei Qian thought for a moment before frowning and starting to carefully contemplate this matter.

This old man was truly as wicked as could be! Help Cen Yuanji train? He was clearly hoping that Cen Yuanji would give her a beating, no?

“I don’t care about your mood, but if you don’t piss off soon, my mood will most certainly take a turn for the worse,” Cui Cheng warned.

Pei Qian sighed in grief and vigorously made a face at the second floor of the bamboo building, lightly tossing the hiking pole back to Zhou Mili after a short period of silently baring her teeth and swinging her arms.

She held one hand behind her back and lightly clenched her other hand into a fist, twisting her foot and sending up a plume of dust with a loud thud.

Her skinny figure dashed away like a wisp of fleeting smoke.

Cen Yuanji was currently practicing walking meditation on the steps of Downtrodden Mountain.

Her body suddenly tensed, causing her to look back.

Someone’s fist gently tapped her forehead, after which they shot past her and disappeared in a flash.

Cen Yuanji was drenched in sweat as she looked in the direction of the disappearing figure, only to see a familiar and skinny figure.

She was standing atop the thin branch of a tall pine tree, with one foot on the branch and the other foot on top of this foot.

Cen Yuanji knew that Pei Qian had recently been practicing fist techniques on the second floor of the bamboo building.

However, just how many days had this tanned young girl been practicing fist techniques for?

“Big Sister Cen, I was only greeting you just then, and I’ll be helping you train now,” Pei Qian said in a serious voice. “But you’re older than me, have trained for longer than me, and are taller than me, so you’re not allowed to go too hard on me. You need to go easy on me.”

Cen Yuanji took a deep breath and assumed a fist stance, saying in a solemn voice, “Please go ahead!”

It was as if she were facing a formidable enemy.

This caused Pei Qian to feel slightly panicked. What was this all about? Weren’t they going to feign some exchanges and have a perfunctory fight like the fights between her and that large white swan?

Pei Qian hesitated for a moment before hurriedly retrieving a talisman and sticking it on her forehead.

She was going to muster some courage first.

By the looks of it, she needed to treat this training session seriously. Otherwise, what would she do if Cen Yuanji beat her half-dead with a single punch?

Pei Qian was distinctly aware of just how earnest Big Sister Cen was as she practiced fist techniques every single day. She practiced both day and night, walking up and down the mountains again and again. The old cook always commented that this was the tenacity that needed to be displayed by those practicing fist techniques.

Pei Qian tapped her foot.

The thin branch under her foot bent significantly but didn’t snap, following which it snapped back as she shot forward and vanished from the tree.

Cen Yuanji faltered for a brief moment, and she was immediately struck in the back by the young girl’s fist, causing her to tumble down the mountain.

As Cen Yuanji flew through the air, the young girl’s elbow smashed into her back, causing her to violently smack into the steps, with her body bouncing up once before falling still. Her eyes then rolled into the back of her head as she lost consciousness.

Pei Qian hovered to the ground and squatted down, with her forehead dripping with sweat as she furiously wiped her face. What in the world was going on?

Zhu Lian and Zheng Dafeng exchanged a glance as they stood at the top of the steps.

Pei Qian hurriedly adjusted the talisman on her forehead and secretly nudged Cen Yuanji. At the same time, she turned around and shouted, “Good heavens! This truly has nothing to do with me! Cen Yuanji fell down and knocked herself unconscious! Ah, I’m too weak to lift her up!”

————

On an immortal ship that sailed past Cloudtop City and was imminently about to arrive at the Dragon Palace Small World…

Chen Ping’an was dressed in azure and leaning on the railing with Sword Immortal on his back and a luggage sack slung diagonally across his shoulder.

It wouldn’t be long before he reached two million punches.

He wondered how Pei Qian was doing at Dragon Riding Alley. How was she doing at the private school? Did helping around in the shops affect her transcriptions? And was she getting along with that great water monster from Mute Lake?