Unsheathed

”For now, you don’t need to know the significance of the Hidden Official’s branch,” Chen Ping’an said as his smile faded away. ”All you need to know right now is that on the Sword Qi Great Wall, the Hidden Official’s branch can dictate whether someone gets to live or die, and no reasons need to be provided! It’s alright if you have doubts; just wait and see.

“In any case, I’m certainly willing to sacrifice a disobedient sword immortal to stamp my authority. As for all of you, there’s nothing for you to worry about. Even if the sky falls on the Hidden Official’s branch, I will be the one to carry the burden as the Hidden Official.”

Chen Ping’an picked up another book, this one labeled Book E.

Book E was a record of all of the siege strategies used by the Savage World during the past three battles, and it was extremely detailed. As a result, the book was undoubtedly going to be very thick, and there were going to be constant additions made to its contents.

Book F was going to contain a record of all of the merits and mistakes made by the twelve swordsmen of the Hidden Official’s branch, and Chen Ping’an was the only one allowed to alter and read its contents.

Book G was a record of all of the swordsmen on the Sword Qi Great Wall who perished in battle, or had their bonded flying swords destroyed. This was undoubtedly going to be quite a thick book as well.

”Do we have to record all of the swordsmen who died or lost their flying swords in the past two battles as well?” Deng Liang asked.

”No,” Chen Ping’an replied. ”We can just add that information to the book later on when we don’t have any more pressing matters to attend to.”

In times of war, the living were always more important than the dead.

Deng Liang raised no objections to this. As a matter of fact, this came as quite a relief to him.

If Chen Ping’an had answered that question incorrectly, then he would immediately have lost the respect of many of the swordsmen in the Hidden Official’s branch.

All of the swordsmen present were extremely intelligent, and if Chen Ping’an wanted to command their respect, then he would have to display superior competency and foresight over them at all times. In the Hidden Official’s branch, only the one with the most superior mental cultivation was worthy of the position of Hidden Official.

There was a saying on the Sword Qi Great Wall that seemed rather comical, but was actually very harsh and brutal.

On the Sword Qi Great Wall, even swordsmen of the Lower Five Tiers would often say that they were better than Zong Yuan.

Zong Yuan was Chen Qingdu’s longest-running comrade aside from Long Jun and Guan Zhao, and he was once touted as the likeliest to overcome the Ascension Tier bottleneck.

During the horrific battle in which the demon army overran the city walls, he had singlehandedly slain two Ascension Tier great demons, driving back the demon army with the help of Chen Qingdu.

In terms of accolades, Zong Yuan was most definitely worthy of engraving a character into the city wall, two, in fact. However, he was dead, so none of that mattered.

No matter how powerful he had been in life, he was now useless as a dead man, so everyone was better than him. That was simply the harsh reality of war.

Chen Ping’an set down Book G, then went on to explain the purposes of the final three books: H, I, and J.

Book H was a tally of the Savage World’s losses on the battlefield.

Book I was a record of the overall wealth of the Sword Qi Great Wall, including that of the sword market, the garment market, and the alchemical pill market, as well as the Nalan Clan and the Yan Clan.

Losses on a battlefield didn’t just come in the form of casualties, but also in material things like immortal coins and treasures.

Book J was going to contain any appraisals, theories, and opinions that the twelve swordsmen of the Hidden Official’s branch had on the next battle. Any thoughts and ideas they felt were worth putting down on paper could be recorded in Book J, and it would be given to Guo Zhujiu, who would then pass it on to Chen Ping’an.

After explaining the purposes of all of the books, Chen Ping’an said, ”Now that all of that has been made clear, it’s time to address our strategy going forward. Lin Junbi has done a good job thus far, but the situation on the battlefield has been constantly changing, and we need to adjust accordingly. This is the most important doctrine that all of us in the Hidden Official’s branch must follow.

“We cannot be lazy and take a one-size-fits-all approach and pray that everything works out. Instead, we have to constantly adapt and figure out the best strategy for any given scenario. Each flying sword letter that we send out must be for the betterment of the Sword Qi Great Wall!”

Finally, Chen Ping’an assigned everyone specific duties before reemphasizing the importance of keeping a constant eye on the overall battlefield while attending to said duties. Otherwise, if the twelve of them were to become too focused on their individual duties, then they could very easily begin acting independently of one another and lose sight of the big picture.

”Now then, it’s time for action, everyone,” Chen Ping’an declared with a smile. ”Let us all plot against the Savage World together. Earning money is hardly impressive; I would much rather earn the heads of great demons!”

Only in this moment did Chen Ping’an truly earn Lin Junbi’s respect.

As expected of Cui Dongshan’s master; both of them were practical to a fault!

Chen Ping’an turned to Pang Yuanji with a smile and instructed, ”Pang Yuanji, write in Book B ’Xiao Xun, pet name Zheng Yun, peak Ascension Tier cultivator, bonded flying sword unknown.’ Make sure you don’t make the mistake of writing this entry in Book A. If you know anything about her bonded flying sword, you can include it in the entry as well. If the information that you provide is useful, then I will mark that down as a merit in Book F under your name.”

Pang Yuanji nodded in silence with a deathly pale complexion.

Xiao Xun was the name of the previous Hidden Official, a name that had long been forgotten by many of the younger swordsmen on the Sword Qi Great Wall because they had all grown accustomed to respectfully referring to her as Lord Hidden Official.

”You need to speak up, Pang Yuanji,” Chen Ping’an urged as his eyes narrowed slightly. ”I can’t read your mind; do you know anything about Xiao Xun’s bonded flying sword or not?”

”I do not,” Pang Yuanji replied with a shake of his head.

”It’s fine,” Chen Ping’an said with a smile. ”Xiao Xun most likely isn’t going to be taking any part in the battle for now, so if you accidentally forget or accidentally remember, you can still claim the merit later.”

Even though all of the other swordsmen had nothing to do with the conversation, all of them felt chills run down their spines.

Chen Ping’an looked around as he began fanning himself with his folding fan, and he said, ”I already know all of your names, cultivation bases, and where you come from, but I have an additional request to make to all of you. I want you to tell me your biggest strengths and weaknesses. This is just a minor thing, so focus on your duties for now.

“I’ll ask all of you one by one, and when it’s your turn, just give me your answer through your mind’s lake. This is not a top priority, but nor is it a laughing matter, so I hope you can all be honest and forthcoming with me.”

Lin Junbi was rather perplexed by this request.

Chen Ping’an definitely wasn’t doing himself any favors here.

However, he quickly understood why Chen Ping’an was doing this. The purpose of the exercise was for him to get a handle on everyone’s character as quickly as possible.

At the moment, there were three ongoing ”battles.” The first one was naturally the battle between the Sword Qi Great Wall and the Savage World. The second one was between the Hidden Official’s branch and all of the swordsmen of the Sword Qi Great Wall, and the third one was between the twelve members of the Hidden Official’s branch.

The third battle seemed like the smallest and least consequential one, but any shifts in the emotions and power balance between the twelve swordsmen could have a huge impact on the other two battlefields.

As the Hidden Official, Chen Ping’an could obviously take a slow and steady approach, gauging the character and personality of the other eleven swordsmen by observing their actions over time. However, that would be far too slow. If the Hidden Official’s branch were too slow to issue its orders, then the changes that had to take place on the battlefield would also be delayed.

By asking this question, no matter how the other eleven swordsmen answered, their answers would inevitably reveal some things about them, thereby giving Chen Ping’an something to work with to form his judgments.

Shortly thereafter, everyone had given their answers. Instead of recording their answers in any of the books, Chen Ping’an wrote them down on a separate slip of paper, which he tucked in between the pages of Book F.

Yu Juanfu made her way onto the scene, and she was silent for a moment before asking, ”Can I help with anything?”

No one even turned to look at her as everyone was too focused on their duties.

”No,” Chen Ping’an said with a shake of his head.

Yu Juanfu wasn’t bothered by the rejection, making her way to a quiet spot on the city wall to drink on her own.

Chen Ping’an turned to Mi Yu and said, ”Sword Immortal Mi Yu, I need you to conjure up a sword formation that encompasses an area with a radius of one and a half kilometers around this place. That will be a strictly off-limits area to everyone else. After that, I need you to bring in some young swordsmen. Their cultivation base doesn’t matter; they could even be swordsmen of the Lower Five Tiers, and just three to five of them will suffice.

“Their only job will be to inform all passing swordsmen of the new rules. No one outside of our Hidden Official’s branch is allowed to enter this area without special permission, and that applies even to sword immortals. You possess the loftiest cultivation base out of everyone here, so you’re the only one who can play the role of enforcer. If a conflict arises, then feel free to let your sword do the speaking for you. If you encounter someone that you can’t subdue by force, then I’ll go and personally reason with them.”

Mi Yu felt a little better after hearing this, and he set off to carry out Chen Ping’an’s instructions.

The past Hidden Officials had all been different in how strictly they enforced their rules, but when it came to Chen Ping’an, he was going to have zero tolerance for insubordination, and the entire Sword Qi Great Wall was going to find that out very soon.

Chen Ping’an closed his folding fan before setting it down onto the desk, then removed the Hidden Official jade tablet from his waist before putting it down beside the folding fan. After that, he began writing out lists of names in the primary and secondary Book A and Book B. He already had a list of names prepared in his mind, so he was able to churn them out very quickly.

There were exactly twelve books in total, perfectly matching the number of people in the Hidden Official’s branch.

Chen Ping’an’s hope was that everyone would survive the war and be able to each take a book for themselves.

All of a sudden, Xuan Can declared, ”Right now, Sword Immortal Yue Qing is unleashing some very powerful attacks, but he’s affecting the overall balance of the sword formation, and the two nearby sword immortals are being forced to keep up with him. In a small area, it seems like what they’re doing is very effective, but all of the other swordsmen around them are being significantly slowed down, and as a result, more Middle Five Tiers swordsmen are losing their bonded flying swords than would otherwise be the case.”

Two other swordsmen quickly nodded in agreement with his assessment.

Chen Ping’an took a glance at the picture scroll, then continued writing down names in Book A and Book B as he instructed, ”Send a message to Yue Qing via flying sword.”

Wang Xinshui hurriedly did as he was told, writing up a concise letter before attaching it to a flying sword and sending it off to Yue Qing. As the flying sword flew into the distance, sweat began to bead up on the young swordsman’s forehead. He was only at the Dragon Gate Tier, and even though he was one of the brightest young prodigies of the Sword Qi Great Wall, it was still incredibly nerve-wracking for him to be tasked with issuing orders to a great sword immortal that was ranked just outside the top ten pinnacle sword immortals.

Chen Ping’an continued writing down names while observing the picture scroll out of the corner of his eye, and a short while later, he suddenly ordered in a cold voice, ”Wang Xinshui, send another flying sword letter to Yue Qing. This time, don’t try to reason with him. Instead, tell him to follow the orders or piss off! And before he leaves, tell him to go and inform the old great sword immortal why he’s been told to leave!”

Wang Xinshui sent out a second, much more strongly worded message, and he was feeling even more uneasy as he watched the flying sword race away into the distance.

All of a sudden, a thought seemed to have occurred to Chen Ping’an, and he cursed under his breath before sending a message to the old great sword immortal using his messenger flying sword.

He then instructed Guo Zhujiu to send a flying sword letter to the Unpolished Jade Tier sword immortal, Wu Chengpei, asking him how his refinement of Sweet Dew was coming along.

After that, he said to everyone else, ”These should all be things that you’re taking care of even without my instructions. I don’t want to warn you all a second time.”

Moments later, not only did Yue Qing begin following orders and holding back in his attacks, but an unexpected guest had arrived outside the sword formation.

In the flying sword letter sent to the old great sword immortal, Chen Ping’an had requested a more formidable enforcer, one that would ensure the orders of the Hidden Official’s branch would be carried out right away, rather than having to be issued twice.

It was the old deaf man.

Mi Yu naturally didn’t dare to get in his way, and he turned to lead the old deaf man to Chen Ping’an, only to see Chen Ping’an observing them with a cold expression.

Mi Yu immediately stopped cold in his tracks.

”I don’t trust you. Get someone else to come here in your place,” Chen Ping’an said in a brutally honest fashion.

The old deaf man scratched his head momentarily, but he didn’t seem bothered at all, and he immediately turned to depart, vanishing from the spot in the blink of an eye.

Shortly thereafter, Lu Zhi arrived to take the old deaf man’s place.

”Lu Zhi, I need you to stand on lookout duty in case a great demon decides to attack us,” Chen Ping’an ordered. ”If any of us die under your watch, I’m going to take you to task.”

”I won’t give you the chance to do that,” Lu Zhi replied in an indifferent voice, then stationed herself nearby.

Chen Ping’an set down his brush and said, ”I’m going to be keeping an eye on all of you for an hour. That’s all the time that you’re going to get to prove your competence to me. If any of you perform below the standards that I expect of you, then you’ll still be a swordsman of the Hidden Official’s branch, but you must pass all of your duties onto someone else. If no one else can take over from you, then I’ll take on your duties.

“All of you are supposed to be among the most intelligent young prodigies under the heavens; surely you’re not going to be outdone by a Lower Five Tiers Qi refiner like myself! You’d better not make it so that in the end, I’m the only one doing anything, while all of you are laid off from your duties due to incompetence. I’m sure that’s going to be a very embarrassing outcome for all of you.”

Everyone immediately began attending to their duties with a heightened degree of focus, and they felt even more tension and pressure than those actually fighting on the battlefield.

An hour later, Chen Ping’an rose to his feet with a pleased smile and praised, ”Well done! All of you have well and truly made me eat my words. It turns out I’m the one who’s been laid off from my duties. Pang Yuanji, Lin Junbi, and Guo Zhujiu, in particular, have done an exceptional job over the past hour.

“Your performance has been near flawless, to the point that I could only latch onto tiny mistakes that could barely even be considered mistakes at all. As for everyone else, you’ve all surpassed my expectations as well. Make sure to keep it up! As someone once said, I’m an extremely shameless person...”

”Lord Hidden Official, please allow me to set the record straight!” Gu Jianlong interjected in an urgent voice while continuing to keep an eye on the picture scrolls.

Chen Ping’an scoffed with an amused expression. ”Piss off!”

”Your benevolence and magnanimity are truly unmatched, Lord Hidden Official!” Gu Jianlong praised.

”Over the next fifteen minutes, I want all of you to come up with a list of twenty earth immortal demonic cultivators,” Chen Ping’an ordered. ”Make sure that these earth immortal demonic cultivators are ones that can be easily slain without impacting the overall state of the battlefield. Once you’ve come up with the list, distribute it to all of our sword immortals.

“Also, are any of you proficient in making rubbings? I need one of you to make copies of all of the twelve books aside from Book F. That way, each of you has a copy of all eleven books, but this is not a particularly urgent matter.”

”I can do that,” Cao Gun volunteered with a smile.

Chen Ping’an transferred the eleven books on his desk onto Cao Gun’s desk, and communicated some of his insights to Cao Gun through his mind’s lake. All the while, Cao Gun listened with full focus and concentration, occasionally raising a question or two.

Two hours later, Huang Luan was observing the battlefield as she chuckled. ”Well, this has been a very frustrating couple of hours.”

Yang Zhi was standing beside her with a furious look on her face. Her subordinates had been charging toward the Sword Qi Great Wall from either flank of the demonic army, but she was losing earth immortal cultivators at an alarming rate. It was often the case that a streak of sword light would flash past and instantly harvest the lives of several earth immortal cultivators, and after just a few repetitions of this, she had already suffered extremely heavy losses.

What was even more frustrating to her was that the sword immortals on the Sword Qi Great Wall didn’t even have to go out of their way to accomplish this. Instead, they were only casually launching attacks here and there while continuing to maintain the sword formation, but their attacks were landing with unerring accuracy.

It was almost as if someone had painted targets onto all of the earth immortal demonic cultivators!

Yang Zhi’s original plan was to return to the Savage World to hunt down the sword immortals who were wreaking havoc there, but she couldn’t just leave the battlefield after being humiliated like this.

”What the hell is going on?!” she snapped in a furious voice as she cast her gaze toward the city walls.

”You’re not going to be able to get anything done at this rate, Yang Zhi. How about we join forces?”

Huang Luan pointed at a certain spot on the city walls. That was where Lu Zhi was standing, and a young man who was holding a folding fan had appeared beside her.

Yang Zhi also turned her gaze to Lu Zhi. If she were to let her emotions get the better of her and attack the city wall on her own, there was a good chance it would be the last thing she ever did. However, if she had Huang Luan on her side, then self-preservation shouldn’t be an issue. Even if they couldn’t gain a significant advantage together, at the very least, no one should be capable of preventing their retreat.

Thus, she decided to agree to Huang Luan’s proposal, but before she could do so, she noticed that the young man standing beside Lu Zhi had turned to look directly at them.

There was a vibrant smile on his face as he raised his middle finger toward the two great demons from afar.