Unsheathed

Pang Yuanji joined his middle and index fingers, then held them in front of himself as he smiled and said, “I don’t have many flying swords, just one, in fact. However, I’m sure it’s fast enough that it won’t disappoint you.”

A flowing stream of sword qi arose over the street, trickling along in a wonky and haphazard fashion before finally spreading out into a river.

The sword intent was pervasive, and all of the patrons of the wine shops that lined the street felt a bone-chilling sensation creep into their bodies.

Everyone knew that Pang Yuanji had been chosen by the Hidden Official as her disciple not by chance or out of dumb luck. Instead, in the past century, he was the young prodigy who had the best hopes of becoming her heir.

Pang Yuanji’s bonded flying sword was simply called Time. Time flowed like water, so his bonded flying sword possessed no set shape or form, just like water and time. At the very least, Qi Shou’s Jumping Spider was still quantifiable, whereas Time was downright unreasonable, and its most incredible trait wasn’t its innate power.

Instead, thanks to Time’s unique characteristics, Pang Yuanji was able to master all immortal techniques, and that wasn’t even to mention Time’s ability to enhance his rate of progress in soul and bodily refinement, as well as cultivation.

Additionally, Pang Yuanji had displayed stunning cultivation aptitude ever since he was a child, so he had mastered an extremely broad range of immortal techniques, giving him the nickname of Hundred Schools Pang.

Unlike Qi Shou, Pang Yuanji wasn’t wearing a Dao robe. He didn’t have a pseudo-celestial weapon that came with his surname, nor did he have any Militarian armor pellets up his sleeve.

Chen Ping’an casually walked forward, his fist aura spilling out around as he made his way upstream against the opposing river of sword qi.

As his fist intent clashed against Pang Yuanji’s sword qi, the air around him shimmered and warped, and as a result, the spectators of insufficient cultivation bases were soon unable to even see him clearly. The scene on the street was like a reflection on the surface of a disturbed lake, making it impossible for some to make out finer details.

“I’ll tell you all the details about how Chen Ping’an won that fight and why Qi Shou lost when we get back,” Ning Yao said in a quiet voice.

Yan Zhuo was staring at Chen Ping’an in a daze, his eyes glowing with admiration as he declared with full conviction, “As long as Brother Ping’an is willing to fight, I’m confident he can beat anyone! Isn’t that right, Sanqiu? Weren’t you saying something earlier about how he had no chance against Qi Shou with High Radiance on his back?”

“Did I say that? I don’t recall,” Chen Sanqiu denied with an innocent expression. “It must’ve been Dong Huafu.”

“Shut the fuck up!” Dong Huafu snapped. “Did your mother raise you to be a dirty ass liar?”

Die Zhang could only shake her head in exasperation. Out of their circle of friends, Dong Huafu was the one who had spent the most time with A’Liang, and he was probably the only one on the Sword Qi Great Wall who had ever taken a piss on A’Liang. Hence, whenever he decided to tear into someone, he would unleash a barrage of patented insults that he had learned straight from A’Liang’s mouth.

For those who didn’t know him, suddenly being subjected to one of his tirades would be a nasty shock, but thankfully, his friends and those close to him were already accustomed to his foul mouth.

A middle-aged sword immortal arrived at the destroyed wine shop, then sat down beside the one-eyed man.

After dusting off the table with his sleeve, he smiled as he nodded in approval and praised, “The purity of his fist intent and fist aura is very impressive. I struggle to imagine how Cao Ci was able to beat him thrice in a row.”

The one-eyed man had been kicked in the head earlier by the Hidden Official, but that didn’t seem to have harmed him physically or bruised his ego at all, and he continued to drink in a composed manner as he replied, “That’s because you came here too late. If you had been around to see Cao Ci practicing his fist techniques on the city walls, you wouldn’t struggle to imagine such a feat at all.

“It wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest no matter how high Cao Ci ascends and how quickly he gets there. Having said that, this young man is also an exceptional talent in his own right. During his last visit ten years ago, I saw him practicing his fist techniques on the city walls as well, and back then, I never thought that he would be able to achieve what he has today. I may not have believed it even if the great old sword immortal had told me at the time.”

The middle-aged sword immortal had only recently arrived on the Sword Qi Great Wall from the Southern Whirl Continent, and he smiled as he speculated, “I heard that he came from the Jewel Small World on the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent. I wonder if he has any relation to Feudal Lord Song Changjing at all.”

“Not sure,” the one-eyed man replied with a shake of his head. “He’s clearly still very young, yet you can tell from a glance that he’s been in plenty of fights. Are all of the pure martial artists in your Majestic World constantly fighting day and night?

“Even if he received instructions and sparring practice from a powerful mentor, there’s no way he can display this type of aura without truly regularly exposing himself to life-and-death situations. In fact, I’d say he looks much more like a native of the Sword Qi Great Wall than an outsider.”

The sword immortal from the Southern Whirl Continent raised his bowl and gently touched it to the one-eyed man’s, then mused, “The world is a massive place filled with extraordinary people and things. Even for someone like me, who used to detest wine, I’ve developed a knack for drinking after coming here.”

A rare hint of resentment appeared on the one-eyed man’s face as he sneered. “It’s all because of that bastard, A’Liang! He’s single-handedly responsible for what the drinking culture on the Sword Qi Great Wall has become! According to him, a single man who doesn’t drink will never find a wife, and a sword immortal who doesn’t drink will drop back down to the Nascent Tier! What a load of nonsense!”

The fourth battle was commencing right after the conclusion of the first three, and all of the spectators were thoroughly pleased.

The little girl next to Dong Bude was slamming the windowsill repeatedly with the heel of her hand, her face flushed bright red with excitement as she yelled, “Did you see that? Did you all see that? Feel free to praise me for my foresight! Don’t be shy!”

Everyone ignored her, and that left her feeling a little disgruntled, but before she had a chance to dwell on her displeasure, she suddenly noticed that there was a strange look on Dong Bude’s face.

“Big Sister Dong, are you feeling really bad because you’ve realized that Big Sister Ning found herself such a great man, while you’re already so old, yet still have no suitable suitors?” she asked in an innocent and curious manner. “If that’s the case, then you should learn from me! Whether you’re happy or sad, you need to talk about it with someone. I can have a drink with you if that’ll help. I can lend you some of my joy!”

Dong Bude rested her chin on the windowsill as she heaved a forlorn sigh, then nodded as she conceded, “It’s true, I feel terrible. Even after all these years, I still haven’t been able to beat Ning Yao in a single thing!”

“Don’t say that,” the little girl consoled. “You’re older than Big Sister Ning! That’s something that you’ll always have over her!”

Dong Bude turned and closed her hand around the little girl’s throat, then lifted her up slightly as she smiled and asked, “What did you just say? I couldn’t quite hear you just now.”

The little girl was flailing with her feet lifted above the ground, and she was furious as she yelled, “You better treat me with a bit more respect from now on, Big Sister Dong! You never know when I could end up as one of Chen Ping’an’s wives, and when that happens, you’ll be in big trouble!

“If he decides to stand up for me against all of your bullying, then he’s going to make you bounce around all over the place just like he did to Qi Shou, while I’ll be powerless to do anything but watch!”

Dong Bude planted the girl firmly back onto the ground as she sighed in exasperation. “What on earth is all this nonsense coming out of your mouth? Go and say that to Ning Yao if you dare!”

“I wouldn’t actually say this to Big Sister Ning; I’m not stupid!” the girl scoffed with a roll of her eyes. “I see the way he and Big Sister Ning look at each other. My mother often says that the men who are out of reach are the best men under the heavens!

“I know that she says that intentionally for my father to hear, and whenever she does, my father always pouts and sulks like he ate a fly or something. He doesn’t dare to rebuke her, nor can he beat her in a fight, and it’s not like this is something to seriously get angry over anyway, so the only thing he can do is suffer in silence.”

Dong Bude pressed a hand down onto the little girl’s head, forcing her to “kowtow” repeatedly against the windowsill once again as she grumbled, “Little girls like you shouldn’t go around running their mouths everywhere! Are you not afraid of being beaten by your parents?”

After Dong Bude finally relented, the little girl rubbed her own red and swollen forehead in a frustrated manner as she clenched her fists tightly before pounding them down onto the windowsill.

“I won’t let you keep doing this to me! I’ve decided to go and learn martial arts from him after he beats Pang Yuanji. If he refuses to teach me, then I’ll kneel in front of Big Sister Ning’s house for at least a few minutes to show him my sincerity! Once I’ve learned his fist techniques, hehe… you better be careful when you walk home at night, Big Sister Dong!”

Even Dong Bude had no idea what to do with the little girl.

The latter seemed to have a hole in her head, one that couldn’t be filled with principles.

“Quite a few sword immortals have come to spectate the battle,” Dong Bude suddenly remarked.

The little girl was just about to say something when Dong Bude wound an arm around her neck in a light stranglehold, and the little girl cocked her head to the side, rolled her eyes, and stuck out her tongue to play dead.

On the street outside, Chen Ping’an was doing something rather strange.

He wasn’t taking advantage of his superior speed and physical constitution as a martial artist to force his way toward Pang Yuanji, thereby closing the gap between them.

Instead, he had pulled out a large stack of ordinary yellow paper talismans, which was tossed out by the handful, throwing out around forty to fifty talismans of all descriptions at a time.

All of the talismans were instantly destroyed by Pang Yuanji’s sword qi, but Chen Ping’an wasn’t discouraged in the slightest as he continued to walk along at a slow and leisurely pace. However, in contrast with his lethargic walking pace, he was throwing out talismans with much more speed and urgency, to the point that his hands were nothing more than a pair of indistinct blurs.

Pang Yuanji smiled as he made a hand seal, and another Pang Yuanji appeared behind Chen Ping’an.

At the same time, twelve more Pang Yuanjis appeared on the rooftops that lined the street.

Every single one of those Pang Yuanjis was making either a Daoist or Buddhist hand seal, and each of them had a formation beneath their feet. The formations were connected by thin threads of different colors, forming a massive formation that encompassed the entire street.

Immediately thereafter, the two Pang Yuanjis standing behind and in front of Chen Ping’an began slowly walking forward, and as they did so, they began casually inscribing talismans into the air around them. Before long, they were both surrounded by countless talismans, the cores of all of which were glowing radiantly.

Some of the talismans were rippling with spiritual energy, some were flashing with arcs of lightning, some were encircled by miniature fiery dragons… It was an extremely diverse range of talismans of all descriptions, presenting a mesmerizing sight to behold.

All of a sudden, Chen Ping’an tossed out one final batch of over a hundred yellow paper talismans at once, then abruptly stopped in his tracks and adopted his fist stance again.

All of the immense fist intent swirling around him instantly became restrained and withdrawn, like a sword returned to its scabbard, following which he threw an almighty punch, his fist shooting forward like a speeding arrow.

The river of sword qi flowing over the entire street shuddered and rippled violently, and the majority of the sword qi instantly converged around Chen Ping’an like an army surrounding and laying siege to a city.

The two Pang Yuanjis on the street remained calm and unhurried, walking along at a leisurely pace as they continued to fortify the formation.

After watching the past three battles, Pang Yuanji had concluded that Chen Ping’an was someone with a wide range of tricks up his sleeve in battle, and most importantly, he was still hiding his true power.

For example, he had not yet thrown a punch with his left fist, and Pang Yuanji was certain he had not yet displayed the full extent of his speed.

There were many red herrings that Chen Ping’an had intentionally thrown out during his battle against Qi Shou, and outside of the sword immortals present, perhaps Ning Yao and Pang Yuanji were the only ones to have identified this.

Deep down, Pang Yuanji was feeling a little exasperated.

Chen Ping’an was a pure martial artist and a Lower Five Tiers Qi refiner, yet not only did he possess a bonded flying sword that had undergone advanced refinement, but what was the deal with those two replica flying swords? Did he have any more of those that he was yet to reveal?

Pang Yuanji felt like Chen Ping’an was perfectly capable of doing something so shady and underhanded.

Furthermore, what made Pang Yuanji feel even more apprehensive was the strategy that Chen Ping’an had adopted at the beginning of the battle.

To the untrained eye, it appeared as if Chen Ping’an had wasted a bunch of talismans for nothing, but in reality, he had done that to meticulously examine all of the minute details in the flow of the river of sword qi around him.

This was why Pang Yuanji had withdrawn all of his sword qi without any hesitation to deprive Chen Ping’an of the opportunity to gather more information.

***

Back in the Ning Manor, Nalan Yexing was currently crouched down on the sparring platform, gently rubbing the ground with his fingers.

Bai Lianshuang was standing beside him with an agitated look on her face as she yelled, “Why haven’t you gone to keep an eye on things, you old dog?! What happens if something goes wrong?”

“No matter how dangerous things get over there, it won’t be as dangerous as the southern battlefields,” Nalan Yexing said in a composed manner.

Bai Lianshuang was even more enraged upon hearing this.

“If things get out of hand, Young Master Chen won’t be in any less danger than if he were on the battlefield! Do you really not understand the severity of the situation, or are you just playing dumb with me?!”

Nalan Yexing offered no response.

Bai Lianshuang’s tone softened slightly as she sighed. “Have you not considered that for a young man as brilliant as Young Master Chen, he could easily marry into any other clan on the Sword Qi Great Wall without having to go through anywhere near this much trouble? Any other clan in the position of our Ning Clan would be doing everything in their power to keep him safe, yet here you are, standing around doing nothing!

“The Yao Clan hasn’t made a move yet, either, so that means that there’s no one looking out for Young Mistress Ning and Young Master Chen right now! If something happens, it’ll be too late for regrets!”

“Old Man Yao is still holding onto some resentment over past events,” Nalan Yexing said with a sigh.

A hesitant look appeared on Bai Lianshuang’s face as she tentatively suggested, “How about we tell the Yao Clan what Young Master Chen has offered up as marriage gifts? Maybe they’ll be inclined to stand up for him then.”

“Don’t you ever insult Chen Ping’an and the Yao Clan like that!” Nalan Yexing snapped in a cold voice, putting on a rare display of force and authority when he was normally much more timid in Bai Lianshuang’s presence.