Chapter 554: Visiting for a Dinner of Fists

Chapter 554: Visiting for a Dinner of Fists

Long ago, a man and a woman had met in a place where one was a native and the other a stranger.

Now it was the same, only their roles were reversed. After all, the Northern Juzhou Continent could be considered half a hometown for her, the founding sect master of the Pure Breeze Sect.

For mortals at the foot of the mountain, returning to one's ancestral roots was the most important matter. For cultivators on the mountain, who had cleansed their hearts and desires, they treated this matter with even greater importance.

He Xiaoliang turned to the direct disciple of the sect's honored elder behind her and said, "Li Zhou, you return to the mountain first."

Although Li Zhou seemed somewhat lost and disheartened, he immediately put away his scattered thoughts and respectfully accepted the order before leaving.

He Xiaoliang smiled and asked, "Just a casual walk?"

Chen Ping'an nodded. "It's time we had a proper talk. Dawdling and being indecisive shouldn't be the way a sect master conducts herself."

He Xiaoliang turned and walked into a narrow alley, giving way to the middle of the path, intentionally or unintentionally leaning towards one side of the wall. Chen Ping'an walked along the other side.

He Xiaoliang asked, "In the Ghostly Abyss Valley, how did you figure out that Gao Cheng and I were scheming against you?"

Chen Ping'an replied, "It was all vague coincidences. I just imagined that your dao arts were a bit higher, your mind a bit more calculating, and then I ran away quickly."

He Xiaoliang said, "On my own mountain, I have no problems with cultivation at all, yet I almost had a realm regression. Tell me, in the Bright World, how many sect masters who have just broken through to the Jade Pure Realm would end up in such a state?"

Chen Ping'an recalled what he had seen earlier when buying oranges and smiled. "If apologizing would mean that from now on, we could stay out of each other's way, then I would be the one at fault."

He Xiaoliang didn't confirm or deny it. She changed the subject. "You wouldn't have said things like that before."

Chen Ping'an shook his head. "Back then, as long as I could survive, I would have kneeled and begged for mercy."

He Xiaoliang asked, "For example, if you could have, would you have begged the Mountain-Moving Ape not to gravely wound Liu Xianyang with a single punch?"

Chen Ping'an nodded. "Of course. If that old beast felt that kowtowing wasn't sincere enough, I would have tried to kowtow in a way that would make flowers bloom for him."

He Xiaoliang asked, "And after kowtowing?"

Chen Ping'an didn't hide anything. "What else could I do? Just live an ordinary, uneventful life. If, by some fluke, I ever got a chance to settle old scores, that would be a different story. On the mountain, fine wine only gets better with age."

He Xiaoliang asked again, "And now?"

Chen Ping'an walked while gently tossing the orange in his hand. "Skill is lacking, so I supplement it with wine. What else can I do? Cry out in resentment, scream that the heavens are unfair? Would the heavens actually care about me?"

He Xiaoliang was about to ask another question.

If it had been like this before, then what should it be like now?

Her master, Lu Chen, had once taken her through a more complex river of time, allowing her to glimpse various future versions of Chen Ping'an.

But this Chen Ping'an in front of her was not among those "many Chen Ping'ans."

"There's no need for reminiscing."

Chen Ping'an grasped the orange, turned his head, and smiled. "Sect Master He, give me a straight answer. From now on, can we truly go our separate ways? You take your broad road, and I take my log bridge?"

He Xiaoliang pointed up at the sky and smiled. "Why don't you ask my master? If my master were to issue a decree, I, as his personal disciple, would not dare to disobey."

Chen Ping'an laughed. "Then I'll have to become a bit more capable. I just wonder how much wine I'll have to consume before I get there."

Since the other party showed no sincerity, it was hard to continue the conversation.

He Xiaoliang didn't care at all about what Chen Ping'an was thinking. The only thing she cared about was how Chen Ping'an would walk his path in the future and whether he would become a major nuisance on her own Great Dao.

Thinking back to those years, the straw-sandaled youth carrying a bamboo basket full of snake gallbladder stones—when they first met by the riverside, it wasn't just the disparity in their status as he looked up at their group standing on the stone cliff. At that time, the youth's spirit was already mired in the muddy path.

Unexpectedly, over the years, while the disparity in cultivation level remained enormous, his spirit had risen considerably.

He Xiaoliang said softly, "Chen Ping'an, do you know that your temperament—each time you ascend a little higher, you become more cautious, walking every step steadily—if your enemies see this, their desire to kill you will only grow stronger."

"What, is that my fault too?"

Chen Ping'an laughed. "Then I must speak to Sect Master He with a clear conscience. Do you think that if I didn't climb higher step by step, there wouldn't be people who would casually extend a finger and crush me? I think there are plenty. Either they think the gain isn't worth the loss, or their cultivation has been wasted like a dog's, unable to attain what they seek. And thinking about that, my good mood from meeting Sect Master He in a foreign land only gets better."

He Xiaoliang said, seemingly casually, "You think they were in the wrong first. But have you ever considered another possibility? That even though you haven't done anything wrong, your very existence is the mistake?"

Chen Ping'an remained calm. "This kind of petty, gossipy talk common in market alleys doesn't need you to say it, Sect Master He. For so many years, near my hometown's Mud Vase Alley, it wasn't just peers saying these things for fun. There were also bastards who deliberately repeated them to upset me. Even many elderly neighbors, many good-hearted people, sometimes looked at me in a way that conveyed a similar sentiment."

He Xiaoliang was silent for a long time.

They reached the end of the alley.

He Xiaoliang stopped walking. "So you've known the truth all along."

Chen Ping'an said, "Sect Master He, I don't understand what you're talking about."

He Xiaoliang smiled. "It's enough that you understand in your heart."

Chen Ping'an retorted, "Enough?"

He Xiaoliang gave a faint smile. "Maybe not quite enough."

It seemed she had suddenly figured out some mental knot. He Xiaoliang turned to face Chen Ping'an. "I'll wait for you at the summit of the Bright World. Other than that, we each go our own way."

Their reunion at the Ji River estuary this time was both an accident and a certainty.

He Xiaoliang usually got what she wanted when she set her mind to it.

If anyone resented her profound fortune, they could just bear it silently.

Chen Ping'an had gotten a better answer than he had expected, so he smiled and said, "Then I won't see you off, Sect Master He."

He Xiaoliang laughed. "I didn't say I was leaving right away. As a sect master, I worry about everything. It's rare to get out, and when I meet a beloved one I can't let go of, shouldn't I cherish the moment?"

Chen Ping'an said two names: "Xu Xuan, Li Zhou."

He Xiaoliang smiled charmingly. "One knows how to keep his hands to himself, the other knows how to keep his mouth shut. They won't distract you."

Chen Ping'an remained silent.

He Xiaoliang pretended to be surprised. "What? Is this my fault too?"

Chen Ping'an really did have the urge to punch her to death.

He Xiaoliang, with "understanding," said, "Skill is lacking, so supplement it with wine. Do you have any good wine? I have some of the best immortal brews from Northern Juzhou. I'll give them all to you."

Chen Ping'an squinted and smiled. "It's a pity to kill Sect Master He with just one punch. If you're angry about me spouting nonsense like this, please don't be."

Even if he could kill her with one punch, he would need two.

He Xiaoliang squinted her eyes in a smile, placed a hand gently over her mouth, and shook her head lightly. "I'm not angry. Between us, having this belated sincerity is a good thing."

Chen Ping'an left the alley. He Xiaoliang, now under an illusion spell, walked with him. They kept a certain distance, not quite walking side by side.

Chen Ping'an looked ahead at the bustling street, the endless flow of traffic. "When will you leave?"

He Xiaoliang said, "Probably a bit later than you think."

Chen Ping'an asked, "He Xiaoliang, have you always been like this?"

He Xiaoliang smiled. "Aren't you the same? It's just that I knew myself from the beginning, while you, Chen Ping'an, found out much later. So it was harder for you."

They walked out of the city and followed the great river towards the Western Sea shore of Northern Juzhou.

Chen Ping'an climbed a seaside platform and suddenly said, "He Xiaoliang, the Dao techniques you so desperately seek are like how Ning Yao is in my heart. Can you understand that?"

He Xiaoliang nodded. "Of course I can understand. What's so hard about that? The problem is that I don't want to accept this outcome."

Chen Ping'an looked into the distance and said nothing more.

He Xiaoliang hesitated for a moment, then crouched down beside him. "Since we were already on the way, why didn't you go to the academy to have a look?"

She had actually just left the academy not long ago.

Chen Ping'an curled his lip slightly, placed his hands lightly on his knees, letting his sleeves hang down naturally. "If Lu Chen had died because of you, would you go visit the White Jade Capital and the various major Daoist observatories?"

He Xiaoliang was silent for a long time, then slowly said, "Chen Ping'an, it's only today that I feel becoming your Dao partner isn't a barrier for me. It turns out this is already the best marriage under heaven."

Chen Ping'an took off his bamboo box, took out his Sword-Nurturing Gourd, sat cross-legged, and slowly drank some wine. He said out of nowhere, "The Great Dao shouldn't be this narrow."

He Xiaoliang, for some reason, changed her mind. She stood up and left the place early. Before leaving, she turned to Chen Ping'an, who was leaning against his bamboo box, and said, "Love between men and women is, after all, a trivial matter."

Chen Ping'an said calmly, "On this matter, even your master Lu Chen has no say, let alone the Dao Ancestor."

He Xiaoliang was speechless for a moment, then laughed, and traveled away on the wind.

Late winter of last year.

After Yuan Lingdian left the Dragon Palace Heaven, he traveled north on the wind. Suddenly, he dropped down to a secluded green mountain peak that was not an immortal mountain, just a quiet wilderness area with ordinary spiritual energy.

There, Yuan Lingdian found his master playing a game of Go with a woman. They were using casually refined mountain roots as black stones and gathered water-vein energy as white stones.

Yuan Lingdian bowed to both parties and then stood beside True Man Fire Dragon, not looking at the game situation at all, afraid of disturbing his Dao heart.

At the foot of the mountain, there was no true music, chess, calligraphy, or painting, because they all lingered within the realm of mere technique.

Even on the mountain, among the hundred schools of thought, the nine schools were divided into superior, middle, and inferior categories. Of music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, those who played the qin and made qins were still somewhat respectable, as it touched upon the sages' conclusions and meritorious deeds. Beyond that, calligraphers were considered the least refined. Chess players looked down on painters, painters looked down on calligraphers, and calligraphers could only fall back on the sage's great merit of creating written characters. They argued and quarreled, faces red, since ancient times.

True Man Fire Dragon picked up a piece, lightly tapped it on the board where Dao intent formed the intersecting lines, and asked, "You only gave a replica sword from the Hatred Sword Mountain?"

Yuan Lingdian nodded. "I didn't do anything more."

Yuan Lingdian knew his master's intention. Because he himself was originally a pure martial artist and had even broken through to the Far Traveler Realm from the strongest Golden Body Realm. However, after receiving his master's guidance, he had abandoned that gift, considered it as accumulating martial fortune for Northern Juzhou. In the end, with great perseverance, he gave up martial arts to focus solely on the Dao. The hardships along the way surpassed even the breakthrough from Nascent Soul to the Upper Five Realms.

Yuan Lingdian knew that his master wanted him to give some pointers on fist techniques to the other man. But Yuan Lingdian wasn't very interested in it, and he didn't think his guidance would actually be of any use.

On Prostrate Peak, unless True Man Fire Dragon explicitly stated what a disciple should think or do, it was fine for the many disciples to think and act as they pleased.

True Man Fire Dragon didn't say much more. Although he had already lost the game, he suddenly laughed. "Seeking life within death—that is indeed somewhat difficult."

Li Liu said, "The board is so small; if one's heart aims for such, it's simply courting death."

Li Liu casually shattered the mountain roots and water fortune, returning them to heaven and earth. True Man Fire Dragon also withdrew his Dao-intent chessboard.

Only then did True Man Fire Dragon ask, "What did that letter from Lion's Peak, which you intercepted earlier, say?"

Li Liu replied evadingly, "Just as you said, True Man, it was sent by Water Magistrate Li Yuan proper. He didn't ask the Nanxun Water Palace for help, nor did he simply not send a letter and just deliver the token to Lion's Peak."

True Man Fire Dragon laughed. "So, since you've chosen this path, you have a long way to go. It's not that others have only one lifetime. You, Li Liu, have accumulated so many lifetimes, so you certainly know the most and are the most correct. Very good. I lost the game, but outside the game, I've managed to save face."

Li Liu didn't really mind winning or losing the game, whether inside it or out. She had simply experienced too much. She wasn't even very invested in this life or this body.

She treated it more as a journey through winding mountains and repeating waters.

Since Li Liu was born with knowledge, she naturally knew more—not just about worldly affairs, but also about the various human hearts seen through the lens of human hearts.

In the world's temples and monasteries, the statues of deities were mostly gilded. Old Man Yang had required them, as remnants and outcast sinners, to do the opposite: first wrap themselves in a layer of human heart. Even if it was just for show, they must truly walk through the real human world.

But now, Li Liu also had things she genuinely cared about, such as that Dao contention that had turned heaven and earth upside down in the early years. The curtain was rising again. Li Liu occasionally wished that the curtain would fall as soon as it had risen, causing that person to lose completely in this life.

This time, when True Man Fire Dragon placed his piece on the Water Dragon Sect's board, aside from Chen Ping'an, there was another layer of meaning: Shen Lin's natural advancement, and a few words said for Water Magistrate Li Yuan's benefit to the Water Dragon Sect Master Sun Jie.

But in truth, True Man Fire Dragon was following fate to help the three parties overcome their respective difficulties, big and small. That was true. More importantly, he hoped that through Li Yuan's actions after his awakening, some "words" could be relayed to Li Liu, who was standing right in front of him.

After all, in the matter of "being human," even Li Liu, who had lived for millennia, was ultimately a junior.

Unfortunately, Li Yuan couldn't hear him, and True Man Fire Dragon didn't want to interfere too much.

Yuan Lingdian felt a pang of emotion.

His master, back in the Central Lands Divine Continent, had already sensed the anomaly in the martial fortune of the ancient battlefield on Golden Armor Continent. For Chen Ping'an, if he were to obtain that martial fortune as a victory in the game, then Chen Ping'an and that woman of the same age from the Central Lands would become a very subtle pair of opponents.

With the addition of the unintentional Cao Ci, the situation became even more complex.

If Cao Ci hadn't gone to that ancient battlefield site, Shi Zaixi, the woman who had broken through to the sixth realm of martial arts from the world's strongest fifth realm, might have already smoothly broken through. But she hadn't obtained those "strongest" two words. Because there was Chen Ping'an in Northern Juzhou, his realm was more solid and stable, his fist intent heavier. However, after Cao Ci appeared, Shi Zaixi was filled with fighting spirit. Her competitive nature drove her. Her extraordinary talent forcibly raised the height of her martial bottleneck. She was determined to land a punch on Cao Ci, a seventh realm martial artist, while she was still in the sixth realm. Even if it was just one punch that connected, she would be willing to break through. In contrast, Chen Ping'an's martial bottleneck was initially higher, so he naturally had to stubbornly delay his breakthrough.

One delayed, one slowed.

This created a game where the two were playing far apart, yet unaware of it.

True Man Fire Dragon only knew that Shi Zaixi was at the ancient ruins of the collapsed statues on Golden Armor Continent, and he had heard that Cao Ci had gone there.

From this, he deduced the general situation and pattern.

True Man Fire Dragon laughed. "If Shi Zaixi could wholeheartedly focus, without thinking about those 'strongest' two words, that would be an extraordinary and refined grand vision. For other pure martial artists, such a drop in spirit might be a bad thing. But for her, it would be seeking life within death, granting her fist intent a great freedom. This is probably what Cao Ci wanted to see, which is why he never left the ruins and actively helped Shi Zaixi train her fists. Although Cao Ci is only at the Golden Body Realm, for the proud and aloof Shi Zaixi, he happens to be the best whetstone in the world. Even the full-force training of a Mountain Summit Realm martial artist wouldn't have this effect."

Yuan Lingdian nodded. "Shi Zaixi's real bottleneck earlier wasn't in her fists; it was in her heart."

Then Yuan Lingdian smiled. "Actually, if Chen Ping'an is lucky and continues to stall, not breaking through before Shi Zaixi does, he could still be the current strongest sixth realm and still receive a portion of the martial fortune."

"In my view, that's doubtful."

After True Man Fire Dragon made his judgment, he turned his head to look at this disciple. "I asked you to deliver money to Fushui Island because I hoped you would personally tell Chen Ping'an this fact: a martial artist speaking to a martial artist, using their own language, is more meaningful than an old True Man trying to reason about fist techniques with a third-realm cultivator. I originally wanted to see whether Chen Ping'an would hold onto a thread of hope for that martial fortune, showing the slightest sign of deliberately slowing his pace, or whether he would seek life within death in a way different from Shi Zaixi's but connected by the same Great Dao. At present, Chen Ping'an is training his fists to the point of stagnation, but it's not due to laziness. He fights deadly battles one after another, which is nearly flawless. He could already comfort himself by saying that human strength has its limits. But can he, when reaching the dead end of a blind alley, wield a child's fist to break through the alley wall, opening a path on the road of his own spirit?"

Yuan Lingdian smiled bitterly, feeling somewhat guilty. "Disciple has failed you, Master. Should I return to the Dragon Palace Heaven?"

True Man Fire Dragon laughed. "Forget it. Let everything follow its natural course. Do you think telling him this would definitely be a good thing? That Chen Ping'an would certainly secure the 'strongest' title? Do you think there are no consequences from exerting himself to the utmost at every turn? A person who refuses to accept fate every single time, who thinks pursuing the extreme is always good—on the path of cultivation, that is a way to die. Fighting for the strongest sixth realm, then fighting for the seventh after getting the sixth, then claiming the eighth should be his, and if someone fights him for the ninth, shouldn't they die? Isn't that the contention of the Great Dao? Every step of the way, the gritted-teeth fury of a common man. When has martial arts been so debased?"

Li Liu shook her head. "That reasoning is too extreme."

True Man Fire Dragon also shook his head. "A pure person should be beaten to death for extreme reasoning."

Yuan Lingdian had no doubts about this point.

Cao Ci handled it very well. On his martial path, he climbed high on his own, but he didn't stop others from climbing high. If there was an opportunity, he would even give others a hand, just like he was helping Shi Zaixi hone her realm.

This was also one of the reasons Cao Ci was "unmatched" in the Central Lands Divine Continent.

It wasn't just because his master was the Female Martial God Pei Bei, who protected Cao Ci from accidental attacks by Upper Five Realm cultivators. If it weren't for that, the enemies of the great dynasty he helped destroy included more than one or two Upper Five Realm cultivators. Killing you, Pei Bei, was a luxury. Killing your disciple Cao Ci, who was traveling in another continent, would not be too difficult; at the very least, there would be a chance.

But Cao Ci's own thoughts, actions, and behaviors were his greatest protector. For example, this time he traveled to Golden Armor Continent with his friend Liu Youzhou. How much did the God of Wealth of the Aiai Continent value Cao Ci's life? Did he value it as much as his own legitimate son Liu Youzhou? On the surface, these seemed like choices the God of Wealth made after weighing costs and benefits, but in the final analysis, they were Cao Ci's own decisions.

Among the true pure martial artists of the Central Lands Divine Continent, most were willing to offer Cao Ci some degree of goodwill. It might just be casual talk, saying a few good words for the younger generation, or they might even personally step in to quell some potential ripples of danger.

Turning bad into good is a skill; making good even better is an even greater ability.

What truly sees all things in the world is not the eyes, but the human heart.

To judge Cao Ci only by his unprecedented talent and by the fact that his master Pei Bei stood behind him—

This is using the eyes effectively, while the heart remains closed off.

Li Liu seemed accustomed to sparring verbally with True Man Fire Dragon. She laughed and said, "These truths won't apply to many people."

True Man Fire Dragon laughed heartily. "Judge each matter on its own merits, judge each person on their own merits. Don't reject all matters because of one person's fault; don't judge a whole person by a single matter. Then right and wrong, truth and falsehood, won't be such a muddled mess."

Li Liu said, "Difficult."

Yuan Lingdian nodded. "Master is right."

Would he side with his master or with an outsider?

Besides, Yuan Lingdian fundamentally believed his master was more correct.

Then True Man Fire Dragon smiled and asked, "Then I must ask you this: when and where do you think the heart-questioning moment will occur for this Cao Ci and for our Northern Juzhou's current number one young man?"

In his heart, Yuan Lingdian was accustomed to being a cultivator who spoke with "strength and power." After so many years of cultivating his mind, he was still not perfect, which was why he had been stuck at the Jade Pure Realm bottleneck. This didn't mean Yuan Lingdian was arrogant or domineering. On Prostrate Peak, when it came to Dao techniques and principles, Yuan Lingdian lacked nothing. In fact, when he went down the mountain for training, Yuan Lingdian, the master of Whispering Mystery Peak, ironically had the best reputation among his peers. Yet he was also the one most frequently and most severely punished by True Man Fire Dragon.

Yuan Lingdian thought for a moment, then smiled. "Naturally, it will be when the unprecedented Cao Ci meets a successor who stands beside him or not far behind him. And not only that, but this successor also has a chance to surpass Cao Ci. That will be the key moment when Cao Ci's true heart is revealed. As for Lin Su, who wins every single time he chooses to fight, the moment he suffers a solid defeat, he will endure great torment."

True Man Fire Dragon nodded, seeming to accept these two answers. Then he asked, "And what about you, Lingdian? Why can't you break through? Is there another Daoist cultivator in this world who has the cultivation of an Immortal but is stuck at the Jade Pure Realm? I've opened my eyes wide and looked everywhere, yet I haven't found many."

Yuan Lingdian replied, "Naturally, it's because I've focused too much on cultivation of strength and not enough on cultivation of the heart."

True Man Fire Dragon smiled. "Is it because in your early cultivation, your strength was too great, you thought too little, and you broke through too quickly? Compared to your senior fellow apprentices on the Grand Cloud and White Cloud branches, do you feel you understand the true meaning of the deeper Dao techniques the least? Or was it because you were punished too heavily by me later, and you thought that even if you hadn't made a mistake, you simply hadn't considered it? So you kept pondering and analyzing, closing yourself off to reflect on where you went wrong. And when you figure it out, that will be the time to break through?"

Yuan Lingdian nodded in agreement. "That is indeed the case."

"Have you ever considered the possibility that you might be using the concept of 'having made no mistakes' to search for mistakes? Might you be going in circles on the wrong path?"

True Man Fire Dragon sighed. "Foolish child! In this world, when a master passes the Dao to a disciple, can it only be by pointing the way and taking shortcuts? Is the master not allowed to set up barriers on the path, making it difficult for the disciple to walk, even if the direction is correct? So that the disciple's heart for seeking the Dao can become even firmer?"

For the first time, Yuan Lingdian showed a hint of grievance. "Master's Dao techniques are so profound, and his knowledge is so vast. Your disciple would never dare to doubt any of it."

True Man Fire Dragon pointed at this master of Whispering Mystery Peak and angrily said, "Go ask that young man on Fushui Island! At his young age, does he have that thought? That even his most respected Master Qi Jingchun might not be absolutely correct in everything?! Does he dare to think this?! Dare to intentionally ponder the principles of the sages outside the Literary Sage's lineage, but without the fear of overriding the earliest principles?!"

"Lingdian, if you think all the truths in the world reside solely with your master, and a disciple can only learn seventy or eighty percent of them, then when the disciple passes it to the disciple's disciple, and so on, how many truths will be left in the world? If you, Yuan Lingdian, don't even dare to think this, after six hundred years of arduous cultivation, have you only grown in strength and not in your Dao heart?! What, does my Prostrate Peak need a coolie to move mountains, carry soil, chop firewood, and burn charcoal, just to give you, Yuan Lingdian, that physique of yours?"

Yuan Lingdian glanced at his master's slightly swaying sleeves and said cautiously, "Master, please don't be angry. Let's talk this over calmly."

Li Liu undermined him. "Elder Yuan said 'doesn't want to,' not 'doesn't dare.' True Man, don't get caught up in your own reasoning and wrong Elder Yuan."

Yuan Lingdian was nearly half-dead with anger. With you, Li Liu, as a friend, who needs enemies?

He, Yuan Lingdian, knew his master's temper best of all. After all, Yuan Lingdian had been beaten more than any other disciple. He, the master of Whispering Mystery Peak, claimed to be second on Prostrate Peak, and no one dared to claim first.

"'Not wanting to' is worse than 'not daring to'! 'Not daring'—at least one has thought of it, just hasn't acted upon it yet."

Sure enough, True Man Fire Dragon was furious. Finally, he said coldly, "Go into seclusion at Peach Mountain Stone Grotto for ten years. When you've figured it out, you may be released!"

Yuan Lingdian was silent for a moment, then sighed inwardly. Ten years was nothing; a nap, shutting his eyes and opening them again, would pass. But it was embarrassing, wasn't it? Master goes on this trip, leaves the mountain and returns, and he is the only one who needs to pack his bags and roll from Whispering Mystery Peak to the Peach Mountain Stone Grotto for confinement. Those two senior brothers from White Cloud and Peach Mountain would happily come to the grotto's entrance every now and then, leisurely brew tea and drink together. And they'd even ask if he was thirsty?

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck Yuan Lingdian. He said softly, "Master, I've made an appointment with Peak Master Zhang. We were going to go down the mountain together sometime to help him fulfill a wish."

True Man Fire Dragon no longer kept a stern face. He gave a faint smile, "hmm," and said with a kindly expression, "Although it's your own fault, you don't have a competitive heart against yourself. If you have a senior fellow apprentice who can help, you don't hesitate. On the surface, you accept that your personal small world is inferior to the great world outside, but in truth, it means your human heart doesn't lose to the heavenly heart. This is the clear and pure mindset a Daoist cultivator should have. Very good, very good. Since that's the case, Lingdian, you don't need to go to the Peach Mountain Stone Grotto. Stay by Peak Master Zhang's side and wholeheartedly protect your junior brother's path for a while. Remember, you are absolutely not to reveal your identity. You are only to travel at the foot of the mountain."

Yuan Lingdian performed a Daoist bow. "Rest assured, Master."

Oh my goodness. Now it should be Baiyun and Taoshan who are envious of me, right?

Afraid his master might change his mind and take back his promise, Yuan Lingdian immediately transformed into a rainbow and flew away.

Li Liu said, "Elder Yuan has already figured it out. The day he returns from descending the mountain will be the day he enters seclusion to break through his realm."

True Man Fire Dragon nodded. "So whether or not he goes to face the wall at Peach Mountain Stone Grotto doesn't matter at all."

True Man Fire Dragon intended to use the principles that Yuan Lingdian could most readily accept, guiding him step by step and imparting the Dao to resolve his doubts.

Otherwise, if True Man Fire Dragon, as a master, simply instructed his disciple, and as a peak Ascension Realm exponent imparted the Dao to a Jade Pure Realm cultivator, it wasn't that it couldn't be done, but it would be of little use and full of hidden dangers.

Truth was not a matter of a few simple words. It was about the listener, after hearing them, truly opening the door of their heart. Beyond the few words of others, one must ponder more themselves, ultimately achieving harmony with the Great Dao.

Li Liu laughed. "Elder Yuan's comprehension is very high. If you hadn't intentionally suppressed his nature, he might have had a chance to break through to the Ascension Realm earlier."

True Man Fire Dragon sighed emotionally. "There's nothing else for it. This kid's innate temperament is too impulsive. I had to hold him back a bit. Otherwise, Prostrate Peak would attract too much attention, but that's a minor issue. Once Yuan Lingdian breaks through too quickly, besides his own state of mind lacking a bit of refinement, the other junior and senior brothers might inevitably have their Dao hearts damaged. That would be a major problem. One Fire Dragon True Man is already a mountain pressing on their hearts. If another Yuan Zhizun were to appear, anyone would feel troubled. Furthermore, Prostrate Peak doesn't need to rush to produce another Ascension Realm cultivator just for the sake of it. What is meant to be his won't run away. Otherwise, if I were not on Prostrate Peak in the future, with Yuan Lingdian's temperament, he would take the burden upon himself. His cultivation of the heart is insufficient, and the principles of the other lineage brothers and sisters would be diminished. Both the speaker and the listener would subconsciously think this way—it's human nature, no exception. A mountaintop immortal clan that is full of foul miasma, with decrepit mansions, and a deep but stagnant pool of water, means that the rules are merely written on paper, gathering dust in the ancestral hall, not taking root in the cultivators' hearts."

Li Liu said, "The establishment of rules by any founding ancestor is of utmost importance."

True Man Fire Dragon nodded. "Of course. For example, swordsmen like Bai Shang and his ilk all have their own foundations. Naturally, they will propagate their teachings and bear fruit according to their own ideas. Which of those immortal families that can be called 'sects' doesn't have a complete set of their own rules? The key lies in seeing whose rules can flow continuously like a fine stream, whose doors are not moth-eaten, and who can gather the wind and hold the water. However, in the matter of the master pointing the way and the disciple walking the path, my Prostrate Peak is worthy of being called a rarity in the world. What it lacks now is someone who can help Prostrate Peak reach even greater heights."

Li Liu laughed. "Zhang Shanfeng?"

True Man Fire Dragon said, "I can only say that Shanfeng has the greatest hope, but I hope that disciples like Yuan Lingdian can also achieve it. However, I look at all the inner and outer disciples and grand-disciples of Prostrate Peak, giving each hope, each different. It's not that I think Shanfeng's achievements have the highest potential, and therefore I ignore the others."

Li Liu shook her head. "That's like a man standing up and talking without feeling the strain in his back. Would an Earth Immortal cultivator or a Jade Pure Realm sect master be willing to think like this?"

True Man Fire Dragon smiled and retorted, "When have I ever forced other mountain tops to think that way?"

In the end, True Man Fire Dragon said solemnly, "But you must understand, if cultivators who have reached my position were all unwilling to think this way, then the world would be in dire straits."

Li Liu gave a meaningful smile. "Dire straits?"

True Man Fire Dragon said, "In the small game of chess we are playing, I lose a few games to you, even if it's a thousand games, so what? But in the chess game of the world, I'm not bragging when I say this—you really cannot win."

Li Liu smiled. "We don't really mind."

True Man Fire Dragon said, "Funnily enough, we do mind."

Li Li was about to head to the Dragon Palace Heaven.

Northern Juzhou had reached the endgame stage. Lion's Peak, the Chongxuan Bureau's Yang clan of the Great Source Dynasty, and the Water Dragon Sect were all pieces on the board. In truth, many of her pieces were "unreasonable moves," here one moment and gone the next, leaving only a few pieces placed on the board according to the rules.

Of the Ji River's Lingyuan Duke and the Dragon Pavilion Marquis, she could only secure one position.

Originally, both Shen Lin of the Nanxun Water Palace and Li Yuan, the Water Magistrate of the Ji River Middle Shrine, had a chance to ascend to this supremely revered Water God high position. In fact, Li Yuan's claim should have been more straightforward.

But Li Liu's "indifference" was her own business. For you, a mere Water Magistrate, to also be indifferent for a thousand years—what was that all about? If it hadn't been for True Man Fire Dragon's willingness to have a few more words with Li Yuan and even saying a few things for him when the chess match began, she would have gone to the Dragon Palace Heaven and killed Li Yuan with a single strike, shattering his golden body and returning his water fortune to the Ji River. She could have gotten a new Water Magistrate who would be willing to give the Water Dragon Sect full protection. The Water Dragon Sect would have been even more grateful.

True Man Fire Dragon suddenly said, "Li Liu, let's start another game. You concede half your loss, how about that?"

Li Liu naturally didn't want to play another game.

It was simply that True Man Fire Dragon had deliberately waited for Yuan Lingdian here, and with nothing better to do, he had pulled her into a game. After all, for a cultivator at the peak of the Ascension Realm, their cultivation wasn't even in their heart-mind anymore, let alone the absorption of heaven and earth's spiritual energy.

Many of True Man Fire Dragon's words, which seemed to be said here and there like stepping on a watermelon rind, were meant, on the one hand, to enlighten his disciple Yuan Lingdian, and on the other hand, to act as a friend and lay things out clearly for Li Liu, to help her sort out the major and minor veins of Prostrate Peak. However, this was the first time True Man Fire Dragon had so directly and openly stated their true relationship, which was both friendly and adversarial.

This led to Li Liu's subsequent return to the Dragon Palace Heaven.

And this led to the final outcome where Li Yuan obtained a jade token "Three Feet Sweet Dew," while Shen Lin received the future title of Ji River Lingyuan Duke.

Shen Lin couldn't believe it, and Li Yuan was even more dismayed.

As for whether Li Yuan knew that he had originally been doomed to die, and that someone from the Ji River Middle Shrine would have impersonated him as Water Magistrate, and that he had been saved by True Man Fire Dragon, and that the chi-dragon jade token was obtained because of Chen Ping'an... Li Yuan might still be in the dark to this day. To say this was bad: Li Yuan had essentially done very little, seemed to enjoy blessings while lying down, had merely performed a few small tasks as ordered, and had inexplicably obtained a jade token condensed with incense. To say it was good: because of his millennia of inaction, simply letting fate take its course, he had lost the future Lingyuan Duke position, the foremost Water God seat in Northern Juzhou.

True Man Fire Dragon stayed on the mountain peak, alone, recalling some dusty trivial past matters. They were quite annoying.

Some involved his own Prostrate Peak, some involved this Northern Juzhou Continent under his feet, and some involved the entire Bright World.

Whenever this old True Man thought about these things, he got sleepy. Earlier, he had stomped his foot and come here from Prostrate Peak, and now he stomped his foot again and returned to the summit of Prostrate Peak.

When he dozed off, Prostrate Peak would get a snowfall, letting the little ones have fun with snowball fights.

Zhang Shanfeng was crouching in the square, surrounded by a large circle of junior generation little Daoist boys. Most were new faces, but Zhang Shanfeng was always familiar with children. The young Daoist was telling them about the great difficulties of slaying demons and vanquishing monsters at the foot of the mountain. The little ones were all "oohing" and "aahing," perking up their ears, widening their eyes, clenching their fists, each one more immersed in the story than the last. They were anxious! Why had Little Junior Uncle only talked about how powerful the demons were and how formidable their techniques were, but not yet about the peachwood swords flying back and forth, swoosh swoosh, and the satisfying decapitation of the monsters?

Zhang Shanfeng stopped his storytelling, looked up, and laughed. "Master, you're back?"

The little Daoist boys all brightened up and bowed to their grandmaster. One of the bolder ones secretly tugged at Little Junior Uncle's Daoist robe sleeve. Zhang Shanfeng looked around. They all nodded vigorously, gesturing to him.

So Zhang Shanfeng said, "Master, it's almost New Year down at the foot of the mountain. It wouldn't be right not to have snow in the deep winter."

True Man Fire Dragon walked over to them, reached out and touched a little Daoist boy's head, and laughed. "Then Grandmaster will try his best and take a nap? And in his dream, beg the heavens for a heavy snowfall?"

These innocent, playful little Daoist boys all nodded like chicks pecking at rice.

When Grandmaster took a nap, that's when it would snow on the mountain.

This was an old tradition passed down by word of mouth from the generation of Zhang Shanfeng's masters and the older senior brothers on Prostrate Peak.

True Man Fire Dragon smiled at Zhang Shanfeng. "Senior Brother Yuan will return to the mountain and then go down with you to fulfill your wish."

Zhang Shanfeng was stunned. "I asked Senior Brother Baiyun about this! He already agreed. It had nothing to do with Senior Brother Yuan."

True Man Fire Dragon scolded with a laugh. "This little bastard, even tricking his own master."

The little Daoist boys all had their mouths wide open.

Grandmaster could swear too?

True Man Fire Dragon looked a bit helpless. He turned and left, finding a place to sleep.

Zhang Shanfeng began to clean up his master's mess. He spoke earnestly to the little ones. "Don't learn your grandmaster's habit of casually cursing people."

One little Daoist boy crossed his arms over his chest and said huffily, "On the mountain, Grandmaster has the highest seniority. What's wrong with him cursing people?"

Zhang Shanfeng grabbed the kid's ear and gently lifted it. The little Daoist boy cried out, "Ouch!" and quickly stood on tiptoe, begging for mercy. "Little Junior Uncle, don't randomly hit people. I know I was wrong."

After Zhang Shanfeng let go with a smile, the little Daoist boy grumbled, "My master said that if we don't respect our elders, our butts will get a beating. Little Junior Uncle, you better watch out."

Zhang Shanfeng crouched down and continued the mountain-foot story.

That little junior nephew listened intently, then suddenly complained, "Little Junior Uncle, aren't there any good demons and monsters down the mountain? If not, then why do Grandmaster and all the uncles let them do bad things?"

Zhang Shanfeng smiled. "Well, there's a reason for that. When my friend comes to visit our home, I'll have him tell you. He has a mountain of interesting stories about landscapes."

Another little Daoist boy shook his head vigorously. "I bet they won't be as good as Little Junior Uncle's!"

Zhang Shanfeng waved his hand, grinning brightly. "Stop telling such obvious truths. When the snow comes, we'll have a snowball fight. I'll ally with you."

That little Daoist boy immediately refused. "No way!"

From what the senior brothers said, during every snowball fight, Little Junior Uncle got hit the most because he was the tallest and ran the fastest. And even if he was hit, he wouldn't get angry.

Zhang Shanfeng tugged at his Daoist robe collar and said seriously, "You dare disrespect your Little Junior Uncle? Aren't you afraid your master will beat your butt until it's blooming?"

The little Daoist boy scrunched up his face and said softly, "Master left last year."

Zhang Shanfeng was stunned for a moment. He sighed, then pointed at the little Daoist boy and said gently, "Actually, he didn't leave. Don't you still remember him?"

The little Daoist boy lowered his head, his eyes red. He murmured, "That's what Master said when he left. He told me not to cry, said that as long as I remembered him, he hadn't left. I didn't need to remember him constantly; it was fine to just think of him occasionally. He also said that when I could think of him and not be so sad anymore, that would mean I had grown up. Then I could go down the mountain to slay demons and vanquish monsters. Little Junior Uncle, why is it that so much time has passed, over a year, and I'm still so sad?"

Zhang Shanfeng thought about it but still couldn't find any words of comfort.

When we were children, time seemed to pass day by day, counted on our fingers.

When we grew a little older, months became years.

If we became cultivators on the mountain, with high realms, ten or a hundred years would pass in the blink of an eye. How many of those around us could we remember? And how many of them could be considered truly close to us?

Zhang Shanfeng had once asked his master many questions. But most of the time, True Man Fire Dragon only said that the questions themselves had no answers; the questions were the answers. And many things that seemed like answers were really just the next question.

Zhang Shanfeng didn't feel his master was brushing him off. This allowed him to feel even more lost.

Was his master's Dao technique profound?

Of course not.

Because his master's Dao technique wasn't on the mountain or in the heavens, but in the human world at the foot of the mountain.

A little Daoist boy asked curiously, "Little Junior Uncle, what are you thinking about?"

Zhang Shanfeng was about to speak.

Another little one said softly, "He must be secretly thinking about a pretty girl down the mountain."

Yet another little Daoist boy chimed in, "Stop telling such obvious truths."

Zhang Shanfeng laughed dryly. "We'll put aside that mountain-water story of slaying demons and vanquishing monsters for now. The rest will be revealed next time. Little Junior Uncle will first tell you a more exciting story from the bottom of his chest."

But a little Daoist boy immediately said to his companions, "Don't worry. Little Junior Uncle is definitely just trying to scare us with a ghost story."

Zhang Shanfeng looked at this bunch of little bastards, each one sharper and more clever than the last. This current circle of junior nephews was even harder to handle than the little junior nephews he had before he went down the mountain.

Zhang Shanfeng had to pull out his ultimate weapon. He shouted loudly, "Master, why isn't it snowing yet?"

The old True Man, who was dozing off on a distant cliff, opened his mouth and laughed. "You still have to eat your fill before you can go to the latrine."

All the little Daoist boys looked pitifully at their Little Junior Uncle. They felt their Little Junior Uncle's brain wasn't very sharp.

Zhang Shanfeng stood up. "Forget it. I'll teach you all some boxing."

Boos erupted everywhere. They all ran away.

No snow. No stories. In the deep winter, there were no wild fruits on the mountain. None of their masters had made anyone's butt bloom. So Little Junior Uncle was pretty useless.

Zhang Shanfeng suddenly noticed one little fellow had stopped running.

Zhang Shanfeng was already satisfied. He smiled and beckoned. "Alright, alright. Little Junior Uncle will just teach you one person some boxing."

That little Daoist boy grinned, and while shouting "hee-ya hee-ya" he flailed his arms and legs in a set of "turtle fist" punches. Then he threw out a "Did Little Junior Uncle learn that?" and ran off.

Zhang Shanfeng scratched his head.

This bunch of little junior nephews was too slippery; Little Junior Uncle couldn't handle them.

At dusk, in a market town at the foot of Lion's Peak.

A young stranger in a green robe, carrying a bamboo case and walking staff, entered a fabric shop with decent business.

A woman who was attending to customers turned her head and saw a customer enter. She laughed. "Aiyo, a handsome young man! Come to pick out some silk for your wife? To make her a nice dress?"

Chen Ping'an spoke in his hometown dialect. "Auntie Liu, it's me, Chen Ping'an. I live in Mud Vase Alley."

The woman was stunned. "The Chen Ping'an that my Li Huai is always talking about?"

Chen Ping'an nodded. He was carrying several large and small packages of gifts, all bought from the town's shops.

The woman immediately dropped her current business, telling a few well-to-do town women to pick out their own fabric. She brought Chen Ping'an a long bench. "Sit, sit. Old Li has gone up the mountain. No telling when he'll be back. But as long as there aren't any fox spirits up there, he'll definitely be back before nightfall at the latest. But honestly, even if there were a fox spirit, she wouldn't take a fancy to that wooden lump, right? It was just my own bad luck, blinding me to marry that Li Er back then."

The woman sat on the other end of the bench, no formality with Chen Ping'an. "Mud Vase Alley, I know it. It's pretty close to the Lock Wrought Iron Well. A quiet alley with few people. At the end of the alley, there's a young widow, a little less pretty than me. Not far from Mud Vase Alley, in Apricot Flower Alley, there's that Horse Shaman Woman. You know her, right? That old lady—the older she gets, the more venomous her mouth gets. Tsk tsk tsk, I swear she could talk a dead person back to life. That young widow Gu from Mud Vase Alley can't even out-argue that old hag."

Chen Ping'an gently placed the gifts behind the counter, took off his bamboo case and put it by his feet, leaned his walking staff at an angle, and sat sideways, quietly and patiently listening to the woman talk about hometown affairs.

The woman suddenly slapped her thigh. "That heartless Li Liu of mine—have you seen her? You two probably haven't met yet, right? Ah, Chen Ping'an, you don't know, but our girl has rebelled. As soon as she became a tea-serving maid for those immortal lords up on the mountain, she immediately forgot her own parents. She keeps running off, and it's been a long time since she's been home. Anyway, if she gets tricked by some smooth-tongued lout out there, I won't feel sorry for her. I'll just consider I raised a daughter for nothing. It's only my Li Huai who'll be pitiful, having no sister or brother-in-law to rely on."

Chen Ping'an smiled at the woman. "Li Huai will have a future with his studies. I know Li Huai. He doesn't learn quickly, but he has stamina. Most importantly, the child has a good heart. He takes after you and Uncle—both kind-hearted. That's not something you learn from books. Plus, Miss Li has become an immortal on the mountain now, with no worries about food or clothing. At the very least, I believe she'll find a good match in the future, someone she can talk to as a family. I'm not just saying this to be polite, Auntie Liu, but you are truly blessed."

"Those of us from common backgrounds, when we live our lives, we have to look ahead to see what's what. Today we add a jar or a vase, tomorrow we save up for a square table. Bit by bit, we furnish our home, and life naturally becomes prosperous."

The woman beamed from ear to ear. This young man, he was handsome, and he could talk. And it wasn't that fancy, flowery language; it was down-to-earth talk that even she thought made sense.

Besides, if he could go out of his way to take care of Li Huai like that, how could he be a bad person? Even if he wasn't dressed like someone who'd gotten rich and famous, as long as he was honest, if he was willing to be good to Li Huai even when he wasn't his brother-in-law, then once he became Li Huai's brother-in-law, wouldn't he put his whole heart into it and do his best to help Li Huai out?

Why not try to match Chen Ping'an with her own daughter? Once this thought occurred to the woman, she immediately began sizing up this young man who had come from afar with the eyes of a mother-in-law appraising a son-in-law. Not bad, not bad at all! He kept himself neat and tidy, and you could tell at a glance that he was a careful and considerate young man. It really wasn't that she was being unfair to that boy Lin Shouyi from the academy. It's just that the woman always felt they were separated by such a great distance. How many beautiful women were there in the vast and bustling Great Sui capital? If Lin Shouyi's heart changed one day, would her daughter be left an old maid, never married? Li Liu, this girl, took after her mother. She was pretty, that was true. But the woman knew that a woman's good looks weren't everything. If you weren't careful, you could end up with a heartless man. The prettier your face was, the more trouble it would bring. If your pride was too high too, you'd just mess up your own life. In seven or eight years, she probably wouldn't even dare to look at herself in the mirror.

She grew happier and happier the more she looked at him. It really wasn't that she was fickle. That Dong Shuijing boy, who used to help out with chores at their home all the time, he was certainly honest and dutiful. But she had always felt something was missing. As for Lin Shouyi, everyone said he was a real scholar, but she felt her family was reaching too high. She had heard that this boy's father had worked in the Inspector's Office back then, and he was a fairly high-ranking official. Besides, any family that could move to the capital must have a high threshold. If Li Liu actually married into that family, with that naive, clueless girl, wouldn't she just end up being bullied? And in the future, if Li Huai wanted to go visit, he might be looked down upon by the gatekeeper!

How could Chen Ping'an have any idea what Auntie Liu was plotting? When he saw this elder just smiling without saying anything, afraid of an awkward silence, he took the initiative to chat.

Chen Ping'an suddenly turned his head, then looked back and smiled. "Auntie, Uncle is back."

The woman leaned out and looked out the door. Sure enough, he was back. She laughed. "It's almost dinner time. I'll go make you a hometown meal."

The woman stood up and, as was her habit, bellowed, "Li Er!"

A man immediately started jogging.

The woman complained, "Don't you see Chen Ping'an is here at our house? You dawdle the whole way home, like you're expecting to find money on the ground outside."

Li Er smiled as he stepped over the threshold. "You're here."

Chen Ping'an had already stood up and called out, "Uncle Li."

The woman, seeing that Li Er intended to sit in her spot, snapped angrily, "Go buy some wine! Are you saving up your private money to buy rouge and powder for those fox spirits?"

Li Er said gloomily, "I've never had any cash on me."

The woman slammed the counter hard. "Take some money from the drawer yourself and hurry up and go buy two jugs of good wine. After you buy the wine, have Chen Ping'an stay in the room we prepared for Li Huai. Think about whether there's anything missing, and buy whatever's needed while you're at it."

Turning to Chen Ping'an, the woman's face broke into a smile. "Chen Ping'an, make yourself at home here. If you're too polite, I'll get angry."

Chen Ping'an smiled. "I won't be polite, Auntie. We must have a plate of stir-fried winter bamboo shoots with meat."

The woman laughed. "We'll have it. Must have it."

Li Er took the money and left the shop with Chen Ping'an.

They were all neighbors and folks from the same hometown, and being at the foot of Lion's Peak, there was no need to worry about the shop being unattended.

The two walked along the gradually quietening street. Chen Ping'an asked softly, "Uncle Li, do you know where Li Xisheng of Fortune Street is now? The older brother of Li Baoping. Is he somewhere in Northern Juzhou?"

Li Er said, "I know him. He came to visit me before, with a rather peculiar book-companion boy. I'll tell you the details later."

Chen Ping'an breathed a sigh of relief.

Otherwise, it would have been hard for him to find the man.

Li Er hesitated for a moment, looked around, finally fixed his gaze on a certain spot, frowned, and then threw a punch.

Across the entire street, only Chen Ping'an vaguely sensed a slight trace.

Even if someone nearby had been staring intently at Li Er, they wouldn't have been able to see him throw a punch.

Then, from a distant sea of clouds, a muffled clap of thunder sounded, audible even in the little town.

After throwing the punch, Li Er didn't explain anything. He just said, "Li Xisheng told me to pass this on to you: before you go looking for him, you must know one thing. That peachwood talisman he gave you back then wasn't a spur-of-the-moment casual gift. Of course, in the end, you didn't accept it. Later, when he drew the talismans for the Bamboo Tower of Fallen Mountain, it was to sever a not-insignificant karmic tie connected to you. So, Li Xisheng says you don't need to thank him. If you can't do that, then don't come looking for him."

Chen Ping'an nodded. "Alright."

Li Er reached the corner liquor shop, paid the shopkeeper, and bought the two most expensive jugs of wine. "You're in luck."

A young drinker sitting there laughed and asked, "Hey, Li Er, has your Li Liu come down the mountain yet? Could it be that Miss Li has gotten used to living in the immortal mansions up there and looks down on the dog kennel down here?"

Li Er ignored him.

On the way back, Li Er nodded and smiled. "This sixth realm of yours is very solid."

Chen Ping'an didn't hold back much around Li Er. "At a place slightly east of the Ji River, I received guidance on three punches from Senior Gu You."

Li Er grunted in acknowledgement, but quickly added, "Three punches are still a bit few."

Chen Ping'an said, "No choice. Senior Gu had to leave to keep an appointment. He was going to have a duel with Senior Ji Yue from Ape Cry Mountain."

Li Er hadn't gone to watch that fight.

There wasn't much need.

So Li Er said, "It's fine. There's no shortage of food on the table here, and fists too."

Chen Ping'an thought for a moment. "Let's finish the meal first."

Li Er rarely showed a serious expression. He turned his head and asked, "There's one thing I need to know first. What are you aiming for? The 'strongest' two words?"

Chen Ping'an shook his head and laughed. "From the very first day I started training my fists, I never aimed for that. Later, because of other people, I did think about 'strongest' and martial fortune. But in the end, I realized the two aren't actually related to the act of fighting."

Li Er kept looking at Chen Ping'an.

Chen Ping'an continued, "If I rely only on my own fist training, whether it's in spirit or in strength, when my own fist intent has reached its peak, then since I know you, Uncle Li, I can of course seek outside help once. I don't care about martial fortune, but I must break through with a heavier fist intent. To put it simply, this Golden Body Realm must be my Chen Ping'an's Golden Body Realm, one built upon the extreme of my own physique. That's all I'm fighting for."

Li Er didn't say anything more about fist training. He just grinned. "If you, as a guest, don't eat your fill, Auntie Liu won't be happy either. And if she's not happy, I won't even dare to leave the table and clear the dishes."

Chen Ping'an laughed softly. "That's wonderful."

It was only then that Li Er patted Chen Ping'an on the shoulder. "Eat and drink your fill, get punched a bit, and then talk about this."