Chapter 796: Not Haoran
The group walked on foot toward the Yuanyang Zhu ferry, planning to broaden their horizons at the Baofu Zhai on Yingwu Island.
Chen Ping'an, Li Baoping, Li Huai, Nen Daoren, plus an outsider, Lady Tuoyan, who was now listed on the Dragon Elephant Sword Sect's landscape registry. And another person who was the most outsider yet the least willing to see himself as such, Liu Chicheng, who was secretly discussing with Nen Daoren about which characters at the various ferries were worth cursing and which were worth fighting.
Earlier, when Chen Ping'an had passed on the ingenious plan to the young flower goddess, he hadn't deliberately avoided Lady Tuoyan. She heard every word clearly.
Lady Tuoyan was still worried. "Are you really at ease letting Rui Feng'er go alone to pay respects to Zhang Wenqian? Aren't you afraid she'll say the wrong thing in the heat of the moment and ruin everything? That Fat Immortal is notoriously difficult to deal with. Why don't you, the Hidden Official, go yourself? Wouldn't that be safer?"
Perhaps you, the Hidden Official who never rises early without profit and rises early only to make money, could also use the opportunity to forge a connection with that Fat Immortal, and through him, with Master Su as well.
But of course, Lady Tuoyan didn't dare speak that last sentence aloud.
Zhang Wenqian, one of the four disciples of Master Su, was known as the "Fat Immortal" due to his majestic appearance and a physique far exceeding ordinary men.
Chen Ping'an smiled. "It's just a few words. What could the Balsam Flower Goddess possibly say wrong?"
That would be underestimating a Flower Goddess of the Hundred Flowers Blessed Land.
Moreover, at the end of their earlier casual chat, Chen Ping'an had also comforted the Flower Goddess with some reasoning that wasn't quite reasoning. He told her that when she met Zhang Fuzi, she would certainly be nervous, but she needn't worry, because Mr. Zhang would know she was nervous. Her nervousness came from sincerity, and that was a good thing. So being nervous was fine. Even if her voice trembled when she spoke, it didn't matter. She could just let herself be nervous, and if she was so nervous she couldn't speak, she could continue being nervous; there was no need to rush to speak.
When the Balsam Flower Goddess heard these words from the young sword immortal in the blue shirt, she clearly relaxed a bit. Since even being nervous wasn't something to fear, what else did she have to be afraid of?
Lady Tuoyan asked, "Chen Ping'an, why are you willing to help with such a big favor?"
Chen Ping'an replied, "Actually, I'm not helping you. The kind of person Lady Tuoyan appears to be to outsiders is the kind of person others will think Lu Zhi is."
Lady Tuoyan actually relaxed a bit more. Since it wasn't for her sake, then she didn't owe him a favor.
Chen Ping'an smiled. "To be honest, I was rather surprised that you came to me for this favor."
Lady Tuoyan turned her head to glance at the young Hidden Official. She was actually even more surprised that Chen Ping'an said that. As if he considered her one of his own?
Then she thought about it again and immediately tensed up. So it was still for her sake after all?
Chen Ping'an said helplessly, "All these years, you've been the one suspecting things and always thinking I have ulterior motives."
Lady Tuoyan smiled awkwardly. "No, no such thing. How would I dare misunderstand the Hidden Official like that?"
Chen Ping'an said, "Lady Tuoyan, think about it for yourself. If I were to swear to you that I no longer have any designs on the Plum Garden, that my actions back then were just duty-bound and unavoidable, and that after we both return to our hometowns, even if we aren't friends, we're certainly not enemies—would you believe me? Or would it make you even more convinced that I harbor ill intentions?"
Lady Tuoyan narrowed her eyes in thought, pondered for a moment, and then nodded. "Yes, that's true. It really is like that."
Liu Chicheng was being very well-behaved today, pretending not to recognize Lady Tuoyan, who had such a good relationship with the Hundred Flowers Blessed Land. Otherwise, given his temperament, wearing that pink Daoist robe, he would have long since fluttered around Sister Tuoyan like a colorful butterfly.
After all, he had once summed up a solid truth on Baoping Continent: you can't buy it for a thousand gold, and you can't sell it for ten thousand.
That truth was: Don't provoke anyone connected to the Wen Sheng lineage or any child born in Lizhu Cave Heaven.
First Chen Ping'an, then Li Liu by the Xielong Stone (she only counted as half), then Li Baoping outside Qingfeng City, and then half of his martial nephew Gu Can? That made exactly three. Bad things come in threes; it was time to remember that lesson.
Liu Chicheng had already made an appointment with his friend Nen Daoren. The two brothers were planning to go to the Barbarian Wilds World together. The sky was high and the earth was vast out there; they could travel everywhere. Who could restrain them? Who would dare block their way? It was the perfect opportunity for the two brothers to make a name for themselves.
Li Huai craned his neck, looking around.
He didn't know what the relationship was between Chen Ping'an and her.
As for that fellow in the pink robe, he clearly seemed like someone not to be trifled with. He had heard he was the master of the Lazuli Pavilion in White Emperor City. Just hearing "White Emperor City" and "Pavilion Master" made Li Huai's heart sink.
After all, a friend of a friend wasn't necessarily Li Huai's friend. Since he wasn't in his own nest, what right did he have to be arrogant? The Water Glider of the Nine Truths Immortal Lodge had been a lesson.
Li Huai had no idea that at this very moment, in the Confucian Temple, several accompanying sages were discussing him and had begun a small-scale deliberation specifically about him.
Inside the Confucian Temple, a Director of Studies from the Academy first conferred with the Sacrificial Wine, then tentatively said to Old Master Han, "Why don't we give Li Huai the title of Worthy?"
This Director of Studies had earlier requested a copy of the academy archives from the Classicist Xiping, a file detailing the resume of the Cliffside Academy Confucian student Li Huai, along with evaluations from various course masters and the academy head.
Even the usually rigorous Old Master Han, the Vice Archbishop of the Confucian Temple, was somewhat hesitant. It was clear he was leaning toward giving it, but giving it might easily raise objections and would certainly add burdens to Li Huai's future studies and travels.
It wasn't that the Confucian Temple didn't take the title of Worthy seriously and was willing to hand it out casually.
In fact, the awarding of the title of Worthy by the academies had always been a matter of self-selection by each continent's academies. The Confucian Temple almost never interfered in the verification and evaluation of Worthies.
Academies managed Worthies; the Confucian Temple managed Gentlemen. This was a rule personally established by Li Sheng.
It was just that this kid's contributions were too great. A fourteenth realm old blind man having his allegiance reversed was worth twice as much, effectively giving the Haoran World an extra two hundred thousand mountains.
Judging by the situation, as long as his disciple was willing to speak up, the seven or eight hundred Golden Armor Puppets within those two hundred thousand mountains could all charge toward the Barbarian Wilds World in a mighty torrent under a single command?
Furthermore, according to the archives, although Li Huai was "lacking in strength" when it came to scholarship, he was at least "diligent in his studies, without slack, gentle in temperament, and free of arrogance and impatience."
And looking at the handwriting, it was clearly the personal brushwork of Mao Xiaodong, the Director of Studies at the Book of Rites Academy.
For a Confucian disciple, the attitude toward learning was actually very important.
As for the level of scholarly achievement or the results of the imperial examinations, well, one still had to consider whether the founding patriarch blessed one's efforts.
Old Master Han asked the Archbishop of the Confucian Temple beside him. Master Dong smiled. "It's not a big problem. I think it's feasible."
Old Master Han then inquired of the Classicist Xiping, who was sitting outside the door. The latter replied, "At Yuanyang Zhu, Li Huai's mind was clear and pure. That was no small feat."
So it was settled.
Li Huai was now a firmly established Academy Worthy.
Such matters surely didn't need to trouble the three principal sages, including Li Sheng, did they? Besides, that Old Scholar was already Li Huai's literary lineage patriarch. When it came to protecting his own, Wen Sheng could be considered an undisputed fifteenth realm great cultivator.
At this moment, Li Huai, who had just boarded a ferry heading to Yingwu Island, certainly had no idea he was about to become an Academy Worthy.
It was something he wouldn't even dare to dream about.
Little Yingwu Island was packed with people, overflowing. Because the old master of the Baofu Zhai there had personally opened a Baofu Zhai—naturally, this was no ordinary event—to the point that even the wife of the God of Wealth from Baibai Continent had brought her prestigious girlfriends, appearing together. With her around, it wasn't spending money; it was throwing money away.
The local ferries at the dock were very crude, since they only needed to travel between the four ports. Great cultivators who wanted to visit friends either traveled by wind or had their own ferries.
The group stood by the railing, gazing down at the mountains and rivers below. Only the Confucian Temple was shrouded in clouds and mist.
No Ascension Realm cultivator would dare to use the Palm View Mountains and Rivers technique to spy on that landscape.
Li Baoping asked softly, "Little Uncle, are you thinking about something?"
Chen Ping'an smiled. "Little Uncle has already succeeded over at Aotou Mountain. Right now, he's standing in the middle of the street, ready to trade insults with someone."
Back home in the town, any child with a bit of spiritual root was no slouch in this matter. In the alleys and lanes, amid the crowing of roosters and barking of dogs, there were experts every day helping to "nurture their skills." There were simply too many opportunities to "learn the moves" by imitation.
Unfortunately, over there at Jiang Longxiang, this old scholar, hailed as "the literary patriarch and a reclusive immortal of go" in the Shaoyuan Dynasty, had been thrown to the ground by that man. His clothes were disheveled, his hair mussed. Sitting on the ground, enduring the intense pain throughout his body, he gritted his teeth, his heart full of hatred, but his lips remained sealed.
Even when the man told him to curse again, Jiang Longxiang just silently waited for reinforcements to arrive from Aotou Mountain. As long as the green mountain remained, there was no fear of running out of firewood. A scholar should not engage in verbal battles with a brute. Unseemly fistfights would only cause a loss of dignity; they were not the actions of a scholar.
Besides, not far away was the Confucian Temple, the Xiping Stone Classics, and the Merit Forest.
Jiang Longxiang truly wasn't afraid of a mountain cultivator seeking vengeance for no reason.
Sitting on the ground for a while was fine.
Jiang Longxiang had some guesses. Judging by the situation, that Old Scholar whose statue had been smashed back then was about to have a turn of fortune. Perhaps he would even return to be enshrined in the Confucian Temple.
It didn't matter. Even if the Old Scholar became a Wen Sheng again, he wouldn't have the face to haggle with him. If he really did have the face to do such a thing, Jiang Longxiang wasn't afraid at all; in fact, he would welcome it.
This young man in the blue shirt in front of him wasn't an enemy. The other party certainly wasn't acting on impulse. Maybe he had guessed that the Old Scholar's rise to power was imminent and wanted to earn some reputation without spending any money? Or perhaps he wanted to latch onto the Wen Sheng lineage?
The person Jiang Longxiang truly feared was not Wen Sheng, but Zuo You, who had spent a hundred years abroad seeking immortals and had also visited the Sword Qi Great Wall. He was afraid this sword immortal wouldn't reason with him like a scholar would.
Zuo You only knew how to practice his sword, only knew how to draw his sword and cut people down. He didn't understand the principles of the sages.
Chen Ping'an waited patiently for a while. Seeing that Jiang Longxiang stubbornly refused to speak, he took a step forward and kicked the man square in the face.
Jiang Longxiang slid backward and slammed into a wall, wincing in pain. He felt like his bones were falling apart. Covering his mouth, he lowered his head and saw blood on his hands and two missing teeth. The old scholar's eyes were dazed. Both in pain and fright, he immediately howled, "Someone's committing violence! Murder!"
Chen Ping'an's gaze shifted slightly. Someone had arrived from Aotou Mountain.
Most likely it was a mountain immortal who had a good relationship with the Shaoyuan Dynasty and some private friendship with Jiang Longxiang, coming over to say a few fair words.
It was said that on the border of Great Li in Baoping Continent, among the frontier iron cavalry, there was a saying: to know if a scholar has spine, just give him a knife.
Three cultivators landed together. An old cultivator among them was about to speak.
But the blue-shirted sword immortal, who had fought a great battle at Yuanyang Zhu, was incredibly arrogant. He completely ignored the three of them and just smiled at Jiang Longxiang. "Stop shouting. A lot of people are watching. You'll end up following in Li Qingzhu's footsteps—make a hard journey to the Confucian Temple, and in the end, you won't earn any mountain incense, but you'll get a resounding nickname. First there was Li the Water Glider, and now there's Jiang the Door God. Otherwise, do you think I kicked you with just the right amount of force to knock out the two teeth beside your front teeth?"
Among the three, someone frowned. "Fellow Sword Immortal, if there's any mountain grudge, whether right or wrong, just make it clear here in this important place of the Confucian Temple. Can you not be so aggressive? A mountain sword immortal bullying a Middle Five Realms cultivator—what's that all about?"
Then a Pure Martial Artist of the Far Journey Realm crashed to the ground with a boom, standing between the blue-shirted sword immortal and Jiang Longxiang.
Chen Ping'an smiled and asked, "Shaoyuan Dynasty, Grandmaster Tong Jing?"
Far Journey Realm peak.
North Julu Continent's Qionglin Sect, the Central Earth's Shaoyuan Dynasty, and Baibai Continent's Liu Clan.
Chen Ping'an had been very interested in these three while at the Summer Resort Palace. He was particularly interested in how the Liu Clan made money—how they managed to be so skilled at generating wealth that they could give away the Ape Trample Mansion on Inverted Mountain to the Sword Qi Great Wall without batting an eye. As for the other two, he didn't have a good impression of them at all. As for Jiang Longxiang, Chen Ping'an actually knew quite a bit. He wasn't a stranger at all. Some came from casual chats with Lin Junbi, some from trivial mountain-and-water gazettes. Among them was this Jiang Longxiang's martial arts friend, Tong Jing.
The man named Tong Jing smiled. "Oh? The Sword Immortal has heard of me. So, are you going to challenge me with a sword, or shall I challenge you with my fists?"
Anyway, here, no one would die.
Landing a few punches, taking a few sword strikes, and saving Jiang Longxiang, the literary leader—this was definitely not a losing deal.
Chen Ping'an smiled. "You go ahead with your fist challenge. I'm just afraid you won't get an answer."
Tong Jing's martial intent surged forth like a flood. His aura rose as he opened his stance. He truly wasn't half-hearted. Could it be that he was going to let this blue-shirted sword immortal take the initiative to challenge with his sword? Besides, from watching the commotion at Aotou Mountain earlier, this blue-shirted sword immortal seemed to have a very mixed bag of cultivation methods; he was also proficient in fist techniques?
Then Tong Jing threw a punch. He did get close, but then stopped moving, refusing to throw a second punch.
They were less than a foot apart. That blue-shirted figure stood there with hands in sleeves, smiling expressionlessly. Tong Jing maintained his stance, his fist still at least a foot away from the other.
Tong Jing stood like a mountain, his expression calm. It was just that his arm was broken.
Such a domineering fist force, like the protection of a deity!
Was he really a Peak Realm martial artist?
Nonsense, he was definitely beyond the Peak Realm. When he got back to Aotou Mountain, he had to argue with his friends. This senior was definitely a Terminus Realm martial artist!
Chen Ping'an reminded him with a smile, "The fist challenge is over. Return the bow with a cupped fist."
Tong Jing felt that this senior was truly considerate. This move was indeed feasible!
But the senior hadn't used sound condensation into a thread. That was a minor flaw.
Withdrawing his life's most peak fist strike, his arm went limp, just barely caught by his other hand. Tong Jing clenched both fists and said in a deep voice, "I concede. My skill is inferior. I won't say another word!"
The sword immortal smiled, tilted his head slightly, and gestured for this Pure Martial Artist to move aside.
Tong Jing strode away.
Chen Ping'an turned to look at the three cultivators. "Tong Jing has already laid out his reasoning. What do you have to say? Anyway, today's reasoning is in fists, in swords, in techniques, in talismans, in divine powers, in backing, in sects, in patriarchs—whatever you choose. The mouth's reasoning was given to Jiang Longxiang. The fist's reasoning was given to Tong Jing. There are a few other kinds left. Take your pick."
The three cultivators laughed bitterly but could only remain silent for a moment. Then they heard the blue-shirted sword immortal say with a smile, "I'm not someone who doesn't listen to reason."
The three had come this time only to protect Jiang Longxiang, to ensure his life was safe, and to try to keep him from suffering too much physical pain.
Fighting was definitely out of the question. He could go blow for blow with the immortal Yun Miao.
And that fellow calling himself Nen Daoren, an Ascension Realm cultivator, had made Nan Guangzhao a laughingstock. He was obviously a mountain friend of this blue-shirted sword immortal, perhaps even a senior from his sect.
One of the old cultivators suddenly twisted his fingers, catching a gold light speeding over from Aotou Mountain. It was a secret letter, personally delivered by his own founding patriarch.
The old cultivator's face paled. He bowed to the blue-shirted figure with his fists and said, "Our apologies! We'll leave immediately!"
The other two were confused, but the old cultivator grabbed one each with a hand, exerting great force. He communicated via voice transmission: "Listen to me! Get out of here now!"
There were only two sentences in the founding patriarch's secret letter.
Zheng Juzhong went out to meet this man, and they toured Wenjin Ferry together.
If you want to die, go ahead, just don't drag the sect down with you.
Chen Ping'an didn't stop the three from flying away. They came in a hurry, and left even more hastily.
Jiang Longxiang was utterly stunned, his expression wooden as he leaned against the wall.
Chen Ping'an crouched down. He flicked his sleeve, and in his hand appeared a handful of pebbles he had picked up from the road. One by one, he gently tossed them at that scholar.
——
Inside the Confucian Temple, the deliberation was underway. Outside the great gate, drinking continued, and neither interfered with the other.
Lu Zhi said, "Next time there's a deliberation like this, don't include me."
Even in the presence of the Classicist Xiping, Lu Zhi spoke directly.
A Liang said, "It's not like the Sword Qi Great Wall. People's minds are not unified. A closed-door deliberation may seem long-winded and tedious, but it's actually more beneficial. Because when the door finally opens and everyone leaves, there will be fewer forks in the road beneath our feet."
The Classicist Xiping smiled knowingly.
A Liang grinned. "Brother Xiping, doesn't that sound very sage-like?"
Xiping said, "The last sentence ruined it. Without it, it was close."
A Liang automatically ignored the latter part, gently swishing his wine flask. "Lu Zhi, you'll be very popular here from now on."
Lu Zhi asked, "Because I wield my sword without using my brain?"
A Liang laughed. "How could that be?"
Lu Zhi stretched out her long legs, tilting her head back as she drank.
A Liang also tried to stretch his legs, but found that compared to Sister Lu, he was stepping on a lower step. He promptly withdrew his legs in frustration and sat cross-legged instead.
Sitting didn't show how short you were; stretching your legs did. That hurt the feelings.
Lu Zhi was always a bold drinker. She quickly finished a flask of wine, set it aside—naturally, on the side far from A Liang, lest he beg for the empty flask—heaven knows what that rascal might do with it.
Lu Zhi asked casually, "A Liang, why don't you just settle down and be a proper scholar? Being an academy head wouldn't be that hard for you."
A Liang shook his head. "Even if I could, I wouldn't be good at it. When it comes to sword practice, a hundred Mao Xiaodongs can't match A Liang. But when it comes to teaching, ten A Liangs can't match Mao Xiaodong."
If he became a proper, dignified scholar, he would never have peace. Whether as an academy head, a Director of Studies, or even a Gentleman or Worthy without official position, he, A Liang, would feel like he had never left that Sage Mansion in his life. His scholarship would end up being neither high nor low, with no great achievements. That man who seemed forever angrily unangry, happily unhappy, would probably be disappointed for a lifetime.
A Liang didn't want to be just another Confucian descendant of the Four Great Sage Mansions, with a prestigious status but mediocre learning, of little use to the world.
But if he were a carefree, roaming swordsman, the one whose portrait and statue hung in the Confucian Temple couldn't scold him every day, could he? Teach him sword practice? That would be embarrassing.
At most, he could put on his fatherly airs, advising him to try to follow the rules with every sword strike, to observe propriety, not to harm the innocent, and never to damage the hearts of the people because of his sword strikes... The same old few sentences, nothing more.
After all, when it came to sword practice, even Chen Qingdu didn't nag him too much. So in all the worlds under heaven, no one had the right to point fingers at A Liang's sword.
There were so many fine wines and beautiful women in the world, all waiting for A Liang to drink and meet. How could he keep both sides waiting too long?
A Liang's expression turned somewhat serious. He turned his head and said, "Lu Zhi, when the two of us return to the Sword Qi Great Wall later, take it easy. Don't casually use that flying sword."
Earlier, Zuo You had left some leeway in his words, not directly agreeing to Lu Zhi's plan to challenge Word Mountain together. That was actually for a very good reason.
This was a secret matter on the Sword Qi Great Wall that wasn't even recorded in the Summer Resort Palace archives, because it involved Lu Zhi's second life-bound flying sword.
Only the peak sword immortals who participated in the city wall deliberations were qualified to know.
On the Sword Qi Great Wall, a small group of sword cultivators walked a more unorthodox path.
The reason Lu Zhi had yet to break through to the Ascension Realm, besides being relatively young, was a more fundamental one: she had expended too much mind energy, time, and immortal money on her second flying sword.
That flying sword was called "Northern Dipper."
It came from the wandering immortal poem "The Jade Capital Immortals Gather at the Northern Dipper," and also "The Northern Dipper's scattered cold light hangs down, one sword lifts to sweep the eight wastelands," and even more so, "The Southern Dipper governs life, the Northern Dipper decrees death."
But this flying sword had never appeared on the battlefield.
A Liang knew that even the old great sword immortal, who didn't like to meddle, had once summoned Lu Zhi to the city wall and asked her if her brains had been soaked in water. Was it worth delaying her own breakthrough to the Ascension Realm just to refine a broken sword? Did she think with her backside?
Because A Liang had been crouching nearby at the time, watching the excitement and the scenery. The last sentence from the old great sword immortal, which was his most scholarly remark, was actually borrowed from A Liang.
Lu Zhi had replied something like: whether she killed many or few demons, how great or small her battle merits—the old great sword immortal could mind his own business. But how she practiced her sword was none of his business.
In this world, there was no perfect situation where both sides were satisfied.
Just like Zuo You. To reach the highest peak of sword techniques and the sword path, he had to delay his own breakthrough.
And Lu Zhi, in her pursuit of the ultimate killing power of this life-bound flying sword, was the same. She had to make a choice.
Lu Zhi reached out and asked A Liang for another flask of wine. She took a deep drink, wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, and said softly, "If only that war had been fought a hundred years later."
A Liang smiled and shook his head, teasing her. "If I were Chen Ping'an, I wouldn't have the heart to let Sister Lu go to Qi Tingji and the Dragon Elephant Sword Sect. I'd throw away my face and beg you to be a guest elder."
Lu Zhi said, "That's why you can't be the Hidden Official."
A Liang nodded. "I admit that."
Lu Zhi asked, "Xiping, is Yuanyang Zhu over?"
The Classicist Xiping nodded. "Chen Ping'an plans to go to the Baofu Zhai on Yingwu Island with his friends."
As for the other Chen Ping'an, he had already gone to Panshui County to meet Zheng Juzhong; they were touring Wenjin Ferry. He didn't need to mention that—everyone would hear about it soon.
Lu Zhi smiled. "Back to the old trade, his old line of work."
Under the watchful eyes of all the city-wall sword cultivators and the great demons of the Barbarian Wilds World, there had once been an outsider, not yet the Hidden Official, who ran back and forth, bending over to clean up the battlefield, astonishing both friend and foe.
Later, as the Hidden Official, that young sword cultivator put on a woman's face, dressed in red and green, with a graceful figure, leaving the city wall to head for the battlefield, picking up scraps of war merits. He pretended to be even more womanly than a woman. Just when it seemed perilous, he would even let out a delicate shout—not a fierce roar—dodging techniques with a twist of his waist, like a blooming flower, his dharma robe fluttering, beautiful like a blossom...
So from beginning to end, his identity was never revealed. It was eventually Lu Zhi, with her blunt tongue, who pointed out the truth. After that, if Lu Zhi wanted to buy wine again, she had to ask friends to help, because the tavern had received orders from the second boss: for the great sword immortal Lu, the price of wine was doubled. Lu Zhi couldn't very well argue with those single-minded tavern workers and children. Besides, making Chen Ping'an too ashamed to show his face in the Summer Resort Palace—spending a few extra immortal coins was really nothing. It was just that Lu Zhi usually didn't have much money on her; she spent it all filling the bottomless pit of her life-bound flying sword "Northern Dipper."
A Liang also knew that the reason Lu Zhi had refined that flying sword "Northern Dipper" at any cost was to have her name engraved on the city wall.
Like she had long made up her mind: once she finished carving her name, she would leave.
For Lu Zhi, an Immortal Realm sword cultivator wielding that flying sword could behead an Ascension Realm great demon, especially the throne-bearing ones she had in mind, with a greater chance of success than a "normal" Ascension Realm sword cultivator without that sword.
The cultivators of the Haoran World would certainly not understand this kind of obsession from Lu Zhi.
Abandoning realm? Die just to leave a name?
A Liang understood.
Lu Zhi hoped that on the city wall of the Sword Qi Great Wall, there would once have been a female sword cultivator who carved her name there. She didn't want all the carvers to be men.
A Lu Zhi like this—how was she not beautiful?
She was very beautiful.
When the old great sword immortal had instructed the Summer Resort Palace to send Lu Zhi to South Posuo Continent, he naturally hoped that Lu Zhi's sword path, sword techniques, realm, and flying sword would all take a hundred steps further.
Otherwise, even if Lu Zhi were lucky enough to have one life-bound flying sword shatter without dying on the battlefield, she would still drop in realm. That would mean falling from Immortal to Jade Purity.
Once you entered the Upper Five Realms, breaking through to a higher realm was already extremely difficult. Falling in realm and then rising again was even harder than reaching the heavens. Just like A Liang, and Liu Cha who fished in the Merit Forest secret realm: they had both given up hope of returning to the Fourteenth Realm in this lifetime. It wasn't that falling in realm meant depression, but that human strength has its limits. The good and beautiful things in the world cannot all fall upon one or two people.
The old great sword immortal must have hoped that the mortal world would not only have a sword cultivator named Lu Zhi who survived the battlefield, but also a female sword immortal who, in the future, could wield two intact flying swords and go toe-to-toe with certain Fourteenth Realm cultivators.
A Liang asked with a smile, "Once the old great sword immortal was gone, no one could really control you anymore. So why did you change your ways?"
Lu Zhi said, "Nothing much. I just feel that if I don't have to die, then I shouldn't. There seem to be many things left to do."
For example, the Five Colors World still had that Ascension Realm.
For example, she had never taken on disciples.
Maybe it was because too many people from the Sword Qi Great Wall had left and never returned, and Lu Zhi was worried that no one in the Haoran World would remember them. As long as she was in the Haoran World, swinging her sword without end, or as long as there was a Dragon Elephant Sword Sect...
A Liang nodded. "That's very good."
Lu Zhi turned her head and looked at him seriously for a moment. "It's just that you're a bit ugly."
A Liang smoothed his hair. "And now?"
Riding a donkey in a light rain, wearing a bamboo hat, carrying a bamboo sword diagonally, whistling as he roamed the martial world.
A Liang had always felt there was no distinction between mountain and secular; the mortal world was a martial world wherever you went.
The yellow-braised lamb in Beilong, the tripe in Chongqing hotpot, the braised carp under the waterfall in the Yellow River Small Cave Heaven—all were excellent accompaniments to wine.
A Liang turned to the Classicist Xiping and said with a smile, "Can we learn a thing or two from the Sword Qi Great Wall? Let the deliberation be, but also let people come out to get some air and clear their heads?"
The Classicist Xiping nodded, then consulted with the three archbishops of the Confucian Temple. Soon, two groups of people walked out one after another through the great door.
Zuo You and Qi Tingji walked out together.
Lin Junbi, the Little Heavenly Master Zhao Yaoguang, and the little god of wealth of the Hanging Fish Fan Clan, Fan Qingrun.
The two groups that came out first from the Confucian Temple were sword cultivators and young people.
After that, people trickled out over the threshold, sitting on the steps, in twos and threes, some high, some low.
Even during the Confucian Temple deliberation, wine was allowed, but drinking outside, with a broad view, was indeed another kind of flavor.
The Classicist Xiping stood up and returned to stand by the doorway. Some of those who had just lifted their backsides intending to go out knew the spots were limited and quietly sat back down.
Fan Qingrun sat on the steps, twisted his wrist, and produced a folding fan. On the fan were painted beautiful ladies, their eyes bright and clear, either painting in a colorful pavilion, playing the zither under the forest, or burning incense while reading.
Inside the Confucian Temple, he wouldn't dare to do such a thing.
Fan Qingrun said softly, "Junbi, I'm really curious about Xiao Xun. Can you tell us what you can?"
Zhao Yaoguang nodded. "Count me in."
Lin Junbi thought for a moment and gave a concise answer. "The previous Hidden Official."
Fan Qingrun snapped his folding fan shut and slapped his forehead.
After his little joke, Lin Junbi took out two bottles of Yaba Lake wine that he had treasured for many years and handed them to Fan Qingrun and Zhao Yaoguang. "Try it."
Zhao Yaoguang took a sip. "Not great."
Fan Qingrun drank a few more sips and nodded. "Really not much."
Lin Junbi said, "Xiao Xun had very high prestige on the Sword Qi Great Wall. She was the Hidden Official there for a thousand years. Actually, her actions weren't like a Hidden Official; they were more like a Punishment Official in charge of life and death."
Lin Junbi began to drink, pouring wine into a bowl and gently swirling it. It was as if, from the faintly rippling wine, he could see the Sword Qi Great Wall he so deeply missed.
Lin Junbi never denied that he was unwilling to walk the battlefield of the Sword Qi Great Wall again, because he was afraid of death. But for the rest of his life, he would cherish that place. Because there was once a place where he willingly sacrificed his life, truly and genuinely experiencing a time of cultivation without fear.
Each flask of wine was bought by Lin Junbi with his own money. He spent money on drink and never ran up a tab—the tavern never made an exception. But the wine bowls were swiped from the tavern.
Lin Junbi planned to visit the Ascension City in the Five Colors World on his next journey, revisit the old Summer Resort Palace, and return the bowls to the tavern.
After a sip of Yaba Lake wine, Lin Junbi continued, "The Summer Resort Palace and the Winter Retreat Palace, allocated exclusively to the Hidden Official sword cultivator lineage, had archives piled up like mountains over the years. After I became a sword cultivator of the Hidden Official lineage, I spent years in the Summer Resort Palace reading many secret records. Most were accessible. I found that many were messy accounts with no head or tail, because Xiao Xun was too careless. Many annotations in the archives seemed more like her playing around. The two sword immortals who also defected, Luo Shan and Zhu An, were the ones actually in charge. But even they only did their duty. It wasn't that they did a bad job, but neither could it be said they did exceptionally well."
Lin Junbi said self-deprecatingly, "Like you, I initially thought that any Gentleman from the Confucian lineage could do a better job than Xiao Xun. For instance, the Gentleman Supervisor Wang Zai, or of course, myself, Lin Junbi."
Fan Qingrun said doubtfully, "Then why did they let her be the Hidden Official for so many years? No one objected? Was it because the sword cultivators who had opinions couldn't beat Xiao Xun, so they just shut up?"
Fan Qingrun wasn't foolish enough to think all the sword cultivators on the Sword Qi Great Wall were idiots.
Besides, not far away sat A Liang and Zuo You, Qi Tingji and Lu Zhi. It was better to speak cautiously, especially with Mr. Zuo of the Wen Sheng lineage present. The great sword immortal Zuo's temper was known to all.
Lin Junbi shook his head. "From the old great sword immortal to old sword immortals like Dong San'geng and Chen Xi, to all the sword cultivators—almost everyone on the Sword Qi Great Wall, even the new Hidden Official lineage, the Hidden Official Chou Miao, and later myself—we all felt that, leaving aside the betrayal, Xiao Xun was the most suitable person to be the Hidden Official on the Sword Qi Great Wall. No one else could be considered."
Lin Junbi raised his wine bowl. "Let me test you. What is the foundation upon which the Sword Qi Great Wall has stood for ten thousand years?"
Zhao Yaoguang smiled. "Besides the abundance of sword cultivators, what else could it be?"
Fan Qingrun said, "Not greedy for money, not afraid of death?"
Lin Junbi smiled. "This question was asked by the Hidden Official himself. I'm just using it to test you. If you were sword cultivators of the Hidden Official lineage, well, just you wait. The Hidden Official would be picking out flying swords from a big bamboo basket."
There was a saying on the Sword Qi Great Wall that the young Hidden Official had several big baskets full of sarcastic remarks, and when he cursed, he never repeated himself.
Lin Junbi's answer back then hadn't satisfied the young Hidden Official either. So now, Lin Junbi directly gave Chen Ping'an's answer.
"Not Haoran."
Because the Sword Qi Great Wall would never become the Haoran World.
That was Chen Ping'an's answer.
Fan Qingrun slapped his knee hard with his folded fan. "I'm convinced."
Zhao Yaoguang raised his wine flask. "I need to take a big gulp."
Lin Junbi continued to reveal an inside story that outsiders definitely didn't know. "Actually, even if Chen Ping'an hadn't appeared, there would still have been Chou Miao stepping up, taking on the role of the final Hidden Official as a young sword immortal."
And his two friends here would certainly be hearing the name Chou Miao for the first time.
But if Chou Miao had been in the Haoran World, he would have been the Wei Jin of the Blizzard Temple on Baoping Continent, the "Sword Immortal Xu Jun" of Golden Armor Continent. Chou Miao would have become famous throughout the world.
Lin Junbi said to himself, "In my heart, Chou Miao is second only to the Hidden Official. He was a very powerful sword cultivator. Not in sword technique, but in his ability to control the overall situation and strategize."
The former Summer Resort Palace was a place that made people feel particularly at ease. There were arguments, angry stares, chairs thrown, and tables overturned. But in the end, friends became better friends, and those who weren't friends before became friends.
Lin Junbi put his hands in his sleeves, hunched over slightly, and squinted into the distance. "In those years, at the Summer Resort Palace, whenever there was a moment of leisure, the Hidden Official would review the battles with us."
"For example?"
"For example, if the Sword Qi Great Wall had slightly opened its doors to more cultivators from the Three Teachings and the Hundred Schools of Thought, what would the situation have been within a hundred years, five hundred years, or a thousand years? Can you guess what the opening line of that review was?"
Lin Junbi answered his own question, since his two friends certainly couldn't guess. "It was a young girl who said something very rude. She said that even if they came in, they wouldn't be able to stay. We'd cut them half to death. They'd have the face to come, but not the ability to stay. Ha ha, miserable, miserable."
Lin Junbi pulled one hand out of his sleeve, pointed at himself, and smiled brightly. "When I first arrived at the Sword Qi Great Wall, I had to pass three trials according to local custom, and I almost got kicked out. Let me tell you something else, not afraid to air my family's dirty laundry. Back then, the Sword Immortal of Bitter Summer was screwed over badly by us reckless youngsters. Sword Immortal Sun Juyuan—you've heard of him, right? At first, he had a smiling face for us, but later, whenever he saw us, it was like seeing a two-legged chamber pot full of shit. As soon as he opened his mouth, it was all shit. Don't blame others for having good noses; blame the shit and piss for not smelling good... You guessed it, it was a metaphor the Hidden Official casually picked out of his basket."
You've never been to the Sword Qi Great Wall, so you'll never know what it's like to be looked at like you're not even human, from all directions.
But Lin Junbi held back that last sentence and didn't say it.
The Sword Qi Great Wall still existed, but the sword cultivators were gone—either dead in battle or migrated. So the cultivators of the Haoran World no longer had the chance to travel to the Sword Qi Great Wall and see it for themselves.
Lin Junbi asked with a smile, "Do you understand what I'm saying?"
Fan Qingrun and Zhao Yaoguang looked at each other. They felt insulted by this little bastard Lin Junbi.
Could being young, good at go, fast at breaking through, smart, handsome, and flawless like fine jade... could that justify bullying people like this?
Lin Junbi drank without stopping. The bowl was small, but he drank bowls quickly. He was already on his second flask.
"For this next war, if we want to win, there's something very crucial. Just two words: 'surprise.' We need to give the Barbarian Wilds World enough surprises. Otherwise, it's going to be very troublesome. Don't think that just because the Barbarian Wilds World lost the war, their vitality was severely damaged, even most of the throne-bearing great demons were lost, and they retreated in defeat, that they'll just be a bunch of chickens and dogs. We must firmly believe one thing: there are heroes in the Barbarian Wilds World too. They can step forward under the impact of a mighty tide and turn the tide."
Anyway, he had drunk some wine, and he was outside the Confucian Temple's main gate, surrounded by like-minded friends. So Lin Junbi was willing to say a few arrogant, world-defying words.
He was still young. He was drinking a bottle of Yaba Lake wine. Besides being a sword cultivator, he was also a scholar. Behind him stood the Confucian Temple.
So, with the slight intoxication from the wine, while he had not yet risen to a high position, with fewer rules to bind him and fewer gains and losses to weigh, he wanted to say some things he might not be willing to say later.
"Why were the three continents of Central Earth Divine Continent, Baibai Continent, and Liuxia Continent able to quickly transform the accumulated wealth of their various countries and sects into combat power in the later stages of the previous war? Why were they able, for the first time in the true sense, to fully exploit the geographical advantage of the Haoran World's abundant resources? Because they learned from the bitter lessons of Tongye, Fuyao, and Golden Armor Continents. We were terrified. Even just looking from afar made us wince. No one dared to claim they could stay out of it. That's when people's hearts came together."
"We can do that. The Barbarian Wilds World can do the same. The ferocity of those great demons when they truly fight for their lives—the cultivators of the Haoran World haven't really experienced enough of that yet. There have been too few prolonged stalemates. Apart from Baoping Continent, it seems we only have the battle in central Golden Armor Continent to learn from. That won't do. So later, when I enter the Confucian Temple, I'm going to ask Song Changjing directly: has the Great Li Song clan secretly collected any scroll paintings of the River of Time? If they're not willing to give them away for free, I'll suggest to the three archbishops that the Confucian Temple must buy them. If the Great Li Song clan absolutely refuses to sell, thinking the price is too low, if they try to make a killing, if they dare to haggle like that, then we won't let Song Changjing leave the Confucian Temple..."
The Classicist Xiping glanced at Lin Junbi's back and nodded slightly. Truly a young man who had spent a few years in the Summer Resort Palace.
The young man was a bit drunk.
Lin Junbi was in high spirits. No longer a boy, but still young, a sword cultivator drinking bowl after bowl of wine, his face slightly flushed, his eyes shining. "I don't admire A Liang. I don't admire Zuo You. But I admire Chen Ping'an. I admire Chou Miao."
It was precisely because A Liang and Zuo You were right there that I said this.
Their sword techniques were supreme, their battle merits brilliant, they could turn the tide. But they might not be able, or rather, might not be willing, to mend the cracks in the sky bit by bit.
Zuo You was too solitary.
A Liang was too carefree.
A Liang smiled.
Zuo You's expression was blank.
A Liang suddenly felt the urge to drink.
On the main street of the Sword Qi Great Wall, if a sword cultivator saw Dong San'geng, they could just call him by name. At worst, they'd get slapped flying.
In the Haoran World, if someone saw old gods like Yu Xuan of the Talismans or the Great Heavenly Master Zhao Tianlai, countless young people, disciples, even elders and peak cultivators would be nervous, their voices would tremble, they would admire and revere, feel flattery, and be jealous.
A Liang suddenly remembered that this kid Lin Junbi was, strictly speaking, a Confucian from the Ya Sheng lineage, wasn't he?
Lin Junbi hiccupped from the wine, his face flushed. His tongue began to tie. "I'm probably done for. I need to lie down and sleep for a while. You two go back inside to the deliberation. Don't worry about me. Let me close my eyes for a bit. If I'm not awake after half an hour, one of you can come shake me awake."
He raised his bowl again; since he was determined not to go, he might as well drink a few more bowls.
Heaven and earth are vast; the deliberation inside that gate wouldn't miss one little military secretary of the Confucian Temple.
To pass out drunk on the steps of the Confucian Temple, snoring like thunder. Such an opportunity, in this lifetime, was probably a once-in-a-lifetime thing. He had to cherish it.
Zhao Yaoguang said to Fan Qingrun via voice transmission, "Brother Hua Nong, you go back inside first. I'll stay and watch Junbi. Passing out is fine, but we absolutely can't let him go on a drunken rant. This kid has too much bottled up inside; we can't let him say it all in one go. Otherwise, when the three of us get together to drink again in the future, we won't get to see such an amusing sight."
Fan Qingrun smiled and got up to leave.
Lin Junbi hiccupped continuously, staring blankly at the empty wine bowl in his hand. No wonder the tavern's wine sold so well. With such a small bowl, drinking it all at once made one feel so heroic. "I'll finish mine, you do as you please." In truth, even if you drained a whole bowl of wine, there wasn't that much. A sword cultivator who wasn't a prodigious drinker could still be bold in the moment. Naturally, the more they drank, the more heroic they felt.
According to the rules of that tavern, losing a sword challenge was acceptable, but losing a drinking challenge was not.
If you lost a sword challenge, it just meant your current sword technique wasn't good enough. But if you chickened out in a drinking contest at the wine table, that was a character flaw. There were no other excuses. It meant you were destined to be a lifelong bachelor and someone who always borrowed money for drinks.
Word had it that an old sword cultivator, drawing on the wisdom of many, had successfully compiled a little booklet: "The Thirty-Six Tips on How to Keep Pressing Drinks Without Falling." Before each trip to the tavern, everyone was full of confidence, sure of victory. But every time, they all ended up under the table, calling each other brothers. After all, those gambling drunks, wine drunks, and bachelors who went there to drink—none of them hadn't read or glanced through that thin booklet that cost a few Snow Flower Coins.
The moment you sat down at the table, you were invincible.
When you sobered up, being carried home by a friend, or lying under the table together, or huddled in a corner by the roadside, you felt you never wanted to drink again—spending money, hurting yourself, suffering, losing face, it was all pointless.
But when the hangover passed, just one look exchanged with a friend.
"Let's go?"
"Alright!"
It seemed that on the Sword Qi Great Wall, drinking games were like that, the battlefield was like that, and life itself was like that.
Lin Junbi took another hard gulp of wine, then struggled to hold it in, but still spat it out. He leaned back and passed out.
Lu Zhi finished her wine, put the flask in her sleeve, and returned to the Confucian Temple to listen to the deliberation.
Qi Tingji followed Lu Zhi back to his seat.
A Liang moved over to sit near Lin Junbi and Zhao Yaoguang for a while, and had a good discussion with the Little Heavenly Master of Dragon Tiger Mountain. A fifty-fifty split was definitely out of the question.
Before returning to the Sword Qi Great Wall, A Liang definitely had to make a trip to the Heavenly Master Mansion. He had never been to Dragon Tiger Mountain, had he? No, he hadn't. He hadn't even seen the young lady Lian Zhen yet, so how could he have been to Dragon Tiger Mountain? If he had, it would be the same as not having gone.
Zuo You remained sitting in his original spot, alone. Wave after wave of people came out to drink, but no one took the initiative to approach him, not even a casual greeting.
That was Zuo You.
His sword technique was too high, his temper too bad.
The Classicist Xiping, standing by the door, suddenly smiled. "Zuo You, that little junior brother of yours is beating up Jiang Longxiang."
Zuo You only asked, "Are there any Ascension Realm cultivators over there who want to reason with my little junior brother? Even if they're not close, Ascension Realm cultivators hiding in the distance and using Palm View Mountains and Rivers are fine too."
The Classicist Xiping nodded. "There are two Ascension Realm cultivators who are somewhat disapproving of your junior brother's actions."
After spending time with the Old Scholar in the Merit Forest, they inevitably picked up some bad habits.
Anyway, they were both like Nan Guangzhao—Ascension Realm cultivators not qualified to participate in the Confucian Temple deliberation.
One had privately mocked the pure Confucian of South Posuo Continent, saying that Chen Chun'an had died at the wrong time and wasn't smart enough. The other had once been cut down by Zhou Shenzhi, so he had secretly walked through the mountain-and-water cave. He hadn't said anything, but on the battlefield ruins, the old cultivator had smiled very discreetly.
Actually, the Confucian Temple wasn't unaware of many things. It was that they gave too much freedom to mountain cultivators. The Confucian Temple was too focused on "investigating traces, not intentions."
So in the earlier deliberation at Sui Mountain's summit, the participants could be counted on one hand: the Supreme Sage, Li Sheng, Ya Sheng, the Old Scholar, and the Classicist Xiping, who had transformed from the book in the Supreme Sage's hand.
Regarding this matter, Li Sheng had personally admitted one thing to the Supreme Sage: "In the past, I was too rigid. I only viewed mountain peak people from a secular perspective. I was wrong."
Looking at that scholar who bowed in acknowledgment.
The Classicist Xiping had been very sad at the summit of Sui Mountain.
Then Ya Sheng admitted his mistakes in other matters, and the Old Scholar also admitted his mistakes. It seemed everyone had made mistakes.
So the Classicist Xiping now said to Zuo You, "Just do as you will. I'll clean up the mess."
Zuo You said, "Give me an exact location. There are too many restrictions in the Confucian Temple. I'm too lazy to search."
The Classicist Xiping waved his sleeve. Two specks of light flashed and disappeared, leading the way.
Two Ascension Realm old cultivators: one was in Panshui County, surrounded by stars and receiving homage, chatting and laughing; the other was on Yingwu Island, behind closed doors, discussing with his mountain friends how to make money on Tongye Continent, establish a branch sect, each taking what they needed, helping each other.
If they had attended the Confucian Temple deliberation today and had known how the five academy heads had left through the Confucian Temple's main gate, they would have been much more cautious in their words and actions, much more careful in their speech.
Zuo You stood up, drew his sword, and suddenly pulled it apart. The scabbard and the long sword split into two, one left and one right, flying toward Panshui County and Yingwu Island respectively.
Zuo You was faced with a dilemma: which one to cut first.