Unsheathed

After hearing Cui Chan\'s outburst and listening to the old scholar\'s scolding, Chen Ping\'an was able to notice a few things. However, he was still in disbelief as he gulped and quietly asked the tall woman, "Is this old scholar Mr. Qi\'s teacher? Is he that Scholarly Sage or something? A mighty Confucian Sage?"

No wonder their journey had been filled with so many ups and downs. No wonder they had come across A\'Liang, the terrestrial sword immortal from Wind Snow Temple, and of course, this young boy with the surname Cui.

The tall woman nodded and replied with a smile, "Yes, that\'s indeed the case."

The true identity of this tall woman was the sword spirit of the old sword billet that had hung under the stone arch bridge. She had waited there for almost 10,000 years, and she had once personally witnessed the death of the final True Dragon in the world. That was an epic final battle that had involved the powerful Qi refiners from the three teachings and the hundred schools of thought.

Even so, they had still suffered countless casualties, with the corpses of the victims raining down from the sky and crashing into the earth. Their souls had gathered together and didn\'t dissipate, and they had eventually intertwined together with the fortune of the True Dragon once it was killed. In the end, this had formed Jewel Small World. In the tall woman\'s eyes, however, this was nothing more than a measly fight between toddlers.

The sword spirit had looked on with a cold gaze the entire time. Her eyes would occasionally light up from time to time, and she would secretly reach over to grab a few beautiful-looking items.

She had initially thought that she would spend the remainder of her life either sleeping or yawning as she observed those majestic ancient ruins. She would drift through these ruins, and she would be inferior to even lonely souls and wild ghosts. Just like that, she would travel with the undulating flow of time and eventually wait until the day that her spiritual energy vanished for good.

However, before the demise of Jewel Small World, she had chosen Chen Ping\'an to become her second master. She hadn\'t chosen the sword prodigy Ning Yao or the impressive Ma Kuxuan, nor had she chosen Xie Shi, Cao Xi, or the other prodigies who hailed from the small town.

In fact, this was all thanks to Qi Jingchun.

First, it was during that night when he had sat alone on the covered bridge until the next morning. Sitting under the plaque that read "Rising Winds Crashing Water", he had convinced her to open her eyes to take a look at that young boy from Clay Vase Alley, even if it was only a single glance.

In fact, the sword spirit hadn\'t felt anything when she had taken her first glance at Chen Ping\'an.

She had already witnessed far too many incredible sights during her lifetime.

Because of this, she had remained completely indifferent. To her, what did it matter if Jewel Small World shattered and fell? What did it matter if the Heavenly Dao unleashed a backlash on the residents of this small world? None of these things would affect her.

However, she had indeed been curious about why someone like Qi Jingchun — a scholar who was regarded as impressive enough to found his own teaching — had set his eyes on a young boy who had never attended school or even read any books before.

Thus, she had taken a few more glances at Chen Ping\'an after that day. However, she still hadn\'t felt anything.

Afterward, she had become very bored and finally recalled the "cupped handful of water" that Qi Jingchun had left using his power as the sage of the small town. Qi Jingchun had scooped this "water" up using a powerful mystical ability, and he had placed it under the covered bridge before leaving, having sat there for an entire night. Recorded in this "cupped handful of water" were some events that had taken place in Jewel Small World during the past dozen or so years.

One day, when she had nothing to do, she felt like she had to find something to occupy herself with, right? And thus, she had revealed her human form and hovered above the water under the covered bridge. She had observed the rippling water as she brushed her hair.

What was recorded was the life of the young boy from Clay Vase Alley.

There were schemes with setups that stretched for a thousand kilometers, there were trivial arguments in the streets and alleys, there were kind acts that concealed deadly intent, there were calamities that resulted from unintentional acts, there were happy reunions and sad farewells, there was grief and sincerity, and there was life and death.

The sword spirit felt like this was quite interesting. At least, it was more interesting than watching the fights between the toddlers and the worm.

For example, she had seen the little Chen Ping\'an carrying a basket that was almost half as tall as him and saying that he was going to enter the mountains to pick medicine. Yet, he had started to bawl before even setting foot on the mountain.

For example, the little boy had stood on a small stool and murmured to himself as he moved the wok spatula around, saying that he was definitely going to cook a delicious meal tonight — not too salty and not too bland, but just right.

And for example, the little boy had run away from the stand selling tanghulu, drool dripping from his mouth as he did so. He could only try his best to recall the taste of this snack from when he had eaten it years ago.

Finally, for example when the little boy had gone fishing in the creek at noon in order to stay alive, completely oblivious to the fact that even gods and immortals would struggle to catch fish during noon. He had ended up so sunburned that he looked like a piece of charcoal.

The sword spirit knew that these were hardships. However, she had never regarded these as hardships that were difficult to endure or overcome.

This was because she had once traveled far and wide with her previous owner, taking part in many battles and witnessing mountains of corpses and seas of blood. In fact, there had been enough mangled corpses of gods and deities to build up an entire mountain, and there had been enough demon cores of great demons to make many skewers of tanghulu. These were very crunchy skewers of tanghulu. Those demons from the outside worlds had blotted out heaven and earth, yet she and her master had been able to obliterate them with a single strike.

Thus, she was still unwilling to agree even when Qi Jingchun visited her again. When even Qi Jingchun, a scholar who was extremely skilled at speaking reason, ran out of ideas, he had been left with no option but to retrieve that "cupped handful of water". Standing on the covered bridge, he had gently poured this water into Dragon Whisker Creek, causing those images to slowly flow away. There were images of Chen Ping\'an hastily running through the alleys to deliver letters, and there were images of Chen Ping\'an visiting the immortal tomb to pray for his mother\'s good health. When starting to pour this water, Qi Jingchun had decided that he wouldn\'t try to persuade the sword spirit again.

After pouring away the water, Qi Jingchun had started to walk to one end of the covered bridge. Yet, it was his unintentional remark during this time of great disappointment that had finally moved the stone heart of the sword spirit ever so slightly. "We\'re all very disappointed in this world..."

The sword spirit had remained calm, and that cupped handful of water had been about to completely vanish into the creek. The final scene was the little boy waving goodbye to his father in Clay Vase Alley. "Dad, I\'m five years old now! I\'m an adult!"

Looking at the back of that figure, the sword spirit had said, "Let him walk across the covered bridge. If he can persist and push forward, then I can consider your proposal."

Qi Jingchun had turned around in deep astonishment before breaking into hearty laughter. Earnestly nodding, he had replied, "I believe Chen Ping\'an, so please believe me!"

The scholar had strode down the steps of the covered bridge, and his two sleeves had billowed in an exaggerated manner in the wind. It was as if these sleeves had been filled with Qi Jingchun\'s youth and vigor.

The sword spirit\'s reminiscence was interrupted by a question from the young boy.

"Since he\'s Mr. Qi\'s teacher, can we not fight with each other?" Chen Ping\'an asked carefully.

The sword spirit let go of the snow-white lotus leaf, allowing it to hover high in the air. The lotus leaf instantly became humongous, so large that it covered an area measuring five kilometers in radius.

She then shook her head and replied, "For the sake of Mr. Qi, you have to fight this battle."

Chen Ping\'an scratched his head and said, "Even though I don\'t know the reason, I\'ll believe you since it\'s related to Mr. Qi and since you\'re saying this..."

He paused for a moment, and a determined expression appeared in his eyes. He looked at the tall woman and grinned, "I\'ll fight!"

The sword spirit smiled in reply before turning her gaze to the old scholar who was still trying to delay things. He was still yet to untie the string on the scroll after all this time, and he was even mumbling to himself at this moment.

"Once upon a time, I only knew how to hide in the study and libraries to obtain new knowledge. This caused me to miss out on many things. After leaving the Forest of Virtue, I attempted to live in a manner that I never dared to before. For example, drinking to my heart\'s content, arguing with others, eating spicy food, swimming with bare shoulders, and so on. My journey has taken me to many places and allowed me to witness many famous mountains and great rivers..."

"Scholarly Sage, there\'s still something that you haven\'t experienced yet. A saber to the neck. Mhm, I mean sword. Trying to buy time like this isn\'t going to make a difference," the sword spirit said in amusement.

"Can\'t you see that I\'m waiting for the two of you to change your minds?" the old scholar huffed.

The sword spirit squinted her eyes and humphed, "Don\'t try to push your luck, old man!"

"Old man?" the old scholar chuckled.

"I\'ll remember this," the sword spirit replied with an increasingly gentle and soft smile.

The old scholar gave in and decided to go with the flow. "Then we\'ll fight! Who\'s afraid of who? Do you really think I\'m unable to fight? It\'s just that my fighting skills are worse than my argument skills."

He finally managed to untie the string on the scroll, and with a flick of his wrist, the painting unfurled with a crack. It unfurled diagonally toward the ground, and the old scholar kept his hand firmly holding the other end of the scroll. This painting of mountains and rivers was genuinely a very long one, and it instantly covered the entire area surrounding the old well. Chen Ping\'an had initially wanted to shuffle away, yet the tall woman had placed her hand on his shoulder and stopped him from moving.

The fearless Li Baoping decided to directly squat down and carefully analyze the painting. She didn\'t forget to reach out with her hands to jab this area and tap that area.

Meanwhile, the young Cui Chan was standing behind the old scholar and carrying his luggage for him.

"Retrieve!" the old scholar shouted softly.

Squatting next to the old well, the little girl who was carefully analyzing the painting suddenly snapped to her senses. The painting on the floor had already disappeared.

At the same time, her junior uncle, the big sister female ghost who had a fairly bad temper, and her teacher\'s teacher whom she should have referred to as grandmaster also vanished from sight.

She looked up, only to discover that the painting had already rolled back up and become a scroll again. It quietly hovered in midair.

The young Cui Chan wasn\'t surprised by this at all. He obediently stood there and carried the old scholar\'s luggage. Meanwhile, his expression was one of fury and resentment, aggrieved that his freedom had been stripped from him.

Li Baoping immediately stood up and held the tranquil seal high in the air, asking loudly, "That Cui person, where\'s my junior uncle?! If you don\'t tell me, then I\'m going to smack you with this seal! I\'m always unable to control my strength when I beat others, so I won\'t take responsibility if I accidentally beat you to death!"

Cui Chan glanced at the little girl before nodding and replying with an apathetic expression, "Then smack me to death."

Are you challenging me?

So be it if the female ghost challenged me. But a bad person like you?

Li Baoping faltered for a moment before flaring up in rage. Without saying another word, she pumped her legs and sprinted around the scroll hanging in the air. She was shorter than Cui Chan, so she nimbly leaped up before forcefully smacking the seal into Cui Chan\'s forehead with a loud thwack.

The young Cui Chan was struck with disbelief. His eyes were glazed over, and he reached up to rub his even redder and more bruised forehead. He suddenly tossed the old scholar\'s luggage aside and squatted down, wrapping his arms around his head and shouting, "I can\'t deal with this anymore! Everyone is able to bully me now!"

Li Baoping couldn\'t help but feel slightly guilty for some reason. She placed her hand that was holding the seal behind her back, quietly hiding the offending weapon. She then started to investigate the scroll, hoping to find her junior uncle.

————

Chen Ping\'an looked around, and he discovered that the environment was similar to when he had been pulled "underwater" by the sword spirit at that time. The surroundings were vast and very empty, and this caused some "physical items" to appear especially "real". For example, there was a tall wall located far in front of him, so tall that Chen Ping\'an couldn\'t see the top of it no matter how he craned his neck.

The tall woman in white beside him twirled her hair in her hands and said with a smile, "This is inside the painting, and it\'s also inside the Scholarly Sage\'s consciousness. It\'s quite difficult and complicated to explain. You only need to know that we\'ll both be safe and sound from any negative consequences if you unleash the sword strikes here. This is also one of the reasons why I agreed to the old man\'s proposal. Otherwise, I would have directly fought him above that mountain face."

Her other hand suddenly landed on Chen Ping\'an\'s shoulder, and she continued, "We\'re too close right now, so you\'re unable to see this place clearly. I\'ll bring you back a little first, say 400 kilometers."

Chen Ping\'an felt like he was a gust of wind as he was rapidly dragged backward by the sword spirit. After retreating heaven knows how far away, he finally landed and was able to stand still. His jaw fell open, and he had no time to worry about his discomfort or the churning inside his acupoints. He stared at the mountain. They were observing it from 400 kilometers away, yet it still appeared so magnificent and huge?

Compared to this colossal mountain, would Cloud Drape Mountain from his hometown not appear like a small and insignificant dirt mound?

The tall female\'s expression was solemn, and she said, "There\'s a more important reason, and that\'s the fact that the Scholarly Sage agreed to give you some extra advantages if we fought him here."

Chen Ping\'an was stunned beyond belief, and he asked with a slightly parched mouth, "What?"

The tall female looked him in the eyes and replied, "When you launch your sword strikes here, you\'ll possess a cultivation base that\'s equivalent to 10th tier Qi refiners. Of course, this is only an illusion. However, it\'s a very realistic illusion. I hope you can embrace this experience and carefully appreciate the feeling. In terms of your future cultivation, this experience will be... completely useless."

She was amused by her own words, and she chuckled, "Alright, I\'m just trying to tell you one thing. Don\'t just focus on your fist technique and nothing else. More importantly, don\'t feel like the purpose of practicing this fist technique is merely in order to stay alive. Such a mindset is far too pathetic. How can your ambition be so small? Just think about it, who are you?"

"Chen Ping\'an?" Chen Ping\'an replied in a daze.

So be it if he had given an irrelevant answer. Most importantly, who else could he possibly be if not Chen Ping\'an?

The tall female bent down and stroked the young boy\'s head. "Apart from being Chen Ping\'an, you\'re also my master!"

The young boy felt slightly embarrassed.

The angry voice of the old scholar traveled over from the peak of the colossal mountain at this moment, saying, "Alrighty then. You were in such a hurry just then, yet you\'re not in a hurry now?"

The sword spirit took a deep breath before pointing at the mountain and explaining, "This is the tallest of the Five Mountains in the Middle Earth Divine Continent."

Chen Ping\'an nodded in response.

There was a fervent expression in the sword spirit\'s eyes as she gazed at the mountain in the distance, and she asked, "What should you do if there\'s a mountain blocking your Great Dao?"

"Climb over it," Chen Ping\'an replied softly.

Her lips curled up into a smile, and she wasn\'t annoyed as she asked again, "And what if you have a sword in your hand?"

Chen Ping\'an recalled the scenes of himself clearing the mountain paths, and he asked, "Clear the mountains and forge forward?"

"Correct!" the sword spirit replied with a loud laugh.

The tall female strode forward and stood in front of Chen Ping\'an. She formed a sword with her index finger and middle finger, and she slowly dragged this finger sword from the left to the right.

An extremely small speck of light suddenly exploded on the leftmost side.

It was as if a brilliant sun had appeared there.

This dazzling radiance then stretched to the right.

The further right this blinding radiance extended, the fainter the tall female\'s figure became.

In the end, Chen Ping\'an saw a scabbardless sword materialize in the air before him. It was as if this sword had already been waiting for someone to pick it up for tens of millions of years.

The blinding radiance had already vanished.

Chen Ping\'an slowly walked forward and grabbed the hilt of the sword.

After grabbing the sword, he instantly felt as if heaven and earth had turned upside down. All of his acupoints shuddered, and the Qi flowing around him fell into disarray. They gusted around him with such ferocity that Chen Ping\'an could barely open his eyes.

He shut his eyes, and as if in tacit understanding with the sword, he said, "Move together!"

The sword rang fervently.

It was as if the sword were an autumn cicada buzzing to heaven and earth as it stood on the highest branch!