Unsheathed

Chapter 197 (1): Chen Ping'an Is Drinking Wine

Chen Ping'an instantly faltered upon hearing this.

This was an instinctive reaction, just like how the little boy in azure and the little girl in pink had froze upon seeing Zhi Gui. In fact, such kind of reaction had little to do with how high one's cultivation base was. Instead, this was purely due to the overwhelming nature of one's aura.

Pure martial artist... In some sense, this was most likely the essence of the description, pure.

Back then, Song Changjing hadn't done anything either while standing in the government office in the small town. However, the sword cultivator Liu Baqiao, who also had a fairly impressive cultivation base, had felt as if his entire body were being pierced by needles.

There was a loud boom.

Chen Ping'an had just been about to do something to guard against any unexpected situation, yet he was immediately sent flying backward before he could even do anything. He violently crashed into the wall of the bamboo building before limply sliding to the floor. He struggled for a short moment, but he only managed to sit up with his back against the wall. There was blood seeping from the corners of his mouth, and he couldn't stand up no matter what.

The old man crossed his arms after kicking Chen Ping'an in the abdomen, and he peered down at the young boy who was in a miserable state. He chuckled coldly and said, "You dare to let your mind wander when facing off against an opponent?! You're truly seeking death!"

Chen Ping'an reached up and wiped the blood from the corners of his mouth. After slowly exhaling, he stood up in front of the wall, as if he were facing a formidable enemy.

"The world tells us that there are only nine tiers of martial arts, yet it fails to realize that there exist more glorious views above the ninth tier," the old man said calmly. "You've only just reached the door to the third tier, yet in reality, your foundation for the second tier is only just passable. If I hadn't appeared, and if you had advanced to the third tier due to your pursuit of cultivation speed, you would have very likely ruined your foundations for reaching the ninth tier in the future.

"The path of martial arts doesn't allow for any flashy but unstable foundations. You've done fairly well so far, but it's still far from enough! This is because you already underperformed when performing Qi dispersion during the first tier!"

Chen Ping'an's breathing gradually returned to normal, and this was thanks to the fact that he had never slacked off when it came to tempering his physique. His foundation was very solid, and one had to realize that the description of "fairly well" was a very high appraisal coming from the old man. If an ordinary martial artist like Zhu He received such an appraisal, it was very likely that they would be so moved that they shed tears of joy.

However, Chen Ping'an was yet to understand these things, so he could only reply in a quivering voice, "Thank you for the assessment."

The old man strode forward, and the entire bamboo building shook slightly as a result. The invisible characters that Li Xisheng had written on the green bamboo walls also became faintly visible for a brief moment. A pure and imperceptible glow flowed from these characters, and the scene was much like that of the magnificent moon bottle releasing its contents into the stream back at that time. This was a captivating sight.

The old man noticed this, but he didn't pay any heed to these external matters. Instead, he kept his eyes locked on Chen Ping'an as he revealed, "The Clay Embryo Tier is a tier where one needs to find their innate Qi and build a foundational frame for their martial arts. This Qi will act as the pillars, and this Qi will act as the tall walls! However, before finding this Qi and utilizing it, one needs to comprehensively disperse their current Qi and expel all of the impurities and filth accumulated after birth. In fact, even the spiritual qi of heaven and earth needs to be expelled as well!

"Pure martial artist. What does the pure stand for? This stands for purely seeking to challenge heaven and earth! Don't become like those Qi refiners who are so sneaky and furtive. In the end, they'll become nothing more than lackeys who can only live at the mercy of their master!"

Chen Ping'an only understood some of this. Moreover, deep down in his heart, he didn't agree with all of the old man's assertions.

The corners of the old man's lips curled up into a smile, and he sneered, "The second tier is often referred to as the Wooden Fetus Tier, though I feel like calling it the Mountain Carving Tier will be better. People always talk about immortals from the mountains, so martial artists should aim to carve these mountains apart with a single punch! This tier focuses on training one's tendons and bones, and the stronger one's foundation, the greater one's achievement in the future.

"If one's foundation is strong enough, their achievements in the future will be no weaker than that of the indestructible vajras from the Buddhist Sect or the pure glazed ones from the Daoist Sect. Martial artists like us can also temper our physiques to a state of paramount stability. As for Militarian cultivators? Heh, they belong to no category, and the path that they follow is both harmful and nothing more than a shortcut. They're an absolute joke!"

Militarian cultivators did indeed have a powerful shortcut, and apart from summoning deities and being possessed by gods, they could also nurture a heroic spirit in their acupoints. Heroic spirits were a type of innately powerful yin soul that didn't disperse after a person's death, and once they successfully fused together with a cultivator's soul, their form would become like that of a Daoist pill cauldron where fire and water blended. This could be considered as another path, and it could also be regarded as an extremely powerful technique. According to the ragged old man, however, this Militarian cultivation method was not even worth a mention. The old man's haughtiness was simply astounding.

The old man beckoned to Chen Ping'an and said, "Come on, come over here. I'll suppress my cultivation base to the third tier, and you can unleash your full power to attack me as hard as you can. If I move even half a step, then it's your victory!"

Chen Ping'an was slightly hesitant.

He was still very confused about the current situation. The old man had mysteriously appeared from out of nowhere, and he had then claimed that he was Cui Chan's grandfather. And now, he was asking Chen Ping'an to attack him for no apparent reason. The young boy couldn't help but feel befuddled.

With Cui Chan's current power and status, did he still need protection from a teacher who didn't live up to his name? Moreover, the old man had also claimed that there weren't any shortcuts when it came to martial arts, and he had also said that Chen Ping'an's talent was very poor. Thus, Chen Ping'an didn't even dare to dream about achieving half of what Cui Chan had achieved. With this in mind, didn't the old man's words conflict with each other?

The old man was displeased, and he said, "Your temperament is truly as boring as can be. I told you to attack me, so just attack me, okay? What, do you want me to kneel down and beg you to attack me?"

Chen Ping'an's stubborn nature finally showed itself again, and he remained unmoving as he stayed in his defensive posture.

There was a dark and murky look in the depths of the old man's eyes, and he said, "Let me ask you this. Do you want to reach the third tier? And do you want to become one of the most powerful third tier martial artists in the world?!"

Chen Ping'an nodded and replied without hesitation, "Yes!"

The old man tilted his head slightly to the side, and he pointed at it and said with an extremely domineering expression, "Then hit me here! I dislike your attitude and temperament very much, but for the sake of Chanchan, I'll give you one more chance. If your punch is passable, then I'll give you some help and allow you to personally experience the scenery of the genuine third tier."

"Then I'm really going to punch you, okay? I won't hold back!" Chen Ping'an said slowly.

The old man laughed loudly and replied, "Enough with the nonsense, little girly. How did your parents raise such a cowardly child? Are you missing something between your legs? Your parents were definitely cowards too, right?"

A burst of fury welled up in the young boy's mind.

Those who appeared kind and gentle definitely had an area that was as hard and steel in their mind. They would stubbornly uphold their seemingly foolish kindness even when they suffered hardships.

This was the case for the young boy from Clay Vase Alley.

He had traveled tens of thousands of kilometers; he had tirelessly practiced fist techniques day and night.

Chen Ping'an took a step forward before immediately shooting toward the old man at an astonishing speed. At the same time, he clenched his right fist and threw a punch at the old man's forehead.

It looked like a single punch, yet there were two dull thuds.

In the next instant, Chen Ping'an retreated several steps with his arms hanging by his sides. He then retreated again and again.

As it turned out, the powerful impact of the punch had caused agonizing pain to shoot down Chen Ping'an's right arm. However, he had also shown his ferocious side at that moment, and he had thrown another punch at the old man's head using his more powerful left hand.

However, it was a shame that neither punch managed to move the old man a single inch. In fact, the old man yawned with a detestable expression of boredom. Looking at the young boy's awkward situation, he sneered, "That's the full power of your punch? Are you trying to tickle me? Am I your wife, or are you my wife? I called you a dickless girly just then, and it seems like I was genuinely correct. If I were your parent, I would truly be angered to death."

A dark expression fell across Chen Ping'an's face.

"What's wrong? Your parents are already dead?"

The old man feigned an expression of realization, and he exclaimed, "Oh... Then that's even better! They'll definitely be angered back to life!"

After experiencing a burst of agonizing pain, Chen Ping'an's arms became completely numb. However, he still dashed forward and leaped into the air before twisting his body and throwing a vicious kick at the left side of the old man's head. However, apart from a dull thud, the old man remained unmoving and unfazed. Borrowing the momentum from the strike, Chen Ping'an twisted in the air before throwing another kick at the right side of the old man's head.

When the young boy landed again, both of his legs were weak and powerless. His shoulders were uneven, and it took him several steps to stabilize himself.

The old man looked at the limp young boy as if he were looking at a retard. "Since you already suffered agonizing pain in your left leg, why did you choose to unleash even more power using your right leg? Don't you understand pain?"

Chen Ping'an didn't reply. His face was as white as a sheet, and his shoulders were also uneven as they rose up and down. His legs had definitely suffered heavy wounds as well.

The old man nodded and remarked, "By the looks of it, this is your limit. How very disappointing."

Chen Ping'an dashed forward for a third time, and he did so using the six-step walking meditation method of the Mountain Shaking Fist. Even though his speed was slightly slower than the previous two times, his aura was not weaker in the slightest. The old man faltered slightly, and he remained standing in the same spot and calmly waited for the young boy's attack to arrive.

After performing walking meditation countless times, the fist intent of the Mountain Shaking Fist had already fused together with Chen Ping'an's soul. Even though his arms and legs were wounded, his aura still appeared brilliant when he started to perform walking meditation.

After the pale-faced but determined Chen Ping’an finished performing walking meditation, he tapped his feet and leaped high into the air. He then raised his head and threw a ferocious and forceful punch at the old man's forehead.

Chen Ping'an leaned back and collapsed to the floor. He was panting heavily, and his eyes were filled with helplessness.

"Smart people understand the need to retreat in the face of difficulty. As for you, young lad, you're far inferior to them. However! Not being smart is correct. If you want to become a pure martial artist, then you don't need to be too smart. After all, a smart person might ultimately become the victim of their own ingenuity. For this reason, I'll..."

A look of approval finally flashed across the old man's face, and he had a wide grin as he strode forward and continued, "Reward you with a kick!"

This was a lightning-quick kick of extremely small magnitude, and it precisely lashed toward the temple of the young boy who was lying on the ground.

Chen Ping'an summoned all of his strength to raise an arm to block this vicious kick.

In the end, he was sent crashing into the wall with his arm held tightly against his head. He lay curled up there, and there wasn't a single inch of his body that wasn't hurting.

The old man stood still and peered down at the pitiful young boy. "I've already gained a comprehensive understanding of your martial arts foundation. What we went through just then was only the appetizer, and the truly painful part of the process is only just about to begin. Go out and give them a heads-up first. Tell them to prepare a large bathtub and the best nourishing medicinal ingredients. It's best if they can prepare some golden sore medicines.

"Of course, it's best if they can also prepare a coffin. Haha, I'm afraid that you might suddenly commit suicide after being unable to endure the punishment. You know, that won't be too bad either. At least you can reunite with your family underground."

Chen Ping'an rested for an entire 15 minutes before finally being able to stand up and hobble out of the room with great difficulty. When he arrived in the corridor, he saw the little boy in azure and the little girl in pink who were exchanging glances with each other. Apart from them, there was also the mountain god in white who appeared as if he were taking slight pleasure in Chen Ping'an's misfortune.

After seeing the battered and exhausted Chen Ping'an, Wei Bo couldn't help but chuckle, "I'll go and prepare a top quality medicinal tub and top quality ointments and alchemical pills straight away. Rest assured, Ox Horn Mountain's Cloth Wrapper Shop has everything that we need. In terms of money, I'll pay for you first, and you can repay me whenever you have the money. There's no rush. However, friends are friends, and business is business. I'll still have to charge you a small amount of interest."

Chen Ping'an nodded and squeezed out a smile that appeared even more hideous than the most frightening of grimaces. After Wei Bo left, he plonked to the floor and rested his back against the wall.

"Master, is practicing fist techniques painful?" the little boy in azure asked softly.

Limply sitting on the floor, Chen Ping'an involuntarily shuddered as he answered with a bitter expression, "It's extremely painful."

The little boy in azure had personally witnessed all of the times that Chen Ping'an had practiced walking meditation and standing meditation in the wind and snow, and he conceded that the pain and difficulty of doing this with the physique of a second tier martial artist was something that he couldn't endure no matter what. This was far too excruciating.

This wasn't the kind of pain where one had their arms hacked off in a single stroke, causing blood to spurt everywhere and the victim to bawl with tears. Instead, this was a kind of pain where one had their flesh slowly cut off using a blunt blade. This was a kind of pain where even breathing would feel as if one were drinking violent winds and swallowing countless blades.

However, if even Chen Ping'an found his current training painful, then the little boy in azure truly couldn't imagine the torturous pain that it involved.

The little girl in pink turned around and started to silently sob.