Li Er was giving Chen Ping’an one last bout, and it was unlike any before.

Li Er told Chen Ping’an to give it his all, to use any means necessary, and see how long he could withstand his fist.

Chen Ping’an was puzzled. He was at the sixth realm bottleneck of a martial artist, while Li Er was at the tenth realm, the pinnacle of martial arts, Returning to Simplicity. Even with underhanded tactics, what was the point?

Li Er chuckled, “This time when I strike, I will be measured, only interrupting the connections between your various techniques. Simply put, just attack. Treat this as a life-or-death battle against a formidable foe who, relying on their vastly superior realm, looks down on you and doesn’t understand your true potential, seeing you only as a pure martial artist with a good foundation. They only want to exhaust your pure qi and then slowly torture you to vent their anger.”

Chen Ping’an grew even more confused. Did this mean he could use any tricks, insidious schemes, or dirty tactics in addition to his fist techniques?

Li Er didn’t explain further. “Don’t be careless, or I’ll think you dare to underestimate a deadly enemy. My last punch can leave you coughing blood in bed for half a year on Lion Peak.”

Li Er turned and headed towards the ferry, leaving Chen Ping’an at the door of the thatched hut.

Li Er, holding a bamboo pole, stood at one end of the small boat, beginning to focus his mind and spirit. After half an incense stick’s time, Chen Ping’an walked towards the ferry.

Li Er glanced over and couldn’t help but smile.

The young man was barefoot, with his trousers rolled up, but he hadn’t rolled up his sleeves.

He hadn’t forgotten to carry the sword bestowed by the Fu family of Old Dragon City.

Li Er nodded. “Get on the boat.”

In an instant, Li Er brought the bamboo pole down like a hammer. Chen Ping’an, who had already pinched a Folding Space Talisman between his fingers in his sleeve, vanished into thin air, stepping on the stone wall of the Immortal Abode grotto waterway. Using the momentum to bounce off, he retreated away from the boat, the man, and the pole in a flash.

When Chen Ping’an landed on the water, he bent over, treading water, sliding backward. One hand pressed down on the water, creating a ripple. Two Clod-Gathering Talismans and one Water-Diverting Talisman exploded with spiritual light. Chen Ping’an slightly twisted his wrist, and a short blade appeared in his right hand, engraved with the words “Morning Dew.” The other, yet to appear, was “Evening Glow,” both obtained from the assassins of Deer Cutting Mountain.

The tip of the bamboo pole seemed to land, but it didn’t actually touch the ground. The qi did not create a trench in the ground, nor did it even raise any dust. This was the realm of a grandmaster who had reached the pinnacle of martial arts, able to control his fist intent at will.

Ahead of the small boat, the water surface surged, and gravel splashed. A figure in green robes, moving like lightning, charged forward in a straight line, holding a blade in each hand.

Li Er put away the bamboo pole, turned to look, and laughed. “Flashy and noisy, quite intimidating.”

Li Er casually jabbed with the bamboo pole, the small boat slowly moving forward. Chen Ping’an dodged the pole, and his left sleeve flashed with a Folding Space Talisman.

Li Er’s grip on the bamboo pole loosened and then tightened again. Without turning around, he thrust the pole backward, striking Chen Ping’an, who had appeared behind him, directly in the chest. Chen Ping’an crashed into the water. Had Chen Ping’an not slightly turned his body, only tearing his green robes and revealing a hint of bloody groove and white bone, Li Er, who claimed to be “underestimating” and “using measured force,” might have been able to drive the bamboo pole straight through Chen Ping’an’s chest.

The small boat under Li Er’s feet continued to move forward slowly, without any need to use the pole. A pure martial artist of the tenth realm was what Li Er called “spirit and essence filled, a complete human.” Once he unleashed his true vigor, Li Er could easily fill the entire waterway with fist intent and qi.

Li Er smiled. Well, it seemed the kid had taken advantage of the terrain, using dozens of water talismans at once to create a semblance of overturning rivers and seas.

Li Er gently tightened his grip on the bamboo pole, causing it to hum. His qi surged, and the man and the boat continued forward, neither fast nor slow, with no water touching either.

Li Er stomped his foot, and a muffled thunder echoed from the bottom of the water. Li Er was slightly surprised and ignored Chen Ping’an beneath the surface. He moved from the stern to the bow, glanced at a wall in the distance, and the small boat shot forward like an arrow as he slammed the bamboo pole towards it.

Chen Ping’an’s out-of-body Soul, using the Tortoise-Carrying Stele Talisman from the Ghost Axe Palace, had long been hidden on the wall. Everything before had been a feint.

Unexpectedly, Li Er had seen through it so easily.

The Soul had no choice but to avoid the heavy blow of the bamboo pole. This movement revealed its true form, a young man in white robes with a folding fan at his waist. Even as he fled in a somewhat disheveled manner, he still wore a smile, his figure ethereal, like a mountain immortal. As he left the stone wall, Chen Ping’an’s Soul made a sword gesture with two fingers, drawing a snow-white sword light from between his eyebrows. It was the nascent flying sword, Initial One, not yet fully refined into a natal treasure. Although it wasn’t a sword cultivator’s natal flying sword, after being tempered on the Dragon Slaying Platform along the way, its reappearance was now filled with formidable momentum.

Li Er’s bamboo pole still hadn’t touched the stone wall. His arm slightly bent, he retracted the pole, knocking the flying sword Initial One, causing it to tremble unceasingly and crash into the stone wall. The bamboo pole, merely a common object imbued with flowing fist intent, was undamaged.

Li Er laughed. “Coming again?”

A sharp flying sword with the aura of an immortal sword pierced towards Li Er’s back.

Li Er didn’t care at all. His abundant fist intent protected him like a divine guardian, the most indestructible armor in the world.

Li Er let out a surprised “Oh.” “Just a replica sword crafted by Hate Sword Mountain?”

The flying sword, which had been approaching fiercely, was easily deflected by the fist intent.

The third, and fastest, flying sword streaked towards the back of Li Er’s head.

At the same time, the first flying sword, its light like a white rainbow, tried to get close again.

Li Er was somewhat helpless. “This is getting annoying.”

Li Er released the bamboo pole and vanished in a flash. The next moment, he had three flying swords in his grasp, causing dazzling sparks to erupt from his palm.

By the time Li Er returned to the small boat, the bamboo pole was suspended in the air, not falling, because Li Er’s return trip was too fast.

Li Er, with three flying swords bound in one hand, pressed his palm against one end of the bamboo pole and pushed hard, causing the small boat to rock slightly.

The bamboo pole, slightly angled, flew away, piercing Chen Ping’an’s abdomen and pinning him to the bottom of the water. The force of the bamboo pole was astonishing, not only slamming Chen Ping’an’s entire body against the bottom but also passing straight through his abdomen.

Li Er’s attack was ruthless.

Chen Ping’an’s response was even more savage.

His palm heavily slammed against the bottom, as if pulling his entire body off the bamboo pole. Using the Folding Space Talisman, he vanished instantly.

Li Er smiled, not beating a drowning dog, as they had agreed to feign disdain.

Chen Ping’an had one good quality: he didn’t feel pain, or rather, his attacks would be steady until his death.
Some so-called martial arts geniuses, the more grievous their injuries, the more fiercely they fight. Yet, inevitable are the lingering aftereffects, be it following a great battle or during its throes. Such is the exchange of fist intent for combat prowess. If the combatants are of similar cultivation, such a warrior may survive to the end, for a true martial artist is not solely reliant on brute force and impulsive rage. However, lacking it entirely, one should not tread the path of martial arts. But once the disparity in cultivation widens, this approach holds both benefits and drawbacks. Perhaps the best outcome is a successful exchange of lives with a stronger foe.

The clashes of martial artists may seem mundane and tedious, a mere exchange of wounds for life and death, with limited tactics. Yet, every move is laden with profundity, each strike imbued with meaning.

Especially after ascending to the Tenth Realm, the heavens are vast and the earth boundless, filled with magnificent wonders and limitless scenery.

Song Changjing, ambitious and possessing a grand vision, holds such purity in his pursuit of martial arts that he would forsake his empire and abandon his dragon throne. His obsession surpasses that of ordinary grandmasters. His fist strikes seek to compel those mountain-peak immortals to descend and prostrate themselves before him, Song Changjing.

Hence, his vigor is overwhelming.

Li Er concedes that he is indeed inferior to Song Changjing in this realm.

Upon reaching the pinnacle of pure martial arts, regardless of the variety of fist forms or martial gall, there exist but two primary paths. One path resembles the peaceful expansion of a blessed land, one’s fist intent being vast and boundless, with vigor revered above all. The other resembles immortals carving out a grotto-heaven, striving for a return to simplicity, lacking a path beneath their feet, and thus continuing skyward. Li Er does not wish to linger in the realm of vigor, yet his own disposition and the purity of his fist intent render forced cultivation of vigor inconsequential. It is better to ride the momentum and ascend directly to the realm of Returning to Simplicity.

Previously, while drinking and chatting idly with Chen Ping’an, Li Er heard of a remarkable individual in Luopo Mountain named Zhu Lian, nicknamed the “Martial Madman,” who would fight to the death. Yet, in his daily life, his temperament was as carefree as an immortal.

Chen Ping’an, a man of great consideration and intricate thoughts, rarely speaks with absolute certainty. Yet, when mentioning Zhu Lian, he declared that Zhu Lian was the pure martial artist least likely to succumb to inner demons.

Li Er then realized that Zhu Lian must be an unparalleled genius.

A genius in the eyes of a Tenth Realm martial artist.

If the opportunity arises, he would like to meet Zhu Lian.

Li Er put away the bamboo pole and casually tossed out three flying swords, continuing to punt the boat along.

Having been slightly heavy-handed earlier, the simple-hearted man felt a touch of remorse. When dealing with the elusive and resourceful Chen Ping’an, he deliberately restrained the force of his fists. One strike merely embedded Chen Ping’an into the stone wall, without using the bamboo pole to pierce his gut. Furthermore, the boat continued onward, leaving the young man, who could surely continue to attack, behind, allowing him to convert a breath of pure vital energy.

Li Er has always believed that practicing martial arts involves little trickery. Diligently refining one’s physique is simply a matter of enduring hardship.

It is similar to a farmer tending to his fields, except that the farmer’s harvest depends on the whims of the heavens, while a martial artist’s progress depends entirely on himself.

Li Er turned his head and saw a bizarre sight.

Chen Ping’an had donned a Golden Nectar Dharma Robe, covered by a Hundred-Eyed Gluttonous Black Dharma Robe. Not content with this, he even wore the Snow Blossom Dharma Robe of the Skin-Nourishing City’s ghost, and the exceedingly gaudy Rainbow Sparrow Mansion Dharma Robe. Fortunately, worldly Dharma Robes, after minor refinement, can slightly alter their appearance according to the cultivator’s will. However, from his original blue shirt, adding these four Dharma Robes, could he not appear bloated? Li Er found it awkward, especially since the outermost robe was meant for young ladies. Was Chen Ping’an going too far?

However, the choice was not wrong.

If he had donned the Dharma Robes from the start, Chen Ping’an’s current martial artist cultivation would have hindered the flow of his fist intent, perhaps slowing his attack by a hair’s breadth, which could have been a matter of life and death.

Now that he was severely injured, it was a different matter entirely.

After all, it could withstand one or two more blows.

Li Er stopped the boat near the water mirror and stepped onto the lake’s mirror-like surface, bamboo pole in hand.

Li Er looked towards the entrance of the cavern waterway.

There was some movement.

In the distance, Chen Ping’an, sword on his back, stood on the water’s surface. He did not possess water-dividing divine powers, nor did he employ any immortal water techniques. Without moving his feet, he advanced slowly.

Li Er looked at Chen Ping’an’s feet.

After a moment, Chen Ping’an suddenly soared upwards.

It turned out that he was standing on a colossal creature of emerald green color, a flood dragon.

This water dragon was indeed worthy of the name of cultivator water technique. The dragon’s body was based on snow mud talismans, with over a hundred Great River Overflowing Talismans serving as the dragon’s spine, tightly connected. It seemed that he even used a bit of something as the spirit light of this strange but spectacular “talisman,” precisely the two superior material refining incantations that Fire Dragon True Man wanted Chen Ping’an to ponder more. The incantation for refining the Three Mountains and the immortal Rain-Seeking Stele incantation of Jade Green Palace should not be merely regarded as means of refining materials. Hence, at this moment, the dragon’s spine, like two ropes entwined, became increasingly tight and tenacious. One was a mountain-refining technique, the other a water-refining technique, and with the true meaning of the School of Great Dragon Fist as the finishing touch, faintly, the flood dragon beneath the young man’s feet possessed the celestial aura of accumulating soil to form mountains and stirring wind and rain.

Worldly matters require much thought and deliberation.

Thus, Chen Ping’an ultimately created this colossal creature.

Chen Ping’an habitually held his saber in his right hand.

In reality, he was left-handed.

The flood dragon crashed towards Li Er at the water mirror, stirring up monstrous waves wherever it passed.

Li Er twitched his lips and lightly tapped the ground with the end of his bamboo pole, “A flowery display, incapable of achieving anything.”

With a light leap, Li Er swung the bamboo pole and slammed it heavily onto the ground. Even though the flood dragon was still tens of feet away from the water mirror, the waves were cleaved in two by the energy. Relying solely on inertia, it continued to rush forward.

Li Er swept the bamboo pole horizontally, and Chen Ping’an, who had appeared on the left side of the mirror-image Li Er, suddenly lowered his head, his body seemingly about to fall to the ground. With a twist, he evaded the sweeping bamboo pole, which carried the force of wind and thunder. Chen Ping’an, facing the fleeting bamboo pole, flipped his sleeves, and three flying swords shot out from three acupoints. Taking a quick step, he thrust a short saber in his right hand towards Li Er’s chest, while a second short saber quietly slipped out of his left sleeve.

Li Er did not even glance at the three flying swords, kicking Chen Ping’an in the chest. The latter slid back dozens of feet, knees slightly bent, toes twisting on the ground, increasing the force to avoid releasing the short sabers in both hands.

With a shake of his shoulders, he suddenly stood firm, forcibly dispelling the remaining force of Li Er’s fist energy from his chest.

He was, after all, a man wearing four Dharma Robes.

Li Er said, “I told you long ago, only those who practice showy martial arts think of overwhelming a master with a flurry of blows. A master neither blocks nor parries, just strikes once.”
Li Er casually tossed the bamboo pole, plunging it more than a foot into the mirror-like surface.

That slightly interesting Flood Dragon had just reformed on the mirror’s surface when it was pierced by the bamboo pole, instantly disintegrating back into water. Many of the runes that were already cracked and fractured completely turned to dust.

Chen Ping’an began to move his feet.

Li Er adjusted his trajectory slightly, still appearing directly in front of Chen Ping’an. He delivered a knee strike that sent the latter flying into the air. Li Er seemed to move slowly, arriving beside Chen Ping’an and throwing a punch. The force caused Chen Ping’an’s true qi to stagnate, and his robes crackled and split. He was sent crashing into the lake dozens of feet away, skipping across the surface like a stone thrown into water, gliding for another seven or eight feet.

Li Er began to sprint, each step shattering the surrounding spiritual energy of the lake water. He charged towards where Chen Ping’an had fallen.

Suddenly shifting his body horizontally, Li Er slammed his shoulder into Chen Ping’an’s chest, who had used a Distance-Shortening Talisman.

Chen Ping’an felt as if he had been struck in the heart by an iron hammer. His Yin Spirit detached and roamed afar, using a bizarre, natural boxing technique. It seemed to draw slow arcs that generated one from the other, forming a near-perfect circle, yet it was dazzling to behold. It directly helped Chen Ping’an to dissipate most of the fist’s force. By the time Chen Ping’an stabilized himself, his Yin Spirit had returned to his body in one fluid motion.

Li Er didn’t pursue, nodding. “That’s right.”

Otherwise, practicing martial arts and cultivating the Dao, yet only allowing cultivation to hinder the advancement of martial arts, the two constantly conflicting, would only lead to ruin.

This time, Li Er’s sparring was to allow Chen Ping’an to find that mysterious and profound point of balance. A martial artist shouldn’t be led astray by the stance and intent of the fist. Since he was already a Qi Refiner, he shouldn’t feel that his fist intent was therefore impure. A martial artist is sufficient with just their fists, but that doesn’t mean disregarding everything else. A true grandmaster should possess the grandeur of having all techniques at his disposal, all originating from his own hand.

The human body is a small world, and I am the Heavens.

What can’t be managed, what can’t be controlled?

Since Chen Ping’an had taken the first step in the right direction,

Li Er was now at ease in his strikes.

The punches weren’t heavy, but they were faster.

Not giving Chen Ping’an a moment to turn over a thought.

We martial men, we martial men, sparring with me, Li Er, to sharpen the Great Dao, then you, boy, must bring out something that no martial artist in the world possesses!

Then take a few more punches.

If you don’t,

Then lie down and recover!

Over at the ferry, Li Liu walked on the water, looking at the traces of combat. As for the happenings on the water mirror, she didn’t even need to look to understand them clearly.

In her long years, Li Liu was no stranger to pure martial artists. She had once died at the hands of a Tenth Realm martial artist and had also personally killed Tenth Realm martial artists. She had a deep understanding of the paths of martial artists’ fist practice. It couldn’t be said how outstanding Chen Ping’an’s training was in the history of the Great Alignment World, but as a Sixth Realm martial artist, he was taking punches of this magnitude so early, which was truly rare.

The Ninth Realm Peak and Tenth Realm Limit martial artists in the world, and those like Gu who don’t take direct disciples, are ultimately few in number.

Wanting to learn from his father, the martial arts grandmasters who tempered their disciples’ physiques in this way were not uncommon, but unfortunately, the disciples had to be able to withstand it. Some couldn’t withstand it physically, and some couldn’t pass the test of character. Of course, more often than not, both were lacking. Even with前辈明师 (senior, famous teachers) willing to support, even drag them along, they couldn’t enter the hall, unable to cross the threshold. Some seemed to have broken through, but in reality, they were just being used as punching bags. The transmission of punches lacked the true method. The disciples crossed the threshold, but it was like losing an arm or a leg. Subtle and imperceptible flaws were hammered into their mind-mirror, so at the Eighth and Ninth Realms, all sorts of hidden dangers would become apparent.

Li Liu reached the end of the waterway in the karst cave and didn’t continue forward. She began to turn around and stroll back.

Li Liu arrived at the ferry and, at the edge of the immortal cave’s landscape restrictions, looked out at the distant scenery beyond Lion Peak.

Li Liu faintly sensed an anomaly.

Her gaze lifted, looking towards the sky.

The seventy-two Confucian Temples’ honored sages have always been the most pitiful existences, trapped in their own domains.

Neither alive nor dead, bound by countless rules, year after year, watching the mortal world, they are absolutely not allowed to interfere in worldly affairs at will.

Li Liu had a life in the Northwest Continent, as the peak immortal realm Sect Master. She once chatted with a Confucian Sage sitting above half the continent’s territory at the celestial dome of the Flowing Cloud Continent.

In the eyes of these Sages, who are like boats treading in empty space yet remaining still, it’s like ordinary people on a mountain peak looking at the mountains and rivers below. Even they have limited eyesight and cannot see the picture clearly. However, if they use the ancient divine power of “Palm Contemplates Mountains and Rivers”, even the inscription on a jade pendant worn by a man in the marketplace, or a white hair mixed in with a woman’s full head of black hair, can be seen in every detail, taking everything into their eyes.

But this kind of divine power, used to watch the mortal world for a thousand years after a thousand years, eventually becomes tiring to watch.

What’s more, their duty lies in monitoring those Ascended Realm grand cultivators, as well as a group of Upper Five Realm cultivators’ cultivation places. They must also have a clear understanding in their hearts, so as to prevent cultivators from being reckless with their spells and harming the mortal world.

If those grand cultivators in the blessed lands leave their small world, it is like a particularly striking lamp lighting up. Even the ordinary masters on the mountain peaks can see it, and naturally, the Sages sitting in the celestial dome will immediately pay attention and stare intently. If there are any violations or impolite acts, the Sages will take action to stop them. If everything is done according to the rules, then they don’t need to show themselves.

The Confucian Sage who had a few words with Li Liu at that time joked that his greatest relaxation was to go and see a village covenant inscription standing at the entrance of a village in a certain country, a certain state, a certain county every ten years, and to see what insignificant changes that block of stone tablet, exposed to wind and sun, rain and snow, had undergone that the people of the world didn’t care about.

Li Liu was speechless.

The Sages are lonely.

The mortal world is unaware.

About an hour later, Li Liu, who had traveled thousands of miles in thought, retracted her thoughts and turned her head to look with a smile.

Someone was rowing back, the somewhat miserable Chen Ping’an.

Li Er sat on the small boat and said, “You must hold this breath first. You have to hold on until those martial fortunes arrive at Lion Peak, otherwise you won’t be able to accomplish that thing.”

Chen Ping’an nodded.

Li Er asked, “Do you really not regret it? Li Liu might know some strange methods to keep it for a while.”

Chen Ping’an shook his head and said, “No. The Mountain-Shaking Fist was created by Senior Gu from the Northern Entirety Continent. During his travels, the senior taught me three more fists. In the end, even after his death, he still wanted to give his martial fortune to me. So, I don’t regret it.”
Li Er ceased his words.

Aboard a small boat, the two arrived at the ferry crossing. Li Liu smiled faintly and said, “Congratulations, Mister Chen, for breaking through in both martial arts and cultivation.”

Chen Pingan grinned. Having deliberately suppressed his true qi and spiritual energy earlier, this slight movement immediately shattered the effort, and his face once again became smeared with blood.

Chen Pingan walked past the landscape restriction at the entrance of the cave dwelling, gently clenched his fist, and looked up.

Above Lion Peak, under a clear, ten-thousand-mile sky, suddenly a sea of golden clouds coalesced. Then, celestial nectar descended, thread by thread, slowly falling, exceedingly slow.

Chen Pingan softly said, “First day, fifteenth.”

Two flying swords shot out, disappearing in a flash, hovering high above Chen Pingan, like two steps.

Wearing a green robe and carrying a sword on his back, he began to ascend rapidly, treading on the two flying sword steps, stepping towards the heavens.

Stopping abruptly dozens of yards away from the golden cloud sea and martial fortune nectar, Chen Pingan’s fist intent surged violently, like a deity in the sky, using the Cloud-Steaming Marsh stance to punch upwards.

With a single punch, he scattered the martial fortune cloud sea and nectar, sending them crashing down upon the Northern Ju Continent.

Completely exhausted, Chen Pingan took a deep breath, wiped the sweat from his brow, bent over, and gasped for air. His vision was somewhat blurred, yet he still turned to look south, and said softly with a smile, “Senior Gu, I didn’t dare tell you back then, in my hometown bamboo building, someone said our Mountain-Shaking Fist was full of earthy smells, not worth much, only the core fist intent was barely passable. That punch just now, it was taught to me by him. Senior Gu, please rest assured, I was unconvinced back then. When I return to my hometown this time, I will definitely argue with him. Now that I am in the Golden Body Realm, I can surely withstand a few more punches, and can say a few more words.”