Unsheathed

Chapter 325 (2): Charming the Green Mountains Appear in My Eyes

Even though they didn’t recognize Cheng Ping’an, these youths all respected and feared Zhong Qiu, so they immediately fell silent when the imperial preceptor appeared. Zhong Qiu's two direct disciples felt slightly guilty as well, especially since they had indeed been slacking off on their martial arts training for the past few days. However, they didn't have a choice.

Their friends had rushed over with no regard for anything else, and their eyes had been sparkling with delight as they had recounted the incredible feats of that sword immortal in white. It was said that the young grandmaster who had killed Old Demon Ding had an extremely good relationship with the imperial preceptor, so perhaps they could truly meet him in person if they hung around in this place.

This was especially the case with Old General Lü's grandson and granddaughter. They were filled with excitement as they recounted how their grandfather was glowing with health and happiness when he returned home that night. During the intense battle outside the capital between Yu Zhenyi and Mirror Heart Hall's Tong Qingqing, the sword immortal called Chen Ping'an had stood right next to their grandfather.

The two of them had expressed earnest regret at not meeting earlier, and they had enjoyed wine while conversing in absolute delight. It wasn't long before the two of them had become extremely good friends despite their significant age difference. However, it was a shame that Sword Immortal Chen was an extremely busy powerful immortal. Even so, he had agreed that he would definitely pay a visit to the old general's residence whenever he found the time.

Lü Xiao's grandson was only twelve or thirteen years old, and would insist on repeating this story almost every single day. His face would be filled with excitement and emotion, and he clearly felt a shared sense of honor with his grandfather.

However, his older sister didn't bang on about the same thing again and again. Even so, eager anticipation and admiration could be seen on her face.

Zhong Qiu turned around to look at Chen Ping'an, to which the young boy responded with a nod.

Standing on the martial arts training ground, Zhong Qiu looked at his two direct disciples and said, "I helped the two of you invite this senior over. He'll offer you some guidance regarding fist techniques, so the two of you can feel free to attack with your full strength."

Chen Ping'an felt slightly helpless, and he lowered his voice and asked, "Didn't we agree just then that I would only spar with them? I never agreed to guide them?"

Zhong Qiu smiled faintly and replied, "Just offer them a few casual comments when you finish. These two children figured out how to deal with me a long time ago, so my words are no longer as useful as they were before. Perhaps they might treat your words, the words of an outsider, as guiding principles instead."

A tall and sturdy young boy strode over, asking, "Master, who is this senior? He's carrying both a saber and a sword, so why is he going to teach us fist techniques instead? Perhaps his fist techniques are even loftier than Master's?"

The handsome young boy then looked at Chen Ping'an, his eyes limpid as he smiled and remarked, "Senior, it's not that I'm looking down on you, but my master's fist techniques are truly too profound. However, I naturally won't say anything like this if you teach us the saber or the sword. Oh, that's right, my name is Yan Shijing. I'm a straightforward person, so please don't take any offense, Senior!"

A young girl slowly walked over from behind him, and she was already observing Chen Ping'an and searching for his weaknesses. However, she walked slower and slower, because she was shocked to discover no weakness at all. He was casually standing there just like that, yet she couldn't find a single weakness in his standing meditation fist stance. This extremely stifling feeling was far too similar to what she felt from her master, Zhong Qiu.

It was like coming across a towering mountain but not seeing the mountain peak; standing in front of a river but not seeing its bottomless depth.

This young person dressed in azure robes was definitely a lofty martial arts grandmaster!

The young girl was just about to remind her senior brother, Yan Shijing, to be careful, but the latter had already said in a soft voice, "I've already noticed. I'm not an idiot, and just how many people have the right to walk side-by-side with Master in Southern Garden Nation?"

"Let's team up?" the young girl suggested.

The young boy didn't hesitate as he replied in a solemn voice, "Let's do our best to endure ten exchanges. Master is watching us."

The young boy and the young girl assumed a fist stance in unison, preparing to face off against Chen Ping'an.

Chen Ping'an thought for a moment before starting to walk forward, using only the six-step walking meditation and Zhong Qiu's Mountain Peak fist stance.

The two youths charged forward, and Chen Ping'an also strode forward at the same time, appearing like a lofty mountain peak weighing down on the shoulders of Yan Shijing and the young girl. They were frozen to the spot, as if a single move would lead to their deaths.

Chen Ping'an took another step, and the bodies and minds of the two youths were already as tense as could be. The handsome young boy gritted his teeth and continued to advance, while the young girl tried to step aside to avoid Chen Ping'an's overwhelming intensity. She would get herself together and think of a new strategy after that.

After Chen Ping'an took his third casual step, the auras of the senior brother and the junior sister had already collapsed once and for all.

Chen Ping'an took a fourth step, and the two youths were already stumbling back with their bodies drenched in sweat and their faces as white as a sheet.

Chen Ping'an stopped and asked, "You're clearly aware that throwing a punch and attacking me won't lead to death, so why did both of you refuse to throw a punch? If there comes a day when you need to battle to the death with someone, and death is inevitable, will you not dare to throw a punch as well? In that case, will you only dare to throw punches against opponents who are equal or weaker than you?"

Yan Shijing collapsed into a sitting position on the ground.

Meanwhile, the young girl angrily responded, "Senior, you're a top-notch martial artist, yet you're using your formidable aura to suppress us right from the very beginning. Who in the world spars like this? Teaching fist techniques like this..."

Chen Ping'an repeated his question again, asking, "Why did both of you refuse to throw a punch?"

Yan Shijing lowered his head.

The rims of the young girl's eyes became bright red, and she surprisingly started to cry. However, she tried her best to glare at that stranger who liked to bully other people.

Chen Ping'an realized that he had perhaps taken things a little too far, so he turned to face Zhong Qiu and said in an apologetic voice, "I seldom spar with others, and I'm not too familiar with the rules of the cultivation world either."

Zhong Qiu shook his head, a look of contemplation on his face as he replied in a quiet voice, "I'm afraid of my disciples committing mistakes, so when I teach them fist techniques, I always over-stress the principle of not using their fists too rashly. My intention is so that they won't act rashly and based on just emotion when encountering issues in the cultivation world. This will also prevent them from picking on the weak and failing to control their strength.

"In addition to this, I also have further hopes that they can serve in the military and repay their nation for at least ten years in the future. As a result, I've actually suppressed the natural ambitions of my disciples this entire time. Looking back at this, it can't be said that I'm completely wrong. However, I have indeed strangled and killed off their opportunity to surpass their master."

Zhong Qiu sighed before smiling at Chen Ping'an and saying, "I do indeed need to change."

Unexpectedly, however, Yan Shijing was unable to endure his respected master "admitting fault" to others, despite being able to endure humiliation from an outsider. Moreover, the imperial preceptor was making this concession because of them. In Yan Shijing's mind, Master Zhong Qiu was a genuinely flawless martial arts grandmaster. Not only that, but he was also a scholarly sage.

In a fit of rage, Yan Shijing suddenly bounced back to his feet. However, the young boy didn't launch a sneak attack on Chen Ping'an, and instead glared at him and challenged, "Come at me again!"

Chen Ping'an strode forward, no longer adopting the seemingly slow fist stance and six-step walking meditation. Rather, his fist was like surging wind and rumbling thunder as it smashed toward Yan Shijing's forehead.

The young boy retreated again.

"Where's your punch?" Chen Ping'an asked.

Yan Shijing was dazed and at a complete loss, an expression of utter dejection on his face.

Chen Ping'an sighed and turned to Zhong Qiu, saying, "Someone once told me that practicing fist techniques appears like physical cultivation on the surface, something that's for pure martial artists. However, cultivating the mind is also very important. Since they're practicing fist techniques already, they can no longer adhere to strictly mortal rules and emotions.

"Mr. Zhong, you mentioned the principle of not using one's fists too rashly just then. I thought about this, and it indeed makes a lot of sense. However, this is a principle that people with lofty cultivation bases such as yourself should adhere to. On the other hand, your disciples simply need to understand this principle instead of strictly adhering to it.

"Understanding this principle is one matter, but what choice they should make in a given scenario is a different matter altogether. Only in this way can they maintain a clear conscience when unleashing their fists at others in the future."

Zhong Qiu nodded and concurred with a smile, "That's exactly right."

He roughly understood Chen Ping'an's temperament. The young man was someone who pursued perfection no matter how big or small the task. Thus, even though Chen Ping’an had been nervous before meeting Zhong Qiu's disciples, not understanding how he would spar with them or teach them fist techniques, he had immediately become serious after taking that first step.

In fact, he was no less serious than that time he had faced several enemies on the street. Zhong Qiu was a bystander, so he could clearly see and understand this. Meanwhile, perhaps even Chen Ping'an himself didn't know just how confident he had appeared just then!

Indeed, he had even possessed a sense of domineering haughtiness as if he were saying, "When I unleash my fists, the other martial artists in the world simply need to gaze up and exclaim their admiration toward my divine might."

Zhong Qiu was actually feeling quite curious at this moment. Chen Ping'an was such an easy-going person, so how could he enter this kind of mental state when unleashing fist strikes? He became even more curious about how Chen Ping'an practiced his fist techniques.

In any case, Zhong Qiu afforded respect to both of these Chen Ping'ans.

Chen Ping'an felt slightly embarrassed as he admitted, "These are just some of my random thoughts. They might not be suitable for Mr. Zhong's disciples."

Zhong Qiu shook his head and said with a serious expression, "There are some principles that are universal and ever-correct. What you said just now is suitable for all martial artists."

Chen Ping'an was afraid that Yan Shijing and the young girl's ambition to cultivate martial arts would shatter like a mirror after today's experience, so even though he wasn't especially good at comforting others, he still carefully chose his words and consoled, "Apart from being able to endure hardships, those who practice fist techniques also need to possess a calm mind. Only then can one unleash swift and leisurely punches that surge forward with indomitable might. "Once you achieve this, you can unleash extremely swift punches regardless of whether you're facing me, the most powerful martial artist in the world like your master, or a seemingly invincible opponent like Ding Ying."

Chen Ping'an looked at Yan Shijing and the young girl solemnly and said, "To have no one in front, it's as simple as unleashing your fists!"

The youths were muddled and confused, yet the grief and indignation on their faces had already subsided significantly, as had the terror in the depths of their hearts.

Zhong Qiu nodded softly.

Was Chen Ping'an still teaching them fist techniques? He was clearly pointing them toward a certain Martial Dao.

In terms of how far these two silly children could walk in the future, and whether they could set foot on this path of Martial Dao, this was dependent on both their talent and their fated opportunities. There was nothing more Zhong Qiu could add. In any case, saying anything extra would have no benefit at all.

After lowering his fists, Chen Ping'an no longer possessed that formidable and domineering aura. He felt slightly uneasy as he looked at the pitiable young boy and the crying young girl, and he asked Zhong Qiu, "Was that too vague and abstract?"

"Close enough is good enough," Zhong Qiu replied in a teasing manner. "Just how many words of praise do you want to hear from me today until you're happy?"

Chen Ping'an didn't know whether to laugh or to cry.

Zhong Qiu looked at his two direct disciples and commented, "You don't need to practice fist techniques today. Think about why you didn't dare to throw a punch just then. It won't be too late to start practicing fist techniques again after you've thought this through."

His other disciples naturally didn't receive this kind of special attention.

The young boy and the young girl cupped their fists and accepted their master's instructions.

Zhong Qiu and Chen Ping'an then left together.

After the imperial preceptor and the strange young person in azure robes disappeared from sight, the group of young children quickly gathered together and started to chatter, with most of them consoling Yan Shijing and the young girl. At the same time, they also expressed their surprise and astonishment.

Even though they knew that Imperial Preceptor Zhong was the strongest fist martial artist in the world, none of them had even witnessed Zhong Qiu fight directly. Meanwhile, the powerful elites guarding their clans' residences were all extremely haughty people. Thus, even though they had only witnessed a single punch from that person today, they still felt like their trip here was extremely worth it.

Yan Shijing was the first to walk away from his group of friends. The young boy was in relatively low spirits, and appeared slightly adrift as he squatted on the stairs.

After chatting with her friends for a while, the young girl sat beside her senior brother and expressed her displeasure at the injustice that he had suffered, exclaiming, "What was so impressive about him? At the end of the day, he simply relied on his loftier power to wag his finger at us. How infuriating! And he even did that in front of Master!"

Yan Shijing gazed into the distance and replied, "I feel like his words were quite reasonable. Master approved of them as well."

"I refuse to believe that he'll dare to utter such big words if he were to face off against Master, Yu Zhenyi, or Old Demon Ding," the young girl fumed. "As simple as unleashing one's fists? What a simple way to put it!"

Yan Shijing clenched his fists and vowed, "I won't slack off again after today. I'll earnestly hone my fist techniques, and I'll ask Master to teach me more profound fist techniques every single day. There'll eventually come a day when I force that person to take back the words that he spoke today!"

A bright glimmer appeared in the young girl's eyes as she gazed at the side of her senior brother's face and encouraged, "You can definitely do it! Even First Senior Brother has said that among all of the disciples, your talent is the closest to Master's. If you were given five more years to practice your fist techniques, you could have even rivaled Mirror Heart Hall's Fan Wan'er, Spring Tide Palace's Zhou Shi, and the others."

On top of the roof ridge, Zhong Qiu and Chen Ping'an were secretly sitting there and listening to the conversations of the youths. Zhong Qiu was also unsure of the reason, but Chen Ping'an had surprisingly suggested that they secretly make their way back. And thus, they were now sitting here and listening to the nonsensical conversations of the children.

However, even after hearing the conversation between Yan Shijing and the young girl in the end, Zhong Qiu was still unable to guess Chen Ping'an's true reason for coming back. Even so, the imperial preceptor was slightly disappointed by what he heard. However, he didn't feel overly disappointed in those two children.

Chen Ping'an smiled and stood up, genuinely leaving with Zhong Qiu this time.

While returning, Chen Ping'an asked Zhong Qiu many questions about the martial arts and fist technique theories of this world, learning many things in the process.

The two of them eventually parted ways, with Chen Ping'an picking a wine shop on the side of the street and ordering a pot of wine as well as two small snacks. He ordered the most expensive wine in the shop.

The old Daoist priest suddenly materialized out of thin air, sitting directly opposite Chen Ping'an. No one in the busy wine shop noticed anything amiss. A wine bowl appeared in front of the old Daoist priest, and wine automatically flowed out from the wine pot and entered this bowl. When the old Daoist priest reached out, a pair of chopsticks had already appeared in his hand as well. He grabbed a piece of fried egg with spring onions and enjoyed it with relish.

After a moment, he smiled and asked, "Did you only just realize how laughable many of your innate and seemingly reasonable beliefs were? You always believed that you were an ordinary person, and were convinced that most people could emulate your feats and reach the same height as you as long as they were willing to put in the effort. Isn't that correct? Are you finally realizing just how laughable this is?"

"Old Senior, you have this much spare time?" Chen Ping'an asked.

The old Daoist priest also sidestepped the question like Chen Ping'an, replying, "Your beliefs were a manner of severely underestimating those who taught you principles and fist techniques. If you had continued down that original path with those beliefs and such a mental state, then there would have eventually come a day when you became like that person.

"You would stand alone and look around in puzzlement. Not only that, but you would also be unwilling to ask others for help, afraid that you would detrimentally affect them. Haha, you would most likely obtain the title of 'honorable death' as well."

Chen Ping'an nodded and said, "If I hadn't made the correct choices and performed well enough, then I wouldn't be sitting here and leisurely drinking wine with Old Senior. Instead, I would have died a confused death in this place. Even if I were fortunate enough to regain my memories in my next life, I would have still felt an intense desire to fight to the death with Old Senior when I eventually left the Lotus Flower Blessed Land, regardless of what the outside world became like."

The old Daoist priest enjoyed the wine and snacks as he casually replied, "This is only natural. Since you chose to enter the Lotus Flower Blessed Land, then it would be your own fault if your abilities were lacking and ultimately caused you to die at the hands of Lu Fang or Ding Ying. I would only pinch my nose and let you out of this world if Chen Qingdu and the old scholar teamed up to put pressure on me. Otherwise, you would obediently reincarnate in this world. Thus, you should raise a glass to yourself and thank yourself for being able to survive."

In Chen Ping'an's mind, this old Daoist priest was no better than that man who had sold tanghulus in the small town.

This wasn't to say that the old Daoist priest was purposely targeting Chen Ping'an. In reality, Chen Ping'an knew that he didn't even have the right to be targeted. It wasn't the case that some of the old Daoist priest's principles and reasoning were incorrect either.

Instead, Chen Ping'an simply disliked this kind of feeling.

The way that these people looked at them wasn't like those cultivators in the mountains viewing others as mere ants. Rather, it was as if these people were treating them like livestock that could be slaughtered and eaten once they became fat enough. Or perhaps they could keep raising them and fattening them up. This was completely up to their whims.

However, maybe this impression was due to Chen Ping'an not standing in a high enough position right now. As such, he was completely unable to see the scenery of the mortal world from their lofty perspectives.

Chen Ping'an drank a bowl of wine.

To say nothing of whether the cultivation world was good or not, the wine in the Lotus Flower Blessed Land was truly very mediocre.

Chen Ping'an continued to slowly drink, completely ignoring the old Daoist priest. He carefully thought about his journey and how he had ended up where he was today.

He thought about his journey all the way from Clay Vase Alley to that alley with no name outside Cao Qinglang's courtyard.

As it turned out, there were countless forks in the road along each person's path in the world.

He needed to be kind to himself. Only then could he be kind to the world.

However, this was very difficult...

The worries in his mind could be washed away with wine. Yet, there were so many injustices in the world, so what could he do about those? His fist techniques would become loftier in the future, and his sword strikes would also become quicker. As he became increasingly powerful, did that then imply that he would have to step forward and deal with all of the injustices that he encountered?

If he didn't do this, however, then how would he overcome that hurdle in his heart? Wouldn't that also be an injustice? Would he betray Mr. Qi's expectations? Would he betray those principles and reasons in the books? Would he betray his status as Li Baoping's junior uncle?

However, he also needed to exact revenge, and needed to uphold his promise to Big Sister Immortal, the sword spirit of that rusty blade. At the same time, he needed to practice fist techniques to reach the seventh tier of martial arts, he needed to practice sword techniques and become a great sword immortal after he repaired his bridge of immortality, he needed to study to become someone like Mr. Qi, and he needed to marry that amazing girl...

What should he do?

He would push all of these thoughts out of his mind and become drunk first!

Chen Ping'an's head loudly crashed into the table.

As he slept, it was as if someone asked him about his feelings after he had witnessed the largest river in his life. Still inebriated, Chen Ping'an laughed loudly and replied that with so much water, the fish would definitely be very large as well. In the past, Little Baoping and the others had always complained about his fish soup being too bland. That being the case, he would definitely catch a big fish and add enough salt next time!

The old man grimaced upon hearing this. He no longer used his Dao power to draw wine from the pot, and instead grabbed the pot with his hand and poured a bowl of wine for himself. He then asked, "Then what about your feelings after you witnessed the lofty mountains?"

Chen Ping'an slapped the table, with his mind still fuzzy and his words still slurred as he murmured, "I don't know... However, there's a line from the books that reads, 'Charming the green mountains appear in my eyes'...[1] I've already traversed so many mountains, and I feel like they're so difficult to navigate when it rains or snows. They're far too difficult to navigate..."

The old Daoist priest lowered his bowl and looked at the young boy sleeping opposite him, snapping, "How did Qi Jingchun end up with such a drunkard of a student?"

1. This is a line from one of Xin Qiji's poems. The green mountains are a symbol for someone with noble character. ☜