Unsheathed

Ning Yao returned to the Ning Residence by herself, saying that she was entering seclusion to refine her sword.

The others drank wine at Die Zhang’s wine shop, and Fan Dache had already accepted his fate and borrowed money to treat his companions.

They drank very quickly, and it wasn’t long before Chen Sanqiu and the others returned home. Guo Zhujiu dashed along the eaves and scaled the tall walls, rushing home to reunite with her small bamboo bookcase. They had been apart for a long time, and the young girl missed the bamboo bookcase dearly.

In the end, the only people left at the wine shop were the shopkeeper, the second shopkeeper, and numerous alcoholics who had run here to satiate their craving. Die Zhang was busy serving customers, while Chen Ping’an was squatting next to the street and drinking.

Yu Juanfu and Zhu Mei surprisingly visited the wine shop to drink as well.

Yu Juanfu held a pot of wine and walked toward Chen Ping’an, and the sword cultivators who were chatting nonsense with the second shopkeeper immediately grinned and gave up their spots. They were each more understanding than the other.

Yu Juanfu sat on the steps nearby, and Zhu Mei remained standing not far away. The young woman was ultimately unable to emulate Big Sister Zaixi’s boldness.[1]

”Chen Ping’an, is your fist technique not widespread in the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent?” Yu Juanfu asked.

Chen Ping’an shook his head and replied, ”Very few people learn it. In fact, I can count the number of people on my fingers. In this sense, it can be regarded as a minor fist technique. Judging from the loftiness of its fist intent, however, it can be regarded as a major fist technique.”

Yu Juanfu nodded in understanding and said, ”Chen Ping’an, strive to advance to the Far Roaming Tier sooner rather than later. Disregarding the talks about being prodigies or whatnot, it’s not a bad thing for you and Cao Ci to be walking in front of me on the path of martial arts. At the very least, this is what I think. Don’t be like those cultivators in the mountains, who insist on walking lone paths.”

Chen Ping’an raised his wine bowl and replied with a smile, ”Let’s work hard together.”

Yu Juanfu left with Zhu Mei after drinking her pot of wine.

Chen Ping’an said goodbye to Tao Ban before returning to the Ning Residence. After arriving at the entrance, he suddenly told Grandma Bai, who was waiting for him there, that he needed to return to the city wall.

He stepped aboard his talismanic boat and left the main city, flying over the many private residences of the sword immortals.

After arriving at the city wall, Chen Ping’an looked for Senior Brother Zuo You first.

He voiced his thoughts, to which Zuo You smiled and said, ”It’s very good that you’re able to think like this — it saves me some trouble. How much can you do with your current cultivation base? The overall situation will roll on along its original path, completely unmoved by your small fixes here and there.

”Your intentions are good, but that’s about all. Your actions are largely futile. Before this, however, I have a question I want to ask you. Disregarding cultivation base and status and only focusing on a single possibility, will you choose to die here if doing so can save the Sword Qi Great Wall?”

Chen Ping’an remained silent.

Zuo You paused for a moment before continuing, ”This is just an impossible situation, so it’s fine as long as you have an answer in your heart. If you don’t challenge yourself, how can you possibly challenge heaven and earth? Don’t feel like overthinking things or thinking about too many things is necessarily bad.

”The Confucian Sect talks about all things having fundamentals and incidentals, just like all events have beginnings and conclusions, and one will be close to the Great Dao once they understand the sequence of such matters. Similarly, the Buddhist Sect talks about concepts of progression, gradual comprehension, instant enlightenment, and meditative insight, while the Daoist Sect also talks about the notion of slow accumulation. In other words, you can take things slowly.”[2]

Chen Ping’an looked down at the battlefield in the south and replied in a soft voice, ”I definitely won’t forget your teachings, Senior Brother.”

Zuo You recalled a matter and said, ”You can’t slack off in your scholarly studies. Let me ask you two more small questions. Why do the Buddhist Sect and the Daoist Sect have such different views on constructing statues of deities? And looking at the Four Great Bodhisattvas — Wisdom, Compassion, Action, and Aspiration — what’s the better or best way to rank them according to Master’s theory of sequential order?

”Should wisdom come first, after which compassion is born, then a noble aspiration is formed and acted upon? Or should compassion exist first, which gives rise to noble aspiration, after which action is eventually born from wisdom? Have a good think about these two questions.”

”Alright,” Chen Ping’an replied with a nod.

He then smiled bitterly and said, ”These aren’t small questions as you say, Senior Brother.”

”They are indeed small questions for me, and they can’t even be regarded as questions for Master,” Zuo You replied.

Chen Ping’an bade farewell and took his leave. Something tugged at his mind, so he didn’t visit the thatched cottage to look for the old great sword immortal.

Rather, there was one additional thing for Chen Ping’an to do.

Zuo You frowned and said in a disgruntled voice, ”Can’t you be more direct? Is it necessary to torment my junior brother like this?”

If it weren’t for the old great sword immortal possessing lofty sword skills, Zuo You would have asked him who he thought he was.

Chen Qingdu arrived beside Zuo You, with his hands clasped behind his back as he smiled widely and remarked, ”Having lofty sword skills is good. I feel refreshed and energetic every single day.”

Chen Qingdu’s gaze was resting on a small world extremely far away from the city wall.

There was a proper private school inside this small world, and a man in Confucian robes was currently imparting knowledge to a classroom of young boys and young girls.

He first talked about the establishment of poetry, using the lines ”The sun sets behind the mountains” and ”Spring grass sprouts by the pond” as examples. He explained that these lines appeared direct and shallow at first glance, but in reality, they captured the essence of the scenery and didn’t allow future generations to surpass them.[3]

This Confucian scholar was going by the pseudonym of Zhou Mi, and behind him was a pair of screens decorated with gold mountains and blue waters. On the table in front of him were many books and scholarly curios, which naturally included a nine-piece set that contained within it the four treasures of the study, paperweights, and inkstick rests.

The more flashy but insubstantial the spirit tools were — perhaps they would only be treated as miscellaneous trinkets by ordinary immortal forces and wealthy mortal clans in the Majestic World — the more they would be viewed as precious treasures by demon cultivators in the Savage World.

This Zhou Mi was none other than the great demon with the second-highest throne in the abyssal ancient well. He was second only to the old man in gray, and his throne was, in fact, even higher than that of Liu Cha, the big-bearded man carrying a saber and a sword.

He was widely renowned as the Savage World’s ”Sea of Knowledge,” the Holding Moon Mountain of the scholarly world.

Zhou Mi had perused a myriad of books and was deeply knowledgeable in all matters, including the Three Teachings, the Hundred Schools of Thought, poems and prose, arithmetic, painting, geology, music, and so on.

He had given himself the title of Old Bookworm, and he was also known as Omnipotent Old Fox.

Among his disciples were Shou Chen, Cai Ying, Tong Xuan, Tong Yin, Yu Zao, and the Jia Shen Tent’s Liu Bai, all of whom were part of the one hundred innate sword talents.

Apart from them, his earlier generation of disciples had already become successful cultivators of the Militarian Sect, the Commercialist Sect, and the Foretellers.

When it came to the surnames of Zhou Mi’s disciples, they could only receive this after they breached and defeated the Sword Qi Great Wall.

In reality, the person responsible for keeping the genealogical records was none other than Zhou Mi.

It was said that Skeletal Great Demon Bai Ying had once asked in curiosity, ”Mr. Zhou, do you want to become the leader of scholars in our world?”

Zhou Mi had smiled and replied, ”This isn’t enough.”

Today, Zhou Mi talked about the need to be innocent as a person, how one should develop a good grasp of society and its people when interacting with them, and other such miscellaneous knowledge. His lecture went on for more than one hour.

Moreover, he would often ask his students for their answers before providing his own answer. If someone were able to offer an outstanding answer, then Zhou Mi would directly give them a scholarly curio. Just then, he had given one of his students a seal that he had personally inscribed with the characters: Endless Streams and Mountains.

When Zhou Mi had just started teaching, he had once told his first generation of disciples that scholars in the Majestic World no longer held principles and reason in high regard — these things were ubiquitous and nothing special. There were naturally reasons for this, and the positives and negatives and rights and wrongs were incredibly complicated.

However, scholars in the Savage World were far from reaching this lofty level, and they were far from a state where everyone possessed principles and reasons. This was because their foundation was too poor, so they needed to harbor a feeling of respect when they first set foot on the path of scholarly pursuit. Zhou Mi’s students only had one piece of homework: They needed to transcribe classics belonging to the Three Teachings and the Hundred Schools of Thought every single day.

Today’s final topic in class pertained to the relationship between humans and time. This touched upon a fundamental tenet. Even though demons could assume human form after gaining sentience and intelligence, Zhou Mi held the staunch belief that only those who studied scholarly texts could be regarded as proper humans.

There was a warm smile on Zhou Mi’s face as he explained his thoughts in detail.

Before ten years old, time was like a small stream that slowly trickled forward, so slow that it was as if one would never grow up and be able to see the scenery in the distant lands.

After twenty years old, one wouldn’t care about the flow of time, unperturbed about whether it was quick or slow. Even taking a single glance would be a waste of time.

After thirty years old, the flow of time would start to surge forward, catching people completely off guard as they were forcefully yanked forward.

After forty years old, time would appear like a thundering river imminently about to enter the sea.

After sixty years old, time would suddenly transform again, becoming a tranquil lake so still that not a single ripple existed.

Before death, time would turn into a waterfall that sank into the deep pool below.

Some students listened carefully and understood, while some students were distracted and lacked care.

Zhou Mi didn’t categorize his students because of this, and he smiled faintly and continued, ”The purer a knowledge or teaching is, the more it appears to have no real meaning on the surface. In my view, however, true power and influence in the world don’t come from those who occupy high positions, nor do they come from those with bigger fists. Rather, it comes from those who can genuinely affect the minds of many people.

”It’s very good if you can comprehend and accept this, but it doesn’t matter if you can’t. As long as you possess an outstanding skill and don’t lock down your own heart, you’ll always have the chance to ascend higher and higher with the passing of time. The scenery of the Great Dao is stunning, and it’s yours to pluck after you arrive at the Majestic World.”

After saying this, Zhou Mi turned to the pair of screens decorated with mountains and waters behind him. In reality, he was actually looking toward someplace on the Sword Qi Great Wall. He smiled faintly and said, ”Claim not the sky is too lofty and lacks eyes and ears, say not the earth is too thick and lacks a heart and mind.”

”You’re still a long way off being able to establish your own teaching,” Chen Qingdu said with a smile.

————

At night, an expressionless man left the Sword Qi Great Wall and entered Stalactite Mountain through the new gate, making his way to the Sword Reverence Pagoda.

The person accompanying him was Yan Zhuo’s father, Yan Ming, the clan leader of the Yan Clan who had done business with the intercontinental ships of the Majestic World for countless years. He was using an illusion technique.

The Sword Reverence Pagoda was already closed for the day, so only two people walked inside. The expressionless man started to take down the portraits of the sword immortals, one after another.

”Help me inscribe a seal, Chen Ping’an,” Clan Leader Yan Ming said. ”I’ll ask Yan Zhuo to bring a blank seal to the Ning Residence afterward, and I’ll also offer one grain rain coin for the inscription. You don’t need to think about the contents, and I want the inscription to read: Climbing the city wall is like visiting a grave.”

Chen Ping’an had just put away another portrait, and he thought about this for a moment before asking, ”Can I add a few more characters?”

”Elaborate,” Yan Ming said with a smile.

”Launching a sword strike is like offering wine in respect,” Chen Ping’an replied.

Yan Ming fell silent for a moment before nodding and saying, ”I won’t make you inscribe those extra characters for nothing. I’ll offer you two grain rain coins instead.”

”There’s no need to pay me, Uncle Yan,” Chen Ping’an said with a shake of his head.

”It’s too little? So you would rather receive nothing at all?” Yan Ming asked.

Chen Ping’an was rendered speechless.

Yan Ming gestured for Chen Ping’an to continue collecting the portraits. Walking beside the young man, his expression was indifferent as he said, ”To have a scholar who can throw punches and launch sword strikes at the Sword Qi Great Wall, and who’s willing to speak with a good conscience... I would feel like paying you for every single character if I weren’t a businessman.”

Chen Ping’an carefully put the portraits away.

Why had the old great sword immortal asked him to do this? Why did he need to retrieve all of the sword immortal portraits from the Sword Reverence Pagoda? Chen Ping’an was unable to make any sense of this. So, he simply did as he was told.

The two of them left the Sword Reverence Pagoda together, and while walking down the stairs, Chen Ping’an suddenly asked, ”Uncle Yan, can I sit here for a short while?”

Yan Ming nodded and said, ”I’ll wait for you at the main entrance. Don’t stay here for too long.”

He then walked away.

It was late at night, and only a single moon hung in the sky of the Majestic World.

Chen Ping’an was in a daze as he sat alone on the steps.

If he liked someone, he would look after her forever. He would completely hand himself over to her.

If he left first, then what he saw last would be her. If she left first, then what she saw last would be him.

Could he find a friend who didn’t complain about the best wine being expensive, but would also be satisfied with the lowest quality wine?

Could some of the deceased continue to survive in his mind, motivating him to do better whenever he thought of their speech and actions?

Growing up wasn’t a slow and meandering process, nor was it encapsulated by walking from one place to another. Rather, growing up would often happen in the blink of an eye.

Wherever his mind wandered, wherever his flying sword resided, his body and mind would always be free.

However, how could he become a sword cultivator?

For some unknown reason, not a single wisp or tendril of remnant primordial sword intent at the Sword Qi Great Wall was willing to give its favor to Chen Ping’an.

Chen Ping’an exhaled and stood up, deciding that he would make a compromise this one time even if he were unable to find a highly suitable bonded item. He would gather all bonded items of the Five Elements, which should allow him to return to the Willow Tendon Tier, the third tier of Qi refinement.

However, doing this would be like prematurely accelerating his growth on the path of cultivation. Afterward, this cultivation tier would indeed become a Cultivator Trapping Tier.

Chen Ping’an secretly returned to the Sword Qi Great Wall with Yan Ming.

According to the instructions he had previously received from the old great sword immortal, Chen Ping’an retrieved all the portraits from his minimization treasure and handed them to Yan Ming, then returned to the Ning Residence.

Over at the city wall, Chen Qingdu accepted Chen Ping’an’s minimization treasure. However, not only did he not open the minimization treasure and retrieve the portraits, but he even cast a restriction technique onto the minimization treasure before tossing it back to Yan Ming and saying, ”Return it to that young lad, and tell him that a small issue has occurred, rendering the minimization treasure temporarily unopenable. Tell him we can address this problem later.”

Yan Ming mustered his courage and left the Sword Qi Great Wall.

Chen Qingdu and Zuo You stood beside each other and gazed into the distance.

”Is your junior brother an idiot?” Chen Qingdu suddenly asked. ”Didn’t he obtain the final item of the Five Elements a long time ago? Why isn’t he refining it?”

”That was something manipulated by Spiritual Master Fire Dragon, and it also pertains to the fundamental True Qi of pure martial artists,” Zuo You replied. ”Chen Ping’an is completely unable to separate that item out with his current cultivation base, and one small mistake will cost him everything. Stop making these cynical comments, Chen Qingdu. Will you only be satisfied if he falls three tiers in Qi refinement and one additional tier in martial arts for the sake of the Sword Qi Great Wall?”

”And what about you, his Senior Brother? Are you just freeloading and refusing to help?” Chen Qingdu said with a chuckle.

This comment was like a knife to the heart because Zuo You was genuinely unable to help right now.

His sword skills were too lofty, and his sword qi was too abundant, making it very easy for his Great Dao to conflict with that of the item hidden by Spiritual Master Fire Dragon. If that were to happen, Chen Ping’an’s entire body would transform into a deadly battlefield.

To be very blunt, this was the Sword Qi Great Wall, so if even Chen Qingdu didn’t do something, then it would definitely be impossible for anyone else.

In any case, did anyone dare to ask Chen Qingdu to do something?

Zuo You dared to, but he knew that things would be futile if Chen Qingdu were unwilling.

Chen Qingdu remained silent for a moment before asking, ”Can Chen Ping’an tolerate pain?”

Zuo You nodded and replied, ”Yes, he can.”

Chen Qingdu smiled and asked, ”A price needs to be paid if you want me to isolate that fire seed and refine it into his fifth bonded item. Chen Ping’an needs to walk a path similar to that of becoming a true spirit or deity, where his body will be subject to grueling tests that will leave him frail and emaciated. Rest assured, it’s only similar, and it’s not actually the same. Otherwise, to say nothing of you, even the old scholar will fight me to the death.”

Zuo You started to hesitate in an uncharacteristic display.

This was a huge dilemma.

Chen Qingdu clicked his tongue in wonder and remarked, ”So much for you being the senior brother. You’re not even as bold and direct as your junior brother. If Chen Ping’an were here, he would have already nodded and agreed to my suggestion.”

Zuo You immediately stood up and said, ”I’ll set up a protection formation. I’ll leave the city wall for a while, and I’ll make up for any missed sword strikes later.”

Chen Qingdu placed a hand on Zuo You’s shoulder and said, ”Protection formation my ass. Stay here and do your job. There’s no doubt about being able to successfully refine the bonded item, and will there be any point in having a protection formation for the path that follows? Your ability to kill enemies is quite good, but it’s a shame that you’re truly no good at teaching sword techniques to save others.”

Zuo You was infuriated upon hearing this.

He had put up with the old great sword immortal not twice in a day, three times a day, or even five times a day. Rather, the old great sword immortal was relentlessly disrespecting his master and ruthlessly picking on his junior brother. Was the old great sword immortal taking him for a temperless clay Bodhisattva?

Chen Qingdu increased the pressure on Zuo You’s shoulder and said with a faint smile, ”Zuo You, it looks like you still don’t have faith in your junior brother.”

”How confident are you?” Zuo You asked with a frown.

Chen Qingdu raised a single finger and replied, ”One with two zeroes. Is this not enough?”

Zuo You was slightly skeptical.

Chen Qingdu smiled and continued, ”Your sword skills are so lofty, so would I dare to lie to you?”

Zuo You directly drew his sword.

The entire Sword Qi Great Wall instantly noticed some anomaly.

Chen Qingdu shifted positions slightly and used his hand to grab the blade, allowing Zuo You’s sword to slash across his palm.

A huge amount of sparks immediately sprayed across the city wall.

————

The intense battle between the Savage World and the Sword Qi Great Wall resumed, but Liu Xianyang didn’t appear on the city wall this time. Instead, he was accompanying Chen Chun’an.

Chen Ping’an was once again neighbors with Qi Shou.

Qi Shou found something a little strange: Chen Ping’an appeared slightly different from normal today.

He was still wearing a standard Dao robe from the garment market, with a bamboo jade folding fan slid into his waistband. Chen Ping’an turned around and said to Qi Shou with a smile, ”It’s only been a few days, but Brother Qi’s elegant demeanor is even stronger than before.”

Qi Shou instantly came to a realization. Upon further thought, however, he started to feel unsure again. Heavens knew whether this was another illusion technique.

”Stay further away from me,” he snapped.

Chen Ping’an flicked open the folding fan and lightly rocked it back and forth, creating a cool breeze as he casually summoned his four flying swords. He then shook his head and said with a sigh, ”Brother Qi, oh, Brother Qi, who gave you the courage and confidence to look down on a powerful third tier cultivator as a measly Nascent Tier cultivator?”

Qi Shou completely ignored this. However, he was especially vicious as he killed enemies today.

He had initially wanted to ask why Zuo You had suddenly unleashed a sword strike before, but he didn’t want to say a single word to Chen Ping’an right now.

On a section of the city wall near the thatched cottage, Zuo You used his mind’s lake to ask the old great sword immortal, ”Will he be able to continue the momentum and nurture a flying sword after successfully refining that bonded item and enduring the immense pain? What grade will the flying sword be?”

There was a blank look on Chen Qingdu’s face as he replied, ”Did I ever say that? Do such good deals exist in the world, where bonded flying swords are handed out for free?”

Zuo You turned around and looked at the old man standing at the entrance of the thatched cottage.

Chen Qingdu retracted his smile and said, ”I once borrowed a locust wood sword case, so I need to return the favor. I’ll have Chen Ping’an become a sword case first, or more accurately, become a sword scabbard. As for whether he can nurture a powerful bonded flying sword that’s blessed by heavenly fortune, and regarding what grade the flying sword is, that’s completely up to his own abilities.”

Zuo You took a deep breath and soared away from the city wall, once again flying alone on his flying sword into the enemy army to look for an Ascension Tier great demon.

Inside the secret room of the Ning Residence.

Only the yin soul of Chen Ping’an — who was now a third tier Qi refiner and a seventh tier pure martial artist — had left his body to patrol the Sword Qi Great Wall. Meanwhile, his true body and his yang soul were still at the Ning Residence.

This was because the old great sword immortal said that the yin soul had accumulated far too many thoughts, which were also far too miscellaneous. As such, his sword couldn’t become pure no matter how it was washed. Even if it were washed until it was bright and pure, it would no longer be Chen Ping’an’s sword.

Chen Ping’an focused his attention and calmed his breathing, thinking again and again about a sentence from a book: Mind dashing to the far extremes, heart soaring to great heights, contemplating in silence, with thoughts connecting one thousand years.

When his mind became silent, approaching a state of slumber, only a pair of thoughts remained in the depths of his heart, slowly swimming around his mind’s lake. The two thoughts didn’t fight, instead maintaining a harmonious relationship with each other.

The body and mind of a sword cultivator would always be free.

He was pursuing the greatest destructive power, power even loftier than the heavens!

Chen Ping’an suddenly opened his eyes and said in a solemn voice, ”Please launch a sword strike, Old Great Sword Immortal.”

Sword light erupted inside the secret room.

Chen Ping’an’s skin and flesh instantly split apart, with even his Vajra Body Tier physique appearing like papier-mache as he became bloody and mangled in the blink of an eye. His limbs and bones, his internal organs, and even his eyes were then comprehensively melted by the sword light, instantly transforming him into nothing but bones.

In the end, not even a skeleton was left.

In the vast and boundless night, a dazed young man appeared dejected as he stumbled along a path with no light. He was simply stumbling forward on instinct.

As he walked, he eventually arrived near a hunchbacked little boy wearing straw sandals. The latter was carrying a large basket and walking slowly.

The little boy stopped and looked up at the young man, appearing very sad and seemingly not understanding why he was still suffering so much after growing up.

And thus, the heartbroken little boy lost the motivation to continue forward. He squatted down on the ground, leaning against the large basket that could never be filled to the brim, as he started to sob.

The young man shakily squatted down and dazedly looked at his younger self.

The two of them looked at each other.

The young man said two words to the little boy, ”I’m sorry.”

The little boy then wiped away his tears and offered a hand.

The young man held the little boy’s hand and stood up, with the two of them advancing together.

The young man was still dazed, and he simply relied on his instinct and inherent thoughts to describe all of the beautiful things the little boy would experience in the future, seemingly forgetting about all the challenges and hardships he had also faced along the way. It was as if he couldn’t remember those bad people and matters, as well as the complexity of the world.

A smile gradually appeared on the little boy’s face, and his expression became one of slight eagerness as he looked up at his older self.

In the end, the little boy stopped and tightly gripped the straps of his basket. His smile was dazzling, and he pointed toward the path in front of them for his older self.

The young man looked over, and a faint and flickering light appeared on the path that had initially been pitch black.

All of a sudden, a brilliant radiance illuminated heaven and earth.

1. Shi Zaixi is a pseudonym for Yu Juanfu. ☜

2. This is a line from The Great Learning (大学), one of the ”Four Books” in Confucianism, attributed to one of Confucius’ disciples, Zengzi. ☜

3. These are lines from the poems Climbing White Stork Tower and Climbing the Lakeside Pavilion, respectively. ☜