Chen Pingan held the twin blades in both hands, not rushing to attack. Facing a “peer” ranked among the top ten young cultivators, how to fight this battle required some finesse.

It should be known that the top ten were not ranked in any particular order.

While he was only eleventh.

And the person before him, with her true identity, her master’s lineage, her origins and foundation, all shrouded in mist like the round-faced, cotton-clad girl hiding in the moon. Since she dared to come here, she must have a complete assurance of leaving alive. Otherwise, that old dog of a Dragon Lord wouldn’t let her act so impulsively.

Therefore, he absolutely couldn’t scare her away.

He had to make her feel confident and let her unleash her full power, trying to kill him.

Moreover, being ranked among the top ten, if she couldn’t defeat someone ranked only eleventh, it would be embarrassing and would sound bad if word got out.

Chen Pingan slowly walked towards her, the twin short blades spinning rapidly between his fingers and on the back of his hands.

The light of the blades intertwined, like streaks of fireflies. The movements were too fast, the light too plentiful, constantly swirling and enveloping, ultimately resembling two miniature, adorable full moons in Chen Pingan’s hands.

Sheyue saw that the young man didn’t rush to attack, so she patiently waited for his opening move.

She was very curious about what kind of approach he would use to start the battle. Was it a talisman for illusion, or a sword cultivator’s flying sword that had given the Jia Shen Account sword immortal seedling a hard time? Or was it the pure martial artist’s peak realm fists?

Sheyue had heard many legendary tales about this last Hidden Official of the Great Wall of Swords, especially two sayings that she, who didn’t like to remember external matters, unusually remembered clearly.

Inside and outside the Great Wall of Swords, it was said: “Far is A Liang, near is the Hidden Official; south is Shouchen, north is the Hidden Official.”

As for Chen Pingan’s current fancy movements, Sheyue ignored them. When it came to the “playing with the moon” divine ability, everyone in the world was just joking compared to her.

Back then, the Lotus Hermit, a great demon king who was one of her neighbors, only gained a slight advantage because he was older.

She merely shifted her gaze, looking left and right. She still felt that this young Hidden Official, famous in the wildlands, looked like what she had glimpsed from afar when she went north early on – not bad-looking, but just not bad. He was indeed not as handsome as Jiang Shangzhen’s appearance.

Of course, whether a man was handsome or not was not important. The same principle applied to women.

One of her heavenly neighbors once said that as long as you met the right person, both of you would see the most beautiful scenery in each other’s eyes, like the heavens being at opposite ends, the sun and moon facing each other from afar, but their gazes remaining unchanged for eternity.

Unfortunately, Sheyue had no interest in matters of love between men and women. She couldn’t even imagine being genuinely infatuated or anything like that.

Chen Pingan walked slowly, asked gently, and said with a puzzled and probing expression, “Earlier, the strange phenomenon in the sky, a moon disappeared, to the point where even I could sense it. Could it be that it was taken into Miss Sheyue’s sleeve? If that’s the case, how can we fight? I’m just in a small world on the city wall, while Miss Sheyue is in a vast world of the moon… Moreover, I’m only ranked eleventh, a step away from you top ten, but worlds apart. I have that much self-awareness.”

The round-faced girl didn’t say where the missing moon had gone. She said, “If you don’t want to fight, I don’t care. I came here to enjoy the scenery. You were the one who was being so aggressive, wanting to fight me.”

No wonder he was friends with that Jiang Shangzhen of Tongye Continent. They were both quite shameless.

When men became shameless, it really had nothing to do with age.

The two were still about thirty zhang apart, but for their levels of cultivation, it was as close as could be, not even a hair’s breadth away.

Chen Pingan stopped at twenty zhang, suddenly sheathing his swords, the tips pointing backward, as if showing goodwill to the girl. He asked with a smile, “Miss Sheyue, you are a guest. What do you say, how should we fight? Should we agree on a plan first? It’s all up to you. Otherwise, it’s easy to hurt the harmony.”

Sheyue turned a deaf ear, but looked at his twin blades and said, “Good blades, with unparalleled sharpness, yet deeply concealed. What are their names?”

Chen Pingan shook his head and smiled, “Found them by the roadside, not worth mentioning. They can’t compare to Miss Sheyue’s heaven-defying skill of encompassing the great moon and refining heavenly fortune. It’s a pity that Senior Dragon Lord was worried that I wouldn’t concentrate on asking about Dao and practicing boxing, so he isolated me from the world. What a pity that I couldn’t witness such a wonderful sight in person.”

Sheyue said, “Although you’ve been deliberately showing weakness, you can’t hide your killing intent as soon as it becomes strong. You shouldn’t have accidentally condensed the light of your blades into the shape of the moon. Of course, I guess you did it on purpose. You, the Hidden Official, your battles away from the city wall, the details of battles big and small, have already been compiled into books. I can read them. That Fei Ran likes to flip through them while drinking.”

Chen Pingan stopped again, and said helplessly, “Is it really that ‘the killing intent arises naturally when one holds a sharp weapon’? I’m ashamed that my cultivation of the heart is not enough, and I admire Miss Sheyue’s unique insight even more. As for Brother Fei Ran, if he admires me so much, help me pass on a message after Sheyue and I spar: tell him to just take my surname Chen.”

Sheyue’s expression was slightly strange.

Chen Pingan suddenly realized, “That shameless Fei Ran has already changed his name to Chen? He didn’t even tell me in advance when he came here as a guest. Taking something without asking is thievery, and a disgrace to scholars!”

It had been too many years since he had spoken with outsiders.

He missed it.

Therefore, Chen Pingan was willing to make an exception for her.

Today, before fighting, he would talk more. The more the better, even if just one more sentence could help him pass a lot of time.

Chen Pingan really didn’t want to experience the torturous state of mind where the river of time almost stagnated a second time.

The short blades in his hands, as narrow as daggers, were obtained from the valley battle in Beiju Luzhou. At that time, Chen Pingan was ambushed and assassinated by a group of assassin’s from Split Deer Mountain.

After a fierce and dangerous battle in a narrow encounter, Chen Pingan, who didn’t quite believe in his own good luck, had Sui Jingcheng help him collect the spoils of war. Among them, she found this pair of short blades, with the inscriptions “Morning Dew” and “Evening Glow” respectively. In fact, not only did Chen Pingan and Sui Jingcheng not recognize their value at first, mistaking them for ordinary items, but even the Split Deer Mountain assassin woman who was the former owner of the short blades didn’t recognize their celestial treasures. Later, Chen Pingan met his close friend Liu Jinglong, who had read countless miscellaneous books, and Liu Jinglong revealed their secrets. Liu Jinglong not only taught Chen Pingan the refining method according to the book, but also recognized the “true identity” of one of the short blades, the inscription “Chasing Deer”, which was exactly the “Cao Zi Dagger” recorded in the history books. And that Cao Zi was exactly Cao Mo, the latest pseudonym Chen Pingan planned to use to travel the world in the future.

In the future, whether he went to the wildlands or returned to his hometown, Chen Pingan would make his enemies not even know how they died when facing cultivators below the Upper Five Realms.
As for those deceased souls, whether they may glimpse his true visage and know his true name depends entirely on Chen Ping’an’s mood.

Of course, that is predicated on his ability to depart the Great Wall of Sword Qi.

“Cao Zi” Cao Mo, the premier assassin recorded in those illustrious historical annals.

Moreover, he possessed those three defeats, which Cao Mo ultimately transformed into victory.

What an auspicious omen!

It must be known that upon this Great Wall of Sword Qi, Chen Ping’an has indeed suffered three defeats.

Let us consider it this junior basking in the light of his predecessor, Cao. In any case, Chen Ping’an guarantees that he will never allow the “Zhu Lu” in his hands to be tarnished.

Chen Ping’an currently wields a Cao Zi dagger in his right hand, a blade historically known as “Zhu Lu” (Chasing the Deer). Therefore, for the remaining blade in his possession, since history provides no name, Chen Ping’an will follow the association with Deer Cutting Mountain and name it “Ge Lu” (Cutting the Deer).

First, Chase the Deer! Then, Cut the Deer!

In the matter of naming things, he is truly adept.

She Yue spoke, “Are we fighting or not?”

Back when She Yue was in Tongye Continent, facing Jiang Shangzhen, famed for “a willow leaf severing immortals,” she seemed to have no power to resist. Aside from She Yue’s temporary inferiority in killing power and cultivation realm, the round-faced woman never truly intended to entangle with Jiang Shangzhen. In She Yue’s view, the path of cultivation and brawling were meaningless. A fight she was destined to lose was even more bothersome, to be avoided if possible. And those fights she was destined to win easily were even less appealing. So, throughout her solitary travels in the Vast Expanse, she rarely engaged in combat.

But today, facing this “Hidden Official the Eleventh,” also among the youngest of the ten, She Yue did harbor some personal intentions.

Jiang Shangzhen pursued her for ten thousand miles in Tongye Continent, yet failed to kill her. Before departing, he “kindly” shared a secret with her in a quiet voice, touching upon the very foundation of She Yue’s Dao.

It was akin to a prophecy decreed by fate. As if waiting for her to come to Tongye Continent, to hear Jiang Shangzhen reveal it to her.

She Yue was not eloquent, but she was far from foolish. When Jiang Shangzhen spoke those words, She Yue initially dismissed them. But after hearing them, she felt a stirring in her Dao heart, an undeniable indication of the profound and mysterious Dao.

Jiang Shangzhen’s words were like a wandering immortal’s poem from the Vast Expanse, a fragment of a celestial hymn.

*To board a boat to ascend the azure sky,*
*You must have coins to mend the broken tie,*
*Borrow moonlight from the five lakes wide,*
*And sell wine by the boundless, cloud-white tide.*

Jiang Shangzhen said little more then, but his earlier words often mentioned the Hidden Official, Chen Ping’an. Seemingly joking, She Yue wanted to come here and test her luck.

Otherwise, given She Yue’s usual temperament, why would she be so uncharacteristically patient with this Hidden Official?

She would have either left long ago or attacked and departed just as swiftly.

But if She Yue were to later learn the truth, she might wish to smash that Jiang fellow to death with a moon.

Because the notion of Dao opportunity residing with the Hidden Official was pure fabrication, a means for Jiang Shangzhen to play matchmaker for his “dearest brother” and the honored guest of Fallen Phoenix Mountain, to find himself a sister-in-law.

So, he deliberately forced together two “peers” separated by a hundred thousand and eight thousand leagues. But Jiang Shangzhen’s greatest skill lay in making the prophecy seem real, for it involved a massive secret within Tongye Continent. In history, only the old Sect Master of Jade Rule Sect, Xun Yuan, and Du Mao, the half-reviver of Jade Rule Sect, knew of this matter.

In Tongye Continent, legend tells of a towering Wu Tong tree reaching to the heavens.

Where there is such a tall tree, there will naturally be a crescent moon hanging amidst sparse Wu Tong branches.

The tree nears the sky, the moon descends to earth, tree and moon together, half in the mortal realm and half in the heavens.

She Yue originally chose to land in Tongye Continent, rather than Fuyu Continent or Posuo Continent, precisely because of Zhou Mi’s instructions. After the death and dissolution of the Lotus Anchoress, another moon emerged, appearing out of nowhere. As for Zhou Mi asking She Yue to help find Liu Cai, it was merely incidental.

But the problem was that Jiang Shangzhen’s implication that She Yue’s Dao was linked to Chen Ping’an was entirely false, a blatant fabrication by Jiang Shangzhen.

Jiang Shangzhen’s approach to the women of the world was always a mixture of truth and falsehood, with the falsehoods skillfully presented as truth, ultimately leading all women to believe in the existence of a singular truth.

So, in truth, Jiang Shangzhen laughed heartily after departing from She Yue, thinking, “My good brother, this Zhou Fatty can only help you this much. Consider it helping you find a round-faced lass in a foreign land, someone to chat with.”

As for whether She Yue would obtain this opportunity, whether she would truly mend her Dao, Jiang Shangzhen scoffed. “What’s it to me?”

“I, with my insignificant abilities, have already done my part. It’s time for those bystanders watching from afar to roll up their sleeves and join the fray!”

Furthermore, whether the Yue Mountain of the Wildlands would end up toiling in vain, benefiting others, or whether the round-faced lass would end up with empty hands, bereft of the moon, was all uncertain.

Because when the old Xun was alive, he once surmised that this prophecy might be connected to the most successful literati, Bai Ye.

She Yue going to Bai Ye?

Or Zhou Mi going to Bai Ye to negotiate?

Jiang Shangzhen found the thought amusing.

“Anyway, even if the little lass doesn’t attain the complete Dao, I, Jiang Shangzhen, am generous enough to give you, little wife, a good friend, Brother Chen. Isn’t that enough to satisfy you?!”

Chen Ping’an had no idea of these intricate schemes.

If She Yue had mentioned Jiang Shangzhen here, even a single word, Chen Ping’an might have guessed some of it.

But the round-faced woman in cotton clothes was reluctant to mention that Jiang Shangzhen, who constantly called her “sister-in-law,” for his words made her feel somewhat nauseous.

Currently, Chen Ping’an wore a troubled expression, stopping ten steps away, and asked again, “Shouldn’t we discuss the rules before fighting? We’ve just met, with no grudges between us. A light punch is meaningless, and a heavy spell could result in death or injury.”

She Yue asked curiously, “Do you always like to ramble so much before fighting someone?”

“I don’t like it, I never liked it before.”

Chen Ping’an suppressed his smile, holding his blades with their tips pointing forward.

Regarding this matter, Chen Ping’an had once taught Ma Kuxuan how to conduct himself when fighting for his life in a foreign land in his hometown.

The two large sleeves of Chen Ping’an’s bright red Daoist robe seemed to be bound by invisible threads, forming knots at the cuffs. The young man slightly hunched his back, his body bent, his gaze tilted slightly upwards. “But you people keep making me dislike it. What can I do?! Miss She Yue, why don’t you teach me how to act according to my own preferences?!”

She Yue looked at the young man’s expression and eyes. “Enough nonsense. One incense stick’s time. Come kill me, then.”
Shayue raised her wrist, her index and middle fingers joined, moonlight condensing like a lamp. With a gentle wave, the moonlight dissipated into the Sword Qi Great Wall, timing the duel for the duration of an incense stick burning. Suddenly, moonlight filled the city walls, slowly dimming at a rate perceptible to both sides, as if the moon’s light was gradually leaving the mortal realm – unnoticed by ordinary people, but clearly visible and countable to immortals.

Chen Pingan narrowed his eyes, but had already straightened his back. “A guest from afar has a request, how can the host refuse?”

Even with Shayue’s good temper, she felt annoyed by this person. He was clearly trying so hard to hide it, yet his heart was filled with such intense killing intent, his body reeking of such heavy murderous aura. Yet, he insisted on smiling so warmly, as if reuniting with an old friend, reminiscing with a long-lost acquaintance.

She said coldly, “Intent on killing, yet trying to deceive me into holding back? You are not a man of honor.”

Chen Pingan nodded, deeply agreeing, a hint of guilt on his face. He said, “I come from a humble alley in the mortal world, you come from the bright moon in the heavens. Miss Shayue is a banished immortal from the books. Why bother being so particular with me? Isn’t Miss Shayue bullying me?”

To be able to converse with someone was a rare joy in life.

It truly made the Hidden Official so happy he was on the verge of tears.

He remembered reading in a book about those who were joyful in their drunkenness yet remained sober, and those who wept at the end of their road.

Back then, he only felt that the sages’ realms were too high, and his own horizons too low, so he couldn’t understand why they cried. He thought that one day, after traveling far and reading more, he would understand.

But once he knew why the ancients cried, he realized it was better not to know.

The ancients, when their carts reached the end of the road, could still return the way they came.

So Chen Pingan, with his twin sabers, imitated the woman’s light pat on her cheeks.

Shayue, whenever she got angry, before taking action, had a habit of raising her hands and heavily patting her cheeks.

Spending so much time chatting with this guy, she hadn’t felt a single bit of a Dao opportunity from him, and had even spoken so many sarcastic words to him, which really annoyed her.

And now he dared to imitate her?!

Shayue vigorously patted her cheeks, and immediately from her face, a clear radiance scattered, transforming into countless strands of light. The moonlight she had gathered and refined was like a flowing river of time, ignoring the respective territorial restrictions of the Sword Qi Great Wall and the Jiazi Formation. The fine, fragmented moonlight was omnipresent in half of the Sword Qi Great Wall.

The “Shayue” standing on the city wall was pierced by the twin sabers, one cutting off her neck, the other stabbing her heart.

Of course, it was just a false image of Shayue, merely used to test the opponent’s speed of drawing his blades, and the sharpness of their edges.

Shayue’s innate divine ability allowed Jiang Shangzhen, an Immortal Realm sword cultivator, to summon his natal flying sword just to find her true location. Even if this Hidden Official was in harmony with the Sword Qi Great Wall, he was still only in the Jade Purity Realm.

Shayue could dodge and evade, and even deliver “flying swords” like a Jade Purity Sword Immortal, and unleash thousands of spells like an Immortal cultivator.

If Shayue wanted to learn a spell, no matter how exclusive the inheritance, how secretly it was passed down, as long as it was under the moonlight, and as long as the difference in realms wasn’t too great, then as long as she had “seen” it once, she would grasp at least seven or eight tenths of its true meaning.

It wasn’t that Shayue looked down on the Hidden Official’s diverse methods.

In the Wildlands, when it came to the sheer number of methods for one-on-one combat, Shayue was undoubtedly number one among her peers.

Therefore, in the secret records of the Jiazi Formation, this cotton-padded, round-faced girl had the reputation of being a “Martial Arsenal of the World.”

Talismans, flying swords, golden body dharma, mechanical puppets, great demon true forms, immortal armor, heavy offensive weapons…

Whatever I imagine, it will manifest. The material is all my moonlight.

Even an ordinary Mountain Peak Realm martial artist’s physique, Shayue could have if she wanted.

It was just a pity that Shayue was limited by her current cultivation level. Her “martial artist physique” was currently stuck at the tenacity of the ninth realm, and Shayue didn’t particularly like close-quarters martial arts techniques. It was like moonlight in the mortal world, where the moon only hangs high in the sky.

The first “Shayue” to be struck by two short sabers, because Shayue had intentionally crafted her as a Distant Journey Realm physique, unsurprisingly met a swift end.

The young woman with a cotton-padded coat, cloth shoes, and a round face, her illusion shattered, the moonlight disappearing without a trace, leaving no trace to be found.

Although Chen Pingan followed after another Shayue, flashing past, near the city wall, before he drew his twin sabers, a palm already had an anomaly arising. A flawless, translucent dharma seal floated in the palm, creating five lightning bolts with the power of creation.

This Five Thunder Righteous Technique, arising from his will, wasn’t used to kill Shayue’s illusion. Why would he need such a grand display to deal with a Distant Journey Realm martial artist?

It was just that the thunder rumbled, illuminating dozens of feet around before the twin sabers struck, just to probe for any trace of the dissipating moonlight. If there was even a slight collision between the two, then Chen Pingan could seize a sliver of advantage. A sliver was a chance, and Chen Pingan hoped to turn it into a thousand among the mountains and beneath them!

If the enemy has a thousand chances, I’ll give you ten thousand.

Treat people with sincerity, treat guests with generosity.

May your heart be as you wish.

It was just a pity that Miss Shayue was too reserved, not leaving behind this flaw.

Well then.

Otherwise, the so-called Top Ten Young People of the World would be too disappointing.

Otherwise, what qualifications would you have to stand among them?!

Chen Pingan stirred a large mass of moonlight into nothingness within the small world of the heavenly curtain, then floated in the wind, looking down at the city wall.

Shayue’s figure had split into three, each separated by a great distance.

Besides the two natal flying swords that truly belonged to a sword cultivator, Caged Bird and Moon in the Well, Chen Pingan also had two grand refined flying swords as a Qi Refiner, First Day and Fifteenth Day, plus two hate sword mountain sword immortal imitation swords, Cough Thunder and Pine Needle.

With a slight thought, Cough Thunder and Pine Needle sped away like lightning, heading straight for two of the girls.

Chen Pingan himself, using Mountain River Shrinking, instantly appeared thousands of feet away, confronting one of the Shayues who was facing him, even adopting a fighting stance.

Earlier, the Distant Journey Realm physique was easily defeated, so you switched to a Mountain Peak Realm physique, to measure how heavy your Mountain Peak Realm fist is?

Do you really think you’re Xiao Xun throwing a punch?!

Just from Shayue’s first punch, even Chen Pingan, who liked to overestimate his opponents, thought her fist technique was too crude, her divine intent too false, and her foundation too weak.

Perhaps the only redeeming quality of this martial artist Shayue was her speed, which wasn’t slow, and had a bit of the feeling of Yu Juanfu when he asked about fists back then.
Clad in vibrant crimson, sleeves billowing, wielding twin blades, she danced and weaved, a constant stream of fleeting light pursuing her foes, cleaving the very fabric of the heavens and earth.

Martial Artist She Yue, despite possessing the physique of a mountain-peak realm and the mastery of her studied fist techniques, could only retreat again and again, only evade and evade.

Even though her speed of displacement was consistently slightly superior, Chen Ping’an would “coincidentally” appear at her points of retreat time and again, creating precarious situations.

Her intention was to lightly probe the other party’s resilience with a casual exchange of blows, but with such an engagement, how could she possibly succeed?

Both were at the mountain-peak realm, but the gap between pure martial artists of the same level was indeed too vast.

Just as one blade was about to pierce through her shoulder, Chen Ping’an abruptly twisted his body, replacing it with an elbow that struck She Yue’s forehead with effortless grace.

She Yue slid backward dozens of yards, the cloth shoes formed from moonlight dissolving into fragmented dust. Only when she halted her retreat did she “don” a new pair of shoes.

The young man, tilting his body slightly, then leaning back, exposed his back to the mountain-peak martial artist She Yue, smiling and gazing at her with a lazy expression, asking, “Isn’t it a bit boring?”

Martial Artist She Yue, expressionless, the round-faced girl clad in “cotton clothes,” now possessed a flowing, ethereal, and magnificent robe, and atop that robe was a suit of military armor, shimmering with a dazzling array of colors.

The robe was unrecognizable, but some could guess the origin of the armor. Chen Ping’an widened his eyes, reverting to a semblance of his Bao Fu Zhai demeanor, curiously inquiring, “Miss She Yue, is this magically formed armor you’re wearing perhaps the ‘Seven Colors’ Nectar Armor? Ah, right, the Savage Desolation is not small, with a long history that doesn’t lose to any other, and you’re from the moon, a divine being I can only envy. Could it be that besides ‘Seven Colors,’ you’ve also seen the ‘Cloud Sea’ and ‘Radiant Cloud’ armors?”

His friend Zhong Kui, well-read and knowledgeable, had recognized the origin of the armor worn by Wei Xian with a single glance.

Buddha Realm, Bud, Mountain Spirit, Water Sprite, Radiant Cloud, Rainbow Garment, Cloud Sea, Western Peak.

A total of seven original “ancestral” Nectar Armors. Aside from the Western Peak Armor that Chen Ping’an had obtained and then lent to Wei Xian, according to Zhong Kui, only the Mountain Spirit and Rainbow Garment had records of appearing in the world, while the rest were said to be no longer in existence.

Martial Artist She Yue remained silent, resuming her stance, beckoning the infuriating young man with a finger.

Even with fists of iron and a blade that appears and vanishes without a trace, can you truly kill?

The woman’s eyes seemed to say, “Have the ability to completely shatter this martial artist’s physique, and perhaps I’ll exchange a word or two with you.”

Chen Ping’an, recalling the Western Peak Nectar Armor he had acquired by chance, found it difficult not to think of certain people and events.

Sometimes, one has to admit, the more one sees, the more one knows, the less carefree it is, and it’s not all good.

Because it makes it easy to accept fate.

Fortunately, Chen Ping’an has never accepted fate, precisely so that he can defy it at certain moments.

Otherwise, if worldly affairs were to inadvertently become interconnected with joy and sorrow, it would be especially difficult for the most careless person to endure.

Since Miss She Yue insisted on seeking a beating, he would show some sincerity.

As a pure martial artist, being overly concerned with propriety between men and women is not heroic!

Chen Ping’an turned around, using the upper fifth realm divine ability of “Sleeve Universe” to store the pair of familiar Dharma Blades.

Such a duel was exactly what he sought.

Chen Ping’an wished she would deliver a thousand or ten thousand fists, using the peak fist intent of her mountain-peak realm physique to strike him.

However, when Chen Ping’an suppressed his mountain-peak realm to the lowest level, even though Martial Artist She Yue’s speed was fast enough, she showed no intention of actively throwing a punch, making it clear that she would either exchange a punch with Chen Ping’an or use her physique plus robe and Seven Colors Nectar Armor to take a punch.

If Chen Ping’an were to act perfunctorily, She Yue wouldn’t care, as she only had an incense stick’s worth of time. Once the time was up, she would leave Sword Qi Great Wall promptly.

Therefore, Chen Ping’an had no choice but to stop holding back to the point of feeling guilty. Not only did he increase the strength of his punches, but he also slightly increased his speed. One punch shattered the armor that was both real and unreal, another shattered the robe of unknown origin, and a final punch shattered the martial artist She Yue’s head.

All of them dissolved into moonlight.

She Yue knew that further testing the young Hidden Official’s ninth realm in this way was meaningless. Her figure dissipated in place, transforming from one into ten, scattered across half of Sword Qi Great Wall. Two of them were on the cliffs and at the end of the city wall.

No longer possessing the amiable appearance of a round-faced girl, their figures and images varied, some with golden Buddha bodies, some with sword-wielding immortals, and some with true demon forms.

Even with his fusion with Sword Qi Great Wall, Chen Ping’an was still unsure of She Yue’s true location. Nine illusions and one truth? Perhaps all were true, or all were false.

These beings, whether real or fake, asked in unison, “Why don’t you use those sword immortals from the paintings? Wouldn’t that be more time-saving and efficient?”

Chen Ping’an smiled, “An incense stick’s worth of time is actually a very long time. It’s just that I have nothing to do, so I cherish every little bit.”

As he spoke, Chen Ping’an stepped on something, his figure slowly ascending into the sky, because a massive replica of the White Jade Capital building appeared beneath his feet, revealing its entire form little by little, until the top of the White Jade Capital continued to rise into the sky, almost reaching the top of the firmament before stopping.

The young Hidden Official, clad in a Daoist “crimson-purple” celestial robe, resembled a true White Jade Capital immortal, possessing divine powers that reached the heavens, allowing him to stroll leisurely here.

He stepped onto the top of the White Jade Capital step by step, eventually reaching the most intricately designed upturned eaves.

Chen Ping’an reached out and grabbed a Sword Immortal banner, gently tapping the void of the firmament beside him, causing ripples to spread out in circles, layer upon layer, endlessly.

She Yue suddenly asked, “I am not Liu Cai, but you seem somewhat… angry? Do you have some… suspicions about Liu Cai? Because I am not Liu Cai, does it confirm something you thought?”

Chen Ping’an’s expression was normal, as he casually smiled, “How is that possible? Miss She Yue, don’t be so suspicious. How could I possibly guess about someone who allows Miss She Yue to see all the moonlight in the world, wearing out so many cotton shoes in the process.”

Half an incense stick’s worth of time had passed.
In an instant, Chen Ping’an stilled his mind and focused his spirit, as if sinking to the bottom of an ancient well. His heart and spirit drifted, free and unburdened, like a Xiaoyao Wanderer. His thoughts followed the spreading ripples, and he smiled, “Miss She Yue, as a demon cultivator, you should be more mindful when choosing a name in the future. Otherwise, you might easily reveal the roots of your Great Dao. This is a major taboo when traversing the martial world, remember that well. ‘She Yue, She Yue,’ it’s too obvious. You should learn from that Fei Ran, whose literary talent is ‘fei ran’ (remarkable), sounding like nothing more than a refined scholar. After returning to your ancestors and taking the surname Chen, it’ll be even better.”

The ten She Yue, seemingly possessed by a competitive spirit of “if you are one foot tall, I will be ten feet tall,” multiplied from ten to a hundred, then to a thousand. Everywhere on the city wall, there she was.

One of them, the only one manifested with her true face, looked up at the towering structure and laughed, “But I’ve already chosen my name, and the whole world knows it. How can there be an ‘afterward’? Besides, I don’t want to change it.”

High above, gentle breezes rustled past, stirring the young man’s sleeves and sideburns.

He smiled and gave his answer, “The next lifetime, then.”

She Yue did not seem too apprehensive about Chen Ping’an’s next move. She merely frowned slightly.

He was only the eleventh?!

And that fellow standing atop the imitation White Jade City seemed to see through She Yue’s thoughts, saying, “If it weren’t for being here, taking advantage of the favorable timing and location, I definitely wouldn’t even rank eleventh.”

She Yue suddenly felt a desire to get serious with him, no longer just testing the waters.

Chen Ping’an did not add anything unnecessary. He simply slightly twitched the corner of his mouth, a fleeting hint of playfulness that She Yue caught in its entirety.

As if to say, “It’s probably not quite possible for me to beat you to death, and it’s not quite possible for you to beat me to death either. So let’s both be serious and try again.”