The battlefield fell into an eerie silence. A large circle of military formation, with the youth at its center, after a brief moment of stunned confusion, erupted in a cacophony of clanking armor. This wasn’t a spectacle; it was war. Instantly, a forest of spears bristled, and crossbows were drawn, all aimed at the young man who claimed to be a sword immortal from Dali.

Then, Chen Ping’an performed a highly inappropriate action. He nonchalantly placed the locust wood sword back into its box with his left hand, and with his right, he deftly uncorked his wine gourd. Then, abruptly, he raised his left hand high, as if to say to the Shushui Kingdom army, “Hold on a moment, everyone. Allow me to have a drink before we fight, wouldn’t you mind?”

This immediately triggered a wave of uproar. Even some of the most seasoned captains and lieutenants exchanged bewildered glances. Could this young sword immortal who had slain a golden-armored warrior with a single strike truly be a one-man army capable of such effortless progress, treating the massive army as if it were nothing? How could this exasperating battle be fought? They couldn’t possibly send their brothers to their deaths in a bottomless pit, could they? A hundred taels of silver for compensation was a considerable sum, but among the comrades on the battlefield, who wanted to watch the vibrant lives of those around them turn into mere piles of silver?

The natal flying swords, Chuyi and Shiwu, having already achieved meritorious service, further fueled the illusion of Chen Ping’an’s invincibility.

The Qingzhu Sword Immortal’s sword strike, rushing forward like a surging tide, was relentlessly intercepted and chipped away at by the nimble Chuyi, flitting through the torrent, reducing it to nothing. Meanwhile, the Shushui Kingdom’s soldier-cultivator wielding a pair of massive axes was targeted by the lightning-fast Shiwu, its blade pointing directly at his forehead. The burly warrior, terrified, had no choice but to abandon his offensive, unwilling to trade his life for Song Yushao’s. He continuously used his axes to defend his body, creating a delightful, tinkling sound as sparks flew from the battered axes.

Song Yushao, seizing the opportunity, inhaled a fresh breath. Extending his arm, he held the sword that emanated dazzling sword radiance – the sword Yiran. With his bamboo sheath at his hip and his sword intent surging, his black robes fluttered despite the lack of wind. He was elated to be able to fight all-out once more.

After raising his arm in a feigned grand gesture, Chen Ping’an, while drinking, murmured in his heart, “Chuyi, Shiwu, continue to entangle your opponents. Flashy moves are… acceptable!”

The flying sword Chuyi, like a persistent rogue, targeted the Qingzhu Sword Immortal, that “little lady,” while Shiwu relentlessly gnawed at the massive axes, leaving them riddled with dents and scratches, causing the burly warrior great distress.

The Qingzhu Sword Immortal, with superior perception and cultivation, a sword dao grandmaster who aimed to claim the old Sword Saint’s head in Shushui Kingdom, while defending against Chuyi, spat out in anger, revealing the truth, “The boy’s two instances of drinking are feigned. He’s actually catching his breath!”

In the battle of martial dao grandmasters, opportunity knocks but once.

Chen Ping’an had already lowered his arm, reattaching the sword-nurturing gourd to his waist. He leaped over the army’s infantry formation, grinning at the Qingzhu Sword Immortal.

Song Yushao added fuel to the fire, shouting, “Pumpkinhead!”

The brocade-robed elder, who had previously summoned a golden-armored warrior with a talisman, after losing his trump card, smiled bitterly. He pinched out three azure talismans, their runes now not golden, but one silver and two crimson. He hurled them out again, summoning three more Daoist talisman-sect warriors, who landed heavily, standing shoulder-to-shoulder before the main command banner, a silver-armored warrior and two bronze-armored warriors.

As Song Yushao and the young sword immortal jointly charged towards the main banner, the offensive and defensive positions of the opposing sides had unknowingly shifted.

Without the latter, Song Yushao would have undoubtedly died here.

But with the addition of a bizarre meddler, Song Yushao instead gained some advantage.

Chu Hao’s judgment of the battlefield situation was incredibly clear. In his half-century of military life, with over thirty battles fought and no defeats, he possessed keen eyes.

So, the gloomy-faced general secretly channeled his martial qi into the silver ingot-shaped military treasure in his hand. This was the most precious of his wife’s generous dowry, an armor pellet. Instantly, like mercury, it flowed over Chu Hao’s armor, transforming his pitch-black military heavy armor into a suit of snow-white armor covered in cloud patterns and ancient seal script, named the Divine Man Dew-Receiving Armor, or Sweet Dew Armor, as the mountain cultivators commonly called it.

Although it was the lowest grade of military armor pellets, throughout Shushui Kingdom and the dozen surrounding countries, no commanding general possessed such an item. It wasn’t that these pillars of the nation who wielded powerful armies couldn’t afford it; it was simply unavailable. Otherwise, even if its value were to double beyond 1,500 snowflake coins, generals would be willing to sell everything they owned to purchase one. 3,000 mountain snowflake coins, 300,000 taels of silver, for the best life-saving charm – who wouldn’t be willing to spend that? It was simply impossible to buy.

Almost all mountain-based military cultivators monopolized armor pellets, and qi refiners who didn’t focus on sword cultivation couldn’t match the former two in tempering their physiques, so they were even more eager to purchase armor pellets as protective charms. How could it ever be the turn of the ignorant martial artists from down below? Wouldn’t that be a waste of natural resources?

Song Yushao began to charge forward, no longer burdened by worries, one man and one sword, becoming ever more indomitable.

Because Chen Ping’an was helping to hold the rear.

Chen Ping’an laughed loudly, taking a step forward, covering over two zhang, “Come back!”

Chuyi reluctantly abandoned the Qingzhu Sword Immortal, slowly flying back, clearly displaying its displeasure.

The flying sword Shiwu, in an instant, surrounded Chen Ping’an, blocking the incoming spear tips and arrows for him.

The Qingzhu Sword Immortal, who had always been standing on horseback, sighed. He glanced longingly at the bamboo sheath on Song Yushao’s waist. This sword immortal from Songxi Kingdom, whose reputation even surpassed Song Fengshan’s, leaned back, tapping his toes, and instantly retreated. In mid-air, he turned and stepped on the heads of the soldiers behind the main banner, drifting away, completely leaving the Shushui Kingdom army. The young sword immortal, after collecting the section of green bamboo hanging at his waist, slowly walked towards the prefecture city, looking back at the main banner, lamenting, “To seize that Qingshen Mountain bamboo sheath again, who knows when that’ll happen? If this Song Yushao survives this time, he’ll still have another twenty or thirty years to live, wouldn’t he?”
With the Azure Bamboo Sword Immortal’s desertion, the Shuishui Kingdom’s imperial army instantly descended into chaos. Chu Hao’s eyes showed a hint of bewilderment as he turned to observe the infantry formations of several local garrisons. Their disarray was only slightly better than a complete rout. It shouldn’t have been so chaotic; while the combat strength of these four Shuishui Kingdom garrison forces stationed at the passes was far inferior to his own elite troops, two of the veteran infantry battalions had been tempered by years of border warfare, and should not have been so utterly incompetent.

Chu Hao’s face darkened when he saw a local garrison commander, instead of trying to stem the tide of the disastrous situation, sitting high on his horse with his arms crossed, as if he were an uninvolved bystander. Chu Hao clenched his teeth in fury, wishing he could gallop over there and hack him into mincemeat.

Chu Hao’s expression changed drastically. He rose from his seat and peered around, realizing that the local garrisons’ dense infantry formations, which had largely remained still, were now hindering his elite cavalry from rescuing him. They had effectively isolated him and his dozens of personal guards under the great banner from the three thousand elite cavalry.

Song Yushao, while fighting the axe-wielding giant and the talismanic warrior summoned by the brocade-robed old man, still had enough attention to observe Chu Hao’s every move.

Chen Ping’an gradually noticed the strangeness of the situation. The fierce assault of the infantry formations gradually waned. Aside from the group of martial artists gathered to attack him, the arrows and spears from the army became increasingly sparse, eventually turning into a mere spectacle of onlookers watching the show from afar. Moreover, captains and lieutenants were constantly riding through the gaps in the infantry formations, talking to the squad leaders and elite soldiers.

Song Yushao cleaved a bronze warrior in half with a single sword strike, the talisman reverting to its original form and turning to ashes in the air. Another sword strike sliced through two giant axes, creating a dazzling explosion of sparks that scattered in all directions. The burning sparks, transformed from the shattered axe fragments, landed on the armor of distant soldiers, producing faint metallic clangs as they collided. This demonstrated the shocking level of cultivation of Shuishui Kingdom’s foremost martial artist.

After forcing back the military strategist cultivator employed by the Shuishui Kingdom’s court, Song Yushao pointed his sword at Chu Hao and smiled, “This old man has come from afar to welcome you, but I only ask General Chu Hao to visit my mountain estate. As for the rest, those who wish to fight to the death are welcome to do so. Their lives and deaths are their own responsibility under my sword!”

Beneath the great banner, a deafening explosion resounded.

Unbeknownst to everyone, Chen Ping’an had gradually moved the battlefield with the dozen or so martial artists, imperceptibly, to a spot only fifty paces away from the great banner. Then, entrusting his back to the flying swords, First and Fifteenth, he secretly used a Folding Space Talisman, directly bypassing Song Yushao and the two Qi Refining cultivators’ small battlefield, and appearing ten steps in front of General Chu Hao, who was clad in Dew Armor! He took a step forward, stomping heavily on the ground, then leaned forward and upward, his right fist striking the warhorse’s head, shattering its skull and breaking its legs. Chu Hao, whose military talent was unparalleled in the Shuishui Kingdom but whose martial arts realm was only at the third level, fell forward. Chen Ping’an’s left fist then struck Chu Hao in the chest. Although the spiritual energy within the Dew Armor almost simultaneously coalesced at the point of impact, Chu Hao was still sent flying into the air, landing heavily on the ground about thirty or forty feet away, kicking up a cloud of dust on the official road.

Chen Ping’an continued to rush forward. A loyal Chu cavalryman angrily charged forward, expertly reining in his steed, causing it to rear up on its hind legs and stomp down on the young sword immortal’s head!

Chen Ping’an suddenly accelerated, ducking beneath the horse’s belly, then instantly straightening up, slamming his shoulder into the warhorse, sending it flying backward, all four hooves in the air!

Chen Ping’an moved straight ahead, his feet suddenly exerting force, just like the scene of a young falcon crossing a stream back in his hometown. Chu Hao, who had just struggled to his feet, was struck on the head by a fist, causing the military Dew Armor to emit a dazzling and blinding light. Chu Hao himself, once again dizzy, fell backward, his eyes rolling back, completely unconscious.

Chen Ping’an had already arrived beside the man who had vowed to ascend to the ranks of the top ten generals on the continent. He crouched down, reached out and grabbed Chu Hao’s neck, then stood up, holding the Shuishui Kingdom’s general’s neck at shoulder height, shook him, and turned to Song Yushao with a smile, “Senior Song, I’ve got him!”

With the situation already hopeless, the two royal Qi Refining cultivators exchanged glances, both seeing the helplessness in the other’s eyes.

Song Yushao, not wanting to press the issue, sheathed his Sword of Resolution and clasped his hands in a salute to the two top Qi Refining cultivators of the Shuishui Kingdom. “My apologies. Please relay a message to His Majesty the Emperor, that whatever the court decides, this old man and the Swordwater Estate will accept it all.”

Then, the old man flashed forward, his sword qi falling like rain, severing the legs of the dozens of elite Chu cavalrymen who were desperately rushing toward Chen Ping’an.

The old man landed beside Chen Ping’an. “Let’s go! As long as we leave the battlefield, you and I can return to the estate safely. This imperial army is demoralized and poses no threat for now.”

The entire Shuishui Kingdom infantry fell silent.

The Chu elite cavalry, blocked outside the infantry formation, probably realized the anomaly near the great banner. After failing to communicate with the infantry, they began to charge the formation under the leadership of a cavalry general. The front infantry, unwilling to face the elite cavalry’s swords and spears and unable to disperse the formation without orders, slowly spread to both sides, trying to make way for the cavalry to pass.

Chen Ping’an whispered, “I can use the Folding Space Talisman one more time.”

Song Yushao smiled. “Then this time, let me cover your retreat. Remember not to turn back and charge the formation. Retreat to the right, along the mountain path. Otherwise, the three thousand Chu elite cavalry will be a bit difficult to deal with.”

Chen Ping’an nodded, took a deep breath, grabbed Chu Hao by the neck, and activated the Folding Space Talisman.

Now everyone understood why the young sword immortal had repeatedly disappeared from his original location.

The young man’s figure vanished without a trace, but General Chu Hao was almost floating horizontally, like a woman’s long sleeve trailing in the air.

After the sword immortal finally reappeared, he began to display the divine bearing of a celestial traveling the winds.

But for some reason, the sword-carrying youth stumbled at first, only then becoming sure-footed in the high air.

Song Yushao shot away, following Chen Ping’an away from the battlefield, rising and falling several times, soon becoming two black dots, eventually entering the distant mountains on both sides of the official road.
Having entered the mountain forest, the situation was essentially settled. Song Yushao, recalling Chen Pingan’s earlier stumble, asked worriedly, “Are you suffering from internal injuries?”

Chen Pingan smiled and shook his head, “A little ancestor is having a tantrum with me, it’s nothing.”

The first time he rode the wind above the army, he was actually stepping on Chuyi and Shiwu. The second time, Chuyi wasn’t happy and deliberately let Chen Pingan step on empty air, then it returned to the sword-nourishing gourd to sleep soundly. Fortunately, Shiwu’s flight speed was extremely fast, completely keeping up with Chen Pingan’s pace.

Song Yushao sighed, “Legend has it that in the north there are martial arts grandmasters who have successfully reached the Martial God realm. Not only can they hover in the void at will, but they can also ride the wind, just like sword immortals riding their swords.”

Remembering what Zhu He said on Qidun Mountain, Chen Pingan hummed in agreement, blurting out, “That’s the eighth realm of martial arts, called Feather Ascension Realm. Because they can ride the wind, it’s also known as ‘Distant Excursion Realm’, very carefree.”

Song Yushao asked doubtfully, “Above the sixth realm, aren’t they all collectively called the Martial God realm?”

Chen Pingan was also a little confused, shaking his head, “I heard it’s not. Above the sixth realm, they indeed begin to focus on refining the spirit, but it seems they aren’t qualified to be revered as Martial Gods yet. I only know that those in the seventh realm, the Golden Body Realm, are qualified to be called Lesser Grandmasters. Then the eighth realm is the Feather Ascension Realm, the ninth realm is the Mountain Peak Realm, and then there’s the tenth realm. We currently have one in Dali, the Prince Song Changjing. He’s the royal uncle of a guy next door to my home in Ni Ping Lane. I saw Song Changjing once in the alley, he’s very powerful, he looks like a master.”

The old Sword Saint of Shuishui Country felt like he was listening to heavenly scripture.

Seeing the old senior’s expression, Chen Pingan quickly swallowed the words that had reached his lips.

For example, the barefoot old man who taught him boxing techniques and honed his third realm martial arts was a tenth realm martial artist. Moreover, in his early years, the old man surnamed Cui was the first tenth realm Grandmaster in the Treasure Bottle Continent after hundreds of years…

Song Yushao quickly understood, smiling, “A frog in a well, that’s all. It’s alright, it’s alright, as long as there’s still great scenery above the sixth realm of martial arts, then that’s a great thing! Otherwise, all the beautiful scenery in the world would be seen by the celestial immortals, wouldn’t we martial artists lose all face? It shouldn’t be like this!”

Chen Pingan, still carrying Chu Hao in one hand, nodded vigorously.

He thought that if Senior Song could go to his hometown, he would definitely share similar views with the guy in the bamboo building.

In the end, there were still some people who wouldn’t refuse to sit at the same table and drink together, regardless of the disparity in their martial arts realms.

In Chen Pingan’s eyes, this Senior Song was extraordinary, so no matter where the old man went or who he met, he would be respected.

After Chu Hao’s vital energy was completely depleted, the Sweet Dew Armor reverted to its silver ingot form and fell to the ground. Chen Pingan picked it up with his toes and put it in his pouch.

Then he exerted a little force, flicking his wrist, and knocked the quietly awakened but dare not open his eyes, Great General Chu unconscious again.

Song Yushao smiled knowingly.

Encountering such a “Dali Young Sword Immortal” could be considered Chu Hao’s “boundless good fortune.”

Chen Pingan asked, “What’s next?”

Song Yushao sighed, “Even if the three thousand elite cavalry were eager to save their lord, they wouldn’t be foolish enough to charge towards the Sword Water Manor. Within this imperial army, there is clearly the machinations of my grandson Fengshan. It’s already in chaos, and they won’t assist Chu’s elite cavalry in battle. They will only retreat back to the state city and wait to see what happens.”

Song Yushao’s face was a bit gloomy, “But with the Sword God of the Colorful Clothes Country dying suddenly, a demon appearing in Rouge County, and our Sword Water Manor… I think the Academy will take action.”

Chen Pingan asked, “The Academy? Is it Guanhai Academy, one of the seventy-two Confucian Academies?”

Song Yushao sighed, “Yes. For thousands of years, the mountains and the world below have generally been at peace, all thanks to the academies. But I never expected that this time, Sword Water Manor might be standing opposite Guanhai Academy. Once the instructors of the Academy appear, I’m afraid the manor will be like this imperial army, with morale collapsing and the manor’s century-old reputation ruined in an instant.”

Chen Pingan had some impression of Guanhai Academy. Firstly, this academy was as famous as the Yuanshan Cliff Academy founded by Qi Xian. Secondly, during the Undying Bride incident, on the way back from Great Sui to Huangting Country, the young Cui Chan mentioned some incredible inside stories that were related to the scholars of Guanhai Academy. Finally, the first gentleman of Guanhai Academy, Cui Minghuang, once represented the Confucianists of the Treasure Bottle Continent in entering the Lvzhu Grotto Heaven.

But why did Senior Song, who seemed to be able to take the head of a general from the midst of a large army as described in books, have such complex emotions when mentioning the Academy?

Song Yushao mocked himself, “I wouldn’t surrender to the Academy, but I don’t have the guts to fight to the death either. I’m worried!”

Chen Pingan didn’t quite understand.

Song Yushao seemed to see through the young man’s thoughts. He put his hands behind his back, slowed his pace in the mountain forest, looked at the sparse sunlight shining through the leaves like grains of gold scattered on the ground. After a moment of silence, the old man finally said helplessly, “Don’t you know that the words of the Academy’s instructors are the greatest truths in the world? I once personally witnessed a virtuous man from Guanhai Academy, who at a young age, could make the Sword God of the Colorful Clothes Country go out to greet him from afar and ask him about morality and learning. The young virtuous man wore a tall crown and a wide belt, sat upright, facing the sword god like a novice child, that majestic demeanor was truly another kind of invincibility.”

Song Yushao smiled, “So, a hundred or a thousand Song Yushao’s are no match for an Academy instructor’s sentence, ‘You are wrong, you should be punished’.”

Chen Pingan asked a question, “What if the Academy’s instructors don’t speak reasonably? If gentlemen and virtuous men also make mistakes, what should be done?”

Song Yushao smiled, “The sages above will teach them.”

Chen Pingan was thoughtful, carrying a general by the neck, the latter’s feet dragging on the forest floor, rustling.