Unsheathed

Cui Dongshan was sitting on the railing at the head of the boat, and with his large sleeves flapping around him, he looked like he could fit right in with the white clouds in the sky.

Down below were countless swordsmen stretching as far as the eye could see.

These are the most powerful Qi refiners under the heavens!

Pei Qian only dared to poke the top half of her head above the railing, and she had her arms over her head to protect herself as she scoured the city wall below with wide and attentive eyes, searching for her master.

Her Deranged Demon Sword Techniques were still just a little bit lacking, so she had decided not to show them off here.

There’s no hurry. Once Master gives me the little donkey that he promised me, I can go out and travel the world with Li Huai and the others, then save up some money to buy a good sword. I also have to fight Bai Shou a few times as well, so I have plenty of time.

On top of the city wall, all of the gamblers had fallen into a stunned silence.

Previously, A’Liang had been the scummiest person they had ever seen, but Chen Ping’an had completely outdone him.

The ones who had bet on Chen Ping’an to win with just a single punch had lost. Those who had bet on three or five punches had also lost, as had the ones betting on five to ten punches, and even those who had bet on the battle ending within a hundred punches had also lost everything. However, the bookmakers were also furious for some reason. There were a handful of people who had bet on Chen Ping’an securing victory over Yu Juanfu after a hundred punches, and while there weren’t many of them, all of them had placed extremely massive bets!

At the very least, the bookmakers running the betting stations stood to profit back when A’Liang was around, but with Chen Ping’an running the show, the gamblers and bookmakers were all getting screwed over!

This entire time, Chen Ping’an hadn’t thrown a single punch, choosing to passively take all of Yu Juanfu’s hits instead, and at this point, she had already thrown well over a hundred punches.

If it weren’t for the fact that all of the gamblers and bookmakers present were absolutely furious at Chen Ping’an, they would’ve had to begrudgingly admit that watching him in battle was truly a sight for sore eyes, even though he was only passively defending.

In the face of Yu Juanfu’s relentless pressure, his composure never wavered, and he looked just as graceful as any sword immortal.

But I’m here to make money! No matter how good you look, it still doesn’t change the fact that you’ve screwed everyone over! Give me back my money, damn it!

One of the many swordsmen who had lost his money began trying to rally his fellow victims, proposing, ”After this fight, let’s find an opportunity to throw Chen Ping’an into a rucksack and give him a beating!”

”You think that’s gonna work?” someone sighed in resignation. ”Given how cunning and slippery he is, we could be the ones who end up in that rucksack! If you ask me, it’s much more foolproof if we all pool together some funds to hire a sword immortal to teach him a lesson.”

”I heard Sword Immortal Tao Wen recently had a falling out with the second shopkeeper because he wasn’t getting a fair cut of the money or something like that,” someone mused. ”On top of that, Tao Wen is renowned for not making any alliances, so how about we pay him to do the job? I think it’s going to be difficult to convince any other sword immortal to do it, given that the second shopkeeper has Zuo You as his senior brother.”

”No Immortal Tier sword immortal will agree to do it, while a Nascent Tier swordsmen may not have what it takes to get the job done, so we have to recruit the services of an Unpolished Jade Tier sword immortal,” someone else mused. ”Tao Wen is a very forthright and scrupulous Unpolished Jade Tier sword immortal, so I’m sure he wouldn’t have any ties to someone as shameless as the second shopkeeper. He’s the perfect candidate for the job! He’s also constantly short on money, so I’m sure he won’t charge us too much, either.”

”What if Tao Wen is secretly in cahoots with the second shopkeeper? If we pay him, only for him to reveal our plan to the second shopkeeper, then all of our money will go to waste!”

More and more people were beginning to contribute ideas to the discussion, determined to give Chen Ping’an his comeuppance.

”How about Sword Immortal Yuan Qingshu of the Southern Whirl Continent then? The Southern Whirl Continent is the territory of the Second Sage’s branch, while the second shopkeeper is a disciple of the Scholarly Sage, so surely there’s some bad blood there. Wouldn’t that be a more reliable option than Tao Wen?”

”I dunno about Yuan Qingshu, but I think Gao Kui is a good candidate. He’s on very good terms with Pang Yuanji, so he must be keen to get back at the second shopkeeper as well.”

”Heaven knows if this is yet another trap that the second shopkeeper has dug for us to fall into,” someone sighed.

”I can’t keep living like this!” someone snapped through gritted teeth. ”I’m paranoid all the time, and it feels to me like anyone could be working with the second shopkeeper to screw me over!”

Everyone fell silent at once.

Funnily enough, at least half of the people who had given suggestions and ideas were secretly working with the second shopkeeper, so this sentiment of paranoia was certainly not unfounded.

Atop the city wall, Chen Ping’an continued to evade Yu Juanfu’s punches in an unhurried manner, only blocking the blows that he was unable to evade.

It had always been Chen Ping’an’s intention to allow her to throw a hundred unanswered punches from the outset of the fight, both to screw over all of the gamblers and bookmakers, and to gauge the power and speed of one of the brightest martial arts prodigies under the heavens outside of Cao Ci.

At the same time, he was also carefully examining his own fist intent to see if there were any holes that had to be addressed.

Whenever Yu Juanfu no longer hid her true prowess and displayed the full extent of her speed and power, that would be when Chen Ping’an began to retaliate, and he would be sure to do so with the utmost force and swiftness.

On the Sword Qi Great Wall, one could act without qualms, and that benefited both Chen Ping’an’s fists and his mental state.

This sparring match against Yu Juanfu was a little different from his sparring matches against Qi Shou and Pang Yuanji, as he had been forced to plan and scheme extensively in order to manipulate the outcomes of the latter two sparring matches. He had to ensure victory, but he also had to make sure that his victory wasn’t by too large a margin. When it came to a fellow martial artist like Yu Juanfu, there was no need for such considerations.

Just as Nalan Yexing had said, even Chen Ping’an himself was curious about just how fast his fists could be if he were to go all-out against a worthy opponent, so this was a perfect opportunity for him to test his power.

A talismanic boat flew onto the scene like an agile fish gliding through water, standing out like a sore thumb among the throngs of swordsmen hovering up in the sky. In the end, it drew to a halt no more than several dozen meters away from the top of the city wall, where it had a clear view of the two sparring martial artists.

Upon catching a glimpse of her master, all of Pei Qian’s fear instantly evaporated, and she sat down on the railing of the talismanic boat beside Cui Dongshan with her hiking pole placed across her lap.

As she watched the unfolding sparring match, a complex mix of emotions began to well up in her heart.

This was the first time she had ever seen her master like this.

She couldn’t recall any previous occasion where she had seen her master so thoroughly enjoying himself.

For once, his brows were unfurrowed, and in the heat of battle, he really was just a pure martial artist.

It was only in this moment that he was truly himself, and it was a rather bittersweet sight for Pei Qian.

She gently placed her fists down onto her hiking pole, and her eyes were glowing with the radiance of the sun and the moon.

A faint smile appeared on Cui Dongshan’s face, and faint ripples were emanating from his sleeves to conceal the phenomenon of Pei Qian’s glowing eyes.

Not far away from the talismanic boat was an old swordsman standing atop a huge sword, and there were a bunch of children standing behind him.

”He’s going to lose!” one of the children lamented. ”His opponent has already thrown so many punches, yet he hasn’t retaliated at all!”

All the other children chimed in in agreement. They had all come here with immense excitement to see the vastly renowned second shopkeeper in action, yet they were all thoroughly disappointed by his passive display.

At this point, he was considered half a native of the Sword Qi Great Wall, so it would be embarrassing for everyone if he were to lose to a martial artist from the Middle Earth Divine Continent in this fashion.

The old swordsman remained silent as he continued to spectate with a composed smile, comforted by the fact that he clearly wasn’t the only one to have lost money.

Judging from the furious looks on everyone’s faces, it was clear that he was just one of many victims.

One of the children turned his gaze to Pei Qian on the strange little boat, and he called out, ”Hey, who are you? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you before.”

”I’m my master’s disciple,” Pei Qian replied in a timid fashion.

”Of course you’re your master’s disciple; that’s how that works!” the boy scoffed with a roll of his eyes. ”Who’s your master then?”

Pei Qian hesitated momentarily, following which a vibrant smile suddenly appeared on her face, and she replied, ”My master is the one who’s going to win this fight!”

”Oh, so you’re Yu Juanfu’s disciple,” the boy scoffed disdainfully, and he quickly lost interest in her.

Pei Qian was rather taken aback.

Are all of the kids on the Sword Qi Great Wall this stupid? He doesn’t seem any smarter than Bai Shou at all!

The thought of Bai Shou immediately had Pei Qian scouring her surroundings, but there were too many people around, and she wasn’t able to find him.

After a brief search, she quickly returned her attention to the battle at hand, eager to continue watching her master in action.

It looks like Master has made many enemies on the Sword Qi Great Wall. They must all be envious of him!

High up above the city wall, some sword immortals who were standing above the clouds leaned in with attentive eyes, sensing that something was about to happen.

Shortly thereafter, the earth immortal swordsmen also sensed the same thing.

As for the rest of the spectating swordsmen, they were still completely in the dark, oblivious to the fact that the battle was soon about to reach its conclusion.

Yu Juanfu pushed off against the ground, and only after she had vanished from the spot did a resounding boom ring out from beneath her feet in a belated fashion. All of a sudden, her speed reached unprecedented heights, and in the blink of an eye, she had already arrived before Chen Ping’an, who had withstood 331 of her punches thus far without retaliation.

She struck Chen Ping’an in the chest with her knee, then threw a punch straight into his forehead, sending his head snapping back upon impact. However, instead of pressing her advantage, she used the force of the impact between her fist and Chen Ping’an’s forehead to launch herself backward in retreat, instantly springing back over a hundred feet away.

She knew that Chen Ping’an was too formidable an opponent to take down in a single offensive burst, so her intention from the very beginning was to take a slow and steady approach. Chen Ping’an was in no hurry, and she was even more patient. Her goal was to build up tiny advantages over time, and if she could successfully land a dozen more of those punches, then the momentum would begin to shift in her favor. Once she built up enough momentum, victory would be within her grasp!

Yu Juanfu’s feet had only just made contact with the ground when her entire body jolted violently.

In the blink of an eye, Chen Ping’an had returned the favor, striking her with a punch to the head that sent her flying. As she flew back through the air, she instinctively knew that she had to change directions in order to evade the second, even more forceful punch that was inevitably coming her way.

However, even though she had taken evasive measures in a timely fashion, Chen Ping’an was already there waiting for her, as if he had predicted her movements. This was an extremely familiar sensation for Yu Juanfu, but also one that was completely alien. Cao Ci was also always seemingly able to predict her movements and intercept her with unerring accuracy, but he never lashed out. However, Chen Ping’an was not so merciful, and with an almighty punch, he pummeled her head straight down into the ground.

Her face was instantly reduced to a bloody mess, but her eyes remained calm as she pushed off against the ground with her elbow to launch herself sideways.

After steadying herself, she threw another punch at Chen Ping’an, but it was not any of the fist techniques that she had displayed thus far. Instead, it was a new move that she had invented over the past few days specifically to target Chen Ping’an, and it was capable of severing his fist intent.

That’s a nice little trick, Cui Dongshan thought to himself with a faint smile.

After striking Chen Ping’an with her fist, Yu Juanfu sprang back once again to several dozen feet away, where she crouched down in a defensive stance in preparation for the coming storm.

However, to her surprise, Chen Ping’an remained where he was standing instead of closing in for the kill. His fist intent was constantly at odds with the sword intent in the air, causing the space around him to warp like a slightly creased piece of artwork.

Seeing as Chen Ping’an wasn’t going to come to her, Yu Juanfu seized the initiative herself, launching herself forward as she threw a punch with single-minded determination.

Chen Ping’an also threw a punch in retaliation, but right as their fists were about to clash, he seemed to suddenly change his mind. With a graceful pirouette, he evaded Yu Juanfu’s fist and arrived behind her, then pressed a hand into the back of her head, forcing her face into the ground before charging along the top of the city wall.

”You see that, Senior Sister? The pinnacle of fist intent isn’t about how much force you can put behind your punches. Instead, it’s about control over one’s fists, allowing for minute adjustments and clever variations,” Cui Dongshan said. ”Only with true mastery can this level of control and foresight be achieved. Otherwise, if Teacher had clashed fists with that woman, as it appeared was his original intention, then she would already be halfway to death’s door right now.”

”Shush! You’re distracting me!” Pei Qian complained as her gaze remained fixed firmly on her master.

Cui Dongshan wasn’t bothered. While it appeared that Pei Qian had brushed him off and failed to remember any of his words of wisdom, in reality, she had already unconsciously committed many of them to memory, and those memories, locked away in her subconscious, would instantly resurface once she decided to call upon them.

Yu Juanfu was sitting on the ground with her back against the wall, and she turned to Chen Ping’an and said, ”There’s still one more sparring match left.”

”You and I both know that there’s no point,” Chen Ping’an said with a shake of his head. ”If you want another go at me, then wait until after you’ve made a breakthrough.”

Yu Juanfu’s brows furrowed slightly as she asked, ”Why are you so reluctant to fight me? For martial artists like us, the more sparring experience we can get, the better. Are you afraid that Ning Yao will misunderstand?”

”That’s right,” Chen Ping’an admitted without any hesitation.

Yu Juanfu didn’t know what to say.

Chen Ping’an looked up at the talismanic boat in the sky, then gave those on board a smile and a wave.

Pei Qian immediately sprang to her feet with her hiking pole tucked under her arm, and she stood at the head of the boat, enthusiastically applauding her master’s victory.

Cao Qinglang made his way to the head of the boat, and he was also grinning from ear to ear.

Cui Dongshan remained seated with his hands tucked up their opposite sleeves as he lowered his head and greeted, ”Student Cui Dongshan pays his respects to his teacher.”

In the eyes of many, the Scholarly Sage’s branch was nothing more than an afterthought, a near-extinct branch that would die out on its own soon enough, but on this day, on the Sword Qi Great Wall, one could be forgiven for thinking that it was a thriving branch.

There was the great sword immortal, Zuo You, the seventh tier martial artist, Chen Ping’an, the fourth tier martial artist, Pei Qian, the Unpolished Jade Tier Cui Dongshan, and the Abode Tier Cao Qinglang.