As dawn broke, they approached the gate to Upside-Down Mountain. Just a few more steps and they would cross from one realm to another. Zhong Qiu asked, “Forgive my inquiry, but who assisted you in this journey to the Great Wall of Sword Qi? And are there any hidden concerns for your return?”

Cui Dongshan didn’t conceal anything, chuckling, “It was Sword Immortal Shao Yunyan, the master of Spring Banner House, who lent a small hand. Money can move mountains, after all, so there’s no need for Master Zhong to worry.”

Zhong Qiu naturally didn’t believe the youth’s words. Trying to offer money to Shao Yunyan of Spring Banner House was like trying to break down a door that wouldn’t open.

But since Cui Dongshan said there was no need for concern, Zhong Qiu set his mind at ease. After all, they were now both disciples of the same Ancestral Hall in Fallen Mountain. If there was truly something he, Zhong Qiu, could help with, he hoped Cui Dongshan would speak frankly.

It wasn’t just Zhong Qiu who found Cui Dongshan strange. In fact, Zhong Qiu could see that Zhu Lian, Zheng Dafeng, and even Mountain Lord Wei Bo, the most veteran figures of Fallen Mountain, were all concerned about their relationship with this seemingly ageless and enigmatic youth. The reason was simple: the “youth” named Cui Dongshan held a mind as deep as the abyss. Zhong Qiu, as a former Imperial Advisor, had seen countless emperors, generals, heroes, and villains. Even Yu Zhenyi, who had turned to the path of immortality, could be clearly seen. But this white-robed youth who spent his days playing with Pei Qian, Zhong Qiu felt a primal instinct warning him: do not delve too deeply into this one’s heart; that is the best course of action.

The gatekeeper here was a young Daoist boy, of the same generation as the Great Heavenly Lord, here at Upside-Down Mountain. At this moment, the boy no longer looked down at his book, but instead stared directly at the group of four, not bothering to hide his scrutiny.

Then, this young Daoist boy, who had once slapped Lu Tai out of the Incense Offering Pavilion, used all four aspects of his being to ask the four travelers three questions. He asked the same question to the Confucian scholar youth and the staff-bearing girl.

He asked Zhong Qiu, “Are you willing to go to the Incense Offering Pavilion to request a stick of incense? If you can light it, you can enter my sect. From now on, you and I might even call each other brothers. However, I cannot guarantee that your seniority will be elevated. I must make this clear to you first.”

If an ordinary cultivator of the Vast Sky Realm heard these words, they would regard them as an incredible blessing.

He asked Pei Qian and Cao Qinglang, “Under whose tutelage do you study?”

He asked Cui Dongshan, “Who are you?”

Zhong Qiu chuckled and replied, using the technique of voice transmission, “I am grateful for the Immortal Master’s kindness, but I am a disciple of Confucianism, and half a pure martial artist. I have no interest in cultivating immortal arts.”

Cao Qinglang remained composed, replying with a ripple of his mind, “In the Vast Sky Realm, the legacy of one’s teacher is of utmost importance. I cannot say, and hope that the Immortal Master will forgive me.”

The young Daoist boy didn’t find anything strange about these answers, which were somewhat expected. He nodded, understanding, and certainly didn’t become angry out of embarrassment.

Year after year, he had watched the myriad faces of living beings at Upside-Down Mountain, and it was truly dull. He was simply looking for some unexpected amusement.

The little girl, wielding a jade-green staff crafted from the golden bamboo whip refined by the Thunder Pool, didn’t speak. Instead, she looked up at the sky, feigning deafness and muteness. It seemed she had received an answer from the youth’s heart, and she began to shuffle step by step, eventually hiding behind the white-robed youth. The young Daoist boy smiled wryly. His reputation at Upside-Down Mountain wasn’t bad. He had never bullied anyone, and when he did act, he relied on his meager Daoist skills, just minor abilities.

But the answer from the youth who wore a vestment made from the hide of an ancient True Dragon left the young Daoist boy speechless. The fellow had blurted out a nonsensical sentence, neither using voice transmission nor ripples of the mind, but simply saying, “I am Dongshan.”

The young Daoist boy had no interest in pursuing the matter. He lowered his head and continued to read his book, and the gate beside him opened on its own.

The group of four walked towards the gate. Pei Qian kept herself as far away from the young Daoist boy as possible. As the great white goose moved, she would stand on its left side, following its movements, as if believing that if she couldn’t see the young Daoist boy, then he couldn’t see her either.

After boarding the ship in Old Dragon City, Cui Dongshan had only reminded Pei Qian of one thing: if you encounter an expert, don’t look at them, just go around them, and try not to cross paths.

Pei Qian then asked how to recognize an expert. Cui Dongshan smiled and said that those who seemed to have a heart-lake shrouded in clouds were experts. If you saw one, you should act like Chen Lingjun and be truly blind, and then imitate Xiao Mili and pretend to be mute.

Zhong Qiu took a step and felt slightly out of breath, but it wasn’t serious. After a few breaths, he became accustomed to it.

Even as pure martial artists who had reached the Distant Roaming Realm, those from Lotus Flower Blessed Land and the Vast Sky Realm had significant differences.

As a former Imperial Advisor, Zhong Qiu had expended a great deal of energy and mental fortitude. When Lotus Flower Blessed Land became Lotus Root Blessed Land, and there was no longer any Great Dao suppression, Zhong Qiu had also relinquished his duties as Imperial Advisor. Both his state of mind and his mental strength had expanded. In fact, even before Zhong Qiu entered Fallen Mountain, he was already two different people. Therefore, in those ten years, Zhong Qiu had naturally broken through the bottleneck of the sixth realm, successfully reaching the Golden Body Realm. Finally, after a change or rather, an opportunity, Zhong Qiu, who was close to the water and thus obtained the moon, but didn’t know that he was seeing the moon from the pavilion, had crossed a major threshold.

What seemed like opportunity and luck was actually the result of accumulated potential.

Cao Qinglang was the one who suffered the most. His face was slightly pale, and his hands were hidden in his sleeves, each forming a hand seal to help him focus his mind and steady his soul.

This technique had been taught to him by Mr. Lu many years ago.

Pei Qian recovered even sooner than Cao Qinglang, shaking her head with great satisfaction. Look, Cao’s path of cultivation was long and arduous, which made her very worried.

Earlier, Cui Dongshan had spoken to her in his mind, saying, “I’m going to tease that little fellow.”

Pei Qian had then reminded him, “Don’t go too far.”

Cui Dongshan was the last to walk into the gate. He leaned back and stretched his neck, as if trying to see what book the young Daoist boy was reading.

The young Daoist boy smiled and said, “On Upside-Down Mountain, one of my junior disciples is not very fond of the Flood Dragon race.”

Cui Dongshan had already disappeared into the gate, but unexpectedly took a step back out, asking, “What did you just say?”

The young Daoist boy was taken aback, turned to look, and frowned, “What is your true cultivation level?”

Cui Dongshan chuckled, “Would you believe me if I said I was in the Ascension Realm?”

The young Daoist boy shook his head.
That youth, strangely idle, earnestly discussed this rather dull topic with him, continuing to ask, “Then why do you ask me? Would you believe me if I said I was in the Nascent Soul Realm or the Jade Purity Realm? Do you believe me yourself, or do you believe in yourself? How do I know if you believe in yourself, or in the ‘me’ in your mind? And how am I supposed to believe which ‘you’ actually believes?”

The young Daoist was stunned for a long while before asking, “Are you out of your mind?”

The youth, truly persistent, refused to leave, maintaining that posture with his feet seemingly already in the wild lands and his body leaning back still within the Great Li Dynasty, “What if the problem lies within the Great Dao itself, and not within you or me? What then? Would medicine even help?”

The young Daoist was utterly speechless.

The youth grinned, “Really, you’re something else. You asked me if I was sick, and then when I suggested you take medicine, you were completely flustered?”

The young Daoist asked suspiciously, “Are you tired of living?”

The youth straightened his face and said, “Heaven and earth give birth to people, how shall we repay this kindness? Ultimately, we must repay it with death.”

The young Daoist frowned deeply, closed his book, and decided to drag this fellow back to Upside-Down Mountain and beat him severely. Then his realm would naturally become clear. Unexpectedly, the man sensed the danger and ran.

A moment later, he leaned back again, grinning at the young Daoist, “That ‘Collection of Whispers Among Pines,’ which seemed so tender and romantic for most of the book, is actually quite pointless. The lovesick scholar died in the end, but the woman didn’t follow him in death. Instead, she remarried and had a bunch of chubby babies. Isn’t that infuriating? Isn’t that infuriating? And that’s not even the worst part. The worst part is that the scholar was reincarnated as the woman’s son’s son! It’s brilliant, simply brilliant!”

The young Daoist let out a soft breath, forced a smile, and slowly said, “Come, let’s have a good chat.”

The white-robed youth finally wisely made himself scarce, not wanting to chat any further.

As soon as that rascal left, the exasperated young Daoist hurriedly flipped to the end of the book, his eyes widening in shock. The book had a happy ending, with a beautiful moonlit night!

Cui Dongshan returned yet again, concerned, “I forgot to tell you, that’s a later reprinting, altered by unscrupulous booksellers. The original, unedited first edition had a much different ending, not so beautiful. But doing that made sales plummet; the bookstore couldn’t sell the book. Don’t believe me? This is the Yushan Fang reprint from the Liu family of Dunxi, Azure Cloud Continent, right? Alas, not even a fine or exquisite edition, and you’re reading it so intently. You’d be better off reading the Wen Guantang version. But there’s a set of Rouge Editions of unknown origin. Whenever there’s a scene between a man and a woman, the content is never cut, but rather enhanced. Those are truly excellent! If you have the money and the leisure time, you must buy them!”

The young Daoist asked, “Do you have any?”

The white-robed youth sighed, “What would a grand cultivator of the Middle Five Realms like me do with collecting these different editions of romance novels?”

The young Daoist sighed, put the book away, feeling annoyed just looking at it. He finally spoke about serious matters, “My apprentice-nephew, according to seniority, couldn’t seem to trace your origins.”

The man’s eyes crinkled into a smile, and he nodded, “Then tell him to stop looking. He’s tired of living; he’ll incur the wrath of the heavens and be struck by lightning. Do you think Upside-Down Mountain, such a large territory, can be as carefree as I am, coming and going between two Great Worlds as I please? Right?”

The young Daoist finally stood up.

In an instant, within a foot of space, the young Daoist, whose height was only that of a child in the market, stood tall between heaven and earth, like a mountain range.

Cui Dongshan waved goodbye, “Don’t think about waiting for me to stumble in, and don’t even think about letting loose the dogs. The slightest action from a Middle Five Realm Great Immortal like me causes the earth to shake. Before you even get scared, I’ll be scared myself.”

The young Daoist was about to break the rules and drag this person back to Upside-Down Mountain by force when the Heavenly Sovereign sitting atop the solitary peak suddenly said in a cold voice, “Let him go.”

The young Daoist turned his head, his eyes icy, and gazed at the figure on the solitary peak, “Are you using the rules to stop me?”

The Heavenly Sovereign, whose Dao lineage differed from the young Daoist’s, sneered, “Rules? I established the rules. You’ve been unhappy about this for years. When have I ever used the rules to suppress you? It’s just the Dao.”

The young Daoist was annoyed and paced back and forth.

Suddenly, another head popped out, lamenting, “To be vexed by outsiders, and blocked by our own people, it’s infuriating, truly infuriating.”

The young Daoist, truly angered, directly triggered the heavenly phenomena in the high sky of Upside-Down Mountain. The sea of clouds churned, and giant waves surged on the sea. The clash of immortals affected countless ferry boats docked along the shore, tossing them about. Everyone was terrified but unaware of the reason.

The Heavenly Sovereign of Upside-Down Mountain, who had already set up a small world at the foot of the mountain gate, calmly said, “Enough is enough.”

Only then did Cui Dongshan completely enter the Sword Qi Great Wall.

Once a few small matters are cleared up with the strongest power of Upside-Down Mountain, then all difficulties in the path ahead will be proactively and readily resolved.

But Cui Dongshan was still in a bad mood.

That young Daoist, whose Dao skills were mediocre, had an extraordinary background. Not mentioning the young Daoist’s master, one existence deeply involved with the young Daoist was a significant figure in the highest reaches of White Jade Capital. Cui Dongshan had disliked him for many years.

Just thinking about how he could only dislike him and couldn’t immediately pin him to the ground and teach him a lesson, and could only wait for the opportunity to arrive, made Cui Dongshan feel rather useless.

Someone as reasonable as himself, with friends all over the world, shouldn’t have grudges that last overnight!

Thinking again about Cui Chan’s current realm, Cui Dongshan became even more annoyed.

Therefore, his expression was not very pleasant.

Pei Qian asked worriedly, “Did you say something nasty and get beaten up? When you’re out and about, if you suffer a loss, just endure it.”

Cui Dongshan shook his head, unusually not making any jokes with this eldest senior sister.

Within the lineage of the Literary Sage, grudges or lessons, between master and disciples, between senior and junior siblings, no matter who, no matter what they did, should be a family matter settled behind closed doors.

Has our lineage of the Literary Sage, from the teacher to the students, ever harmed humanity for our own selfish desires?

When did we fall so low that we were at the mercy of others joining forces, one by one high up in the heavens, pointing fingers?

The lineage of the Literary Sage, what talk is there of incense offerings?

Was it really wrong to say that?

No!
Forget the entire Grand Azure World, just take the smallest Precious Bottle Continent. How many people know how many portraits hang in that Fallen Mountain?

For a century, the blame lay with Cui Chan, and of course, with me, Cui Dongshan!

It also lies with that old, down-on-his-luck scholar imprisoned in the Pavilion of Merits! And that Zuo You (or You Zuo) hiding at sea, seeking his mother’s immortal path! And that big, foolish oaf who only ate and never contributed, and then vanished without a trace!

If, in the future, my teacher, Cui Dongshan’s esteemed mentor, your student, that old scholar, both of you, despite your realms and cultivations, are merely useless burdens who never share the burdens of the sect, and your junior brother meets such an end, then what?

Still, be an enemy of the world, alone and isolated, standing tall, gazing up at the celestials one by one?

Me, Cui Dongshan?

One day, if I must defend the Precious Bottle Continent, if there is a great crisis of a continent sinking, that old bastard may not die for now, but Cui Dongshan can.

Pei Qian asked softly, “What happened exactly? Tell me, I’ll help if I can. Even if I can’t, I’ll cheer you on.”

Cui Dongshan smiled. “Just thinking about seeing my teacher makes me happy. So happy.”

Pei Qian nodded, then lectured earnestly, “Then save some of it! Don’t use up all your happiness at once. Save some of today’s joy for tomorrow, the day after, and the day after that. Then, when you’re sad, you can take it out and be happy again.”

Cui Dongshan suddenly laughed, a genuine laugh this time.

Because he suddenly remembered that his teacher seemed to be best at one thing in this life: surviving.

Cui Dongshan looked up and around.

The Great Wall of Sword Qi. This was truly his first time here.

He heard that the fellow, who forgot if his name was Zuo You or You Zuo, was now on the wall, drinking the northwest wind every day? Not satisfied with the sea breeze, he ran to drink the astral winds. How could his brain not be damaged?

Thinking that he once had such a junior brother, it was truly a small worry.

Cui Dongshan squinted. “Let’s go, straight to the wall! There’s a spectacle to see there.”

Pei Qian angrily said, “A spectacle, no matter how great, can it compare to me paying respects to my master?!”

Cui Dongshan looked innocent. “My teacher is over there. Looks like he’s about to fight someone.”

Pei Qian stomped her foot, looking forlorn. “What’s wrong with the people here? They only know how to bully my master, an outsider!”

Pei Qian took a deep breath, gripped her Walking Mountain Staff tightly, and darted off like an arrow.

Cui Dongshan furtively pulled out a talisman from his sleeve, turned to an older female Daoist from the Blade Chamber, and smiled. “Borrowing, borrowing. I’m actually very poor.”

A talisman boat materialized out of thin air.

Cui Dongshan leaned on the railing and shouted, “Eldest Sister, what’s up?”

Pei Qian looked up, stunned for a moment. Was White Goose (Cui Dongshan) so rich? She leaped high, lightly tapping the boat’s railing with her Walking Mountain Staff, and floated into the talisman boat.

As they drew closer to the wall, Pei Qian took out a yellow talisman, but after hesitating, she put it back in her sleeve.

Her master was right there. What was there to fear?

If her master saw it, it would be fine, just a few chestnuts to the head. But if her mistress saw it, and she got a bad impression that was hard to get rid of, how would she remedy it?

Knocking her head a hundred times to her mistress might not even work.

Without a word, she said, Cui Dongshan sat on the railing of the boat, his feet dangling, his sleeves billowing.

The young man was like the newest white cloud in this desolate world.

Sword cultivators. They were all sword cultivators.

The cultivators with the greatest killing power and the fastest way to kill enemies in the world were these guys.

Pei Qian dared to poke only half her head over the railing, using her hands to protect her head, trying to hide her face as much as possible. Then, she strained her eyes, carefully searching for her master’s figure on the wall.

That self-created Mad Demon Swordplay was probably still lacking. She should wait a bit before showing it off.

No rush. Wait until she had that little donkey her master promised to give her, and had walked the Jianghu a few more times with Li Huai and the others, and saved up enough money to buy a truly good sword. In the meantime, she had to engage in a few literary duels with some white-haired old man. What was the hurry? She could talk about it later.

Above the wall.

The big and small gamblers were all dumbfounded.

They had seen enough of A Liang’s darkness, but they had never seen a second shopkeeper so dark as to be outrageous.

Those who bet that one punch would knock down Yu Juanfu lost. Those who bet on three or five punches also lost. Those who bet on five to ten punches still lost. Those who bet, gods damn it, within a hundred punches, also lost completely. Not to mention those who were on the gambling table, even those who were bookmakers were grim-faced. Heaven knows where so many rich fools with brain damage came from. There weren’t many, just a handful, but they bet on Chen Ping An winning against Yu Juanfu after a hundred punches! And it wasn’t an ordinary heavy bet!

At the Great Wall of Sword Qi, betting on A Liang would at least allow the bookmakers to win money. But now, except for a few shady individuals, the bookmakers and the bettors all got wiped out!

The second shopkeeper hadn’t thrown a single punch from beginning to end, instead allowing Yu Juanfu’s fists to fly like rainbows. She had parried no less than a hundred moves.

However, the second shopkeeper had no conscience at all, giving it all away to the stray dogs of the Grand Azure World. If they were willing to tell the truth, then the second shopkeeper, although only defending and not attacking, not throwing a single punch, fought beautifully.

A young martial artist in the Golden Body Realm, able to dodge punches or take them head-on with such flowing grace and imposing manner, with the bearing of a Sword Immortal drawing a sword, was unique to the second shopkeeper.

But they had come to earn money! Could the second shopkeeper, Chen Ping An, use his beautiful fighting as money? Could he drink ten or a hundred jars of Bamboo Sea Paradise Wine for free?

Some old sword cultivators who had lost everything began to instigate their fellow sufferers. “After this fight, let’s find a chance to put Chen Ping An in a sack and beat him up, shall we?”

Someone said helplessly, “That guy is cunning. It’s hard to say who will put whom in a sack. We can all pool our money and hire a Sword Immortal to secretly draw his sword. That would be more reliable.”
Thus, someone tentatively suggested, “I heard that Sword Immortal Tao Wen recently had a falling out with that Second Shopkeeper, apparently over an unfair split of spoils. And Tao Wen is famous for not giving face to anyone. Why not spend some spirit money to hire him? Otherwise, ordinary Sword Immortals wouldn’t be willing to draw their swords for a bit of immortal coin, after all, that damned Second Shopkeeper has a Great Sword Immortal elder brother.”

A shrewd and experienced sword cultivator echoed, “Indeed, indeed. Immortals in the Celestial Realm certainly wouldn’t make a move, and those in the nascent soul realm might not be reliable enough. So it has to be a Jade Pure Realm cultivator. I think Tao Wen, with his honest and straightforward personality, is definitely not on the same wavelength as that Second Shopkeeper. Tao Wen taking action will definitely work! Besides, Tao Wen is always short of money, so his price won’t be too high.”

Still, someone hesitated, “What if Tao Wen hasn’t actually fallen out with the Second Shopkeeper? Wouldn’t we all be wiped out by that Second Shopkeeper then?”

For a moment, everyone was filled with righteous indignation and began to brainstorm. Soon, someone proposed, “Then what about Sword Immortal Yuan Qingshu from the Saha Continent? The Saha Continent is the territory of the Quasi-Sage lineage, which isn’t on good terms with the Second Shopkeeper’s lineage. Will that work? Will it be safer than Tao Wen? Don’t they say that Yuan Qingshu dislikes the wine shop for being exploitative?”

“Yuan Qingshu is probably still unreliable. I think Gao Kui is good. He has such a good relationship with Pang Yuanji, I reckon he’s been annoyed by the Second Shopkeeper for more than a day or two.”

Suddenly, someone said resentfully, “Who knows if this is another well-laid trap, just waiting for us to jump in?”

Someone sighed, gnashing their teeth, “This is no way to live! Now, whenever I walk on the street, I suspect everyone is a shill for that black-hearted Second Shopkeeper!”

The others fell silent.

Apart from the last person who spoke, who saw through the charade, and ignoring those who were just stirring up trouble, at least half of those who had offered suggestions were indeed shills for the Second Shopkeeper.

On the city wall, Chen Ping An remained unhurried, evading everywhere, and only blocked Yu Juanfu’s punches when he couldn’t avoid them.

He allowed her to throw a hundred punches, without landing a single one.

This was Chen Ping An’s original intention.

And also to gauge the fastest and heaviest punches of martial artists of his generation other than Cao Ci.

At the same time, Chen Ping An also wanted to examine his own fist intent bit by bit, patching up any shortcomings. It seemed erratic, on the verge of breaking but not quite, on the verge of losing but not quite, but in reality, it was orderly in speed and completely controlled.

Therefore, the moment Yu Juanfu stopped hiding her strength and successfully landed her first solid punch on Chen Ping An with her fastest speed, that would be the time when Chen Ping An truly retaliated.

Also with the fastest punch, delivering the heaviest punch.

The Sword Qi Great Wall acted without restraint, and its punches were uninhibited and unrestrained.

Fighting against Yu Juanfu was different from the previous sword duels against Qi Shou and Pang Yuanji. The latter had too many considerations, inevitably having to be careful and painstakingly pursue a victory, even a small one. More victories meant Chen Ping An had more unexpected support from the top of the city in the complex Sword Qi Great Wall. But in the case of Yu Juanfu, who was both a fellow outsider and a pure martial artist, Chen Ping An didn’t need to overthink.

Just like what he said to Nalan Yexing before, he, Chen Ping An himself, was curious about how fast his punch could be once he completely unleashed himself, with his fist intent reaching its peak when facing an opponent.

We martial artists throw our punches!

Who wouldn’t want all the martial artists in the world to see my fist technique and only feel like heaven is above, and can only restrain themselves and dare not throw a punch!

A rune boat, arriving late and extremely conspicuous, like a nimble fish, weaved through the crowd of sword cultivators suspended in the air on their swords. Finally, it stopped only a few dozen steps away from the city wall, where the two martial artists were sparring, clearly visible… two elusive figures like smoke.

When Pei Qian truly saw her master, she became fearless. She sat on the railing of the boat with Big White Goose, her Walking Mountain Staff lying across her lap.

As she watched, Pei Qian felt a little complicated.

This was the first time she had seen her master like this.

Since meeting her master, and then having one reunion after another, her master seemed to have never been so spirited.

Not seemed, he simply hadn’t.

Her master’s heart and brow were free of worries.

Her master was truly just a pure martial artist.

Her master, at this moment, was just Chen Ping An himself.

Pei Qian was both happy and sad.

She gently placed her fists on the Walking Mountain Staff, the dark-skinned girl’s eyes shining with the light of the sun and moon.

Cui Dongshan smiled slightly, unknowingly flicking his sleeve, creating subtle ripples that concealed a portion of the extraordinary sight for her.

Not far from the rune boat, an old sword cultivator was piloting a giant sword, with a cluster of small heads of varying heights and positions behind him.

One of the children shook his head and said, “This Chen Ping An, no good, no good. He hasn’t even retaliated after so many punches, he’s definitely going to lose!”

More and more children echoed, their words filled with pity and anger for the infamous Second Shopkeeper.

You Second Shopkeeper are at least half one of our own from the Sword Qi Great Wall, but you’re losing to a foreign martial artist from the Central Earth Divine Continent, how embarrassing!

The old sword cultivator just watched quietly, smiling without saying anything.

Anyway, he wasn’t the only one losing money. The gamblers on the city wall all had dark faces, their gazes as unfriendly as flying swords. It seemed that everyone had lost.

One of the children turned his head, looking at a little dark-skinned girl on the strange small ferry. She didn’t seem too old.

He asked, “Hey, who are you? I’ve never seen you before.”

Pei Qian turned her head, saying timidly, “I am my master’s disciple.”

The child rolled his eyes, “Then who is your disciple’s master?”

Pei Qian hesitated for a moment, then suddenly smiled brightly, “My master is the one on the city wall who will win with a single punch!”

The child pouted, muttering, “So you’re a disciple of that Yu Juanfu? I think it’s better to be a disciple of the Second Shopkeeper.”

Pei Qian was stunned for a moment. Were the children of the Sword Qi Great Wall all so silly? They didn’t seem as good as that white-haired guy at all?

Thinking of this, Pei Qian quickly looked around, but there were too many people and she couldn’t see the white-haired man from the Taiwei Sword Sect.

That was good, it was best if White Hair had already left the Sword Qi Great Wall.

Pei Qian didn’t look anymore, she would rather watch her master’s punching style.

Alas, it must be that her master was too outstanding, making many enemies in the Sword Qi Great Wall.

Pity the sword cultivators have no vision, bravo to my master for being too invincible.

On the city wall, some Sword Immortals among the cloud of swords in the sky had already started to focus their gaze down on the battlefield.
Then there were the Earth Immortal sword cultivators who had noticed a slight clue.

As for the other younger sword cultivators, they were still in the dark, unaware that victory or defeat hung by a thread.

Yu Juanfu stomped the ground, her figure moving like lightning. Only after she vanished from sight did a loud boom erupt from the spot where she had stood, sending out ripples. Yu Juanfu, with a speed far exceeding her already swift movements, instantly appeared before the fellow who had taken three hundred and thirty-one of her punches, yet remained unharmed. She delivered a knee strike to his chest, followed by a punch to Chen Ping’an’s forehead, causing his head to snap back. Yu Juanfu retreated immediately, using the rebounding force of her fist intent and the feedback from her fist energy to withdraw ten zhang.

Since her punches couldn’t be considered flying swords, she would resort to a slow, grinding approach. This was her initial intention when questioning with fists. She wasn’t anxious, and neither was he. She only needed to accumulate advantages bit by bit, and after successfully landing another ten or so punches like that, she would have the advantage. Once the advantage accumulated sufficiently, it would become a winning situation!

As soon as Yu Juanfu’s feet touched the ground, she felt a sudden jolt.

After a punch, Yu Juanfu was not only repaid in kind, taking a punch to the head that sent it reeling backward, but also had to lean back to stop her body from falling. She slid backward, barely managing to stay upright. Moreover, she was about to instinctively change course to avoid Chen Ping’an’s next, undoubtedly powerful, punch.

But in the next moment, Yu Juanfu did dodge, but that figure in green robes seemed to have been waiting for her there all along. It was a familiar yet alien sensation to Yu Juanfu, because in the past, her opponents would only wait somewhere, not strike. But today, on the city wall, she had a different opponent, one who wouldn’t show any restraint. A punch landed, hitting Yu Juanfu before she could fully straighten up, her head slamming onto the ground before her back or feet.

Blood bloomed on Yu Juanfu’s face.

Yu Juanfu’s gaze remained calm. She used her elbow to push off the ground, spinning her body and flying sideways, ultimately stopping in a backward-facing posture towards Chen Ping’an, her knees slightly bent, her hands crossed in front of her.

Another punch came straight at her, but Yu Juanfu’s subtle hand gestures were definitely not from any known fist form.

Instead, it was a divine hand technique that Yu Juanfu had devised specifically to counter Chen Ping’an’s punch, designed to sever his fist intent and prevent any continuous flow!

Cui Dongshan smiled slightly, “A little clever.”

But what he truly cared about wasn’t the battlefield where the outcome was certain, but everyone outside the battlefield, every subtle change in expression. The more expressionless or serenely smiling someone was, the more interested Cui Dongshan became.

After a punch, Yu Juanfu no longer stubbornly endured as before. She leaned back and fell, using her hands to brace herself, inverting her body, and using the moment her ankles touched the ground to propel herself sideways several zhang.

But she found that Chen Ping’an was just standing there. Where he stood, sword energy dissipated, and sword intent and fist intent honed each other, causing Chen Ping’an’s unmoving figure, as steady as a mountain, to distort like a slightly crumpled painting.

Yu Juanfu advanced instead of retreating, deciding to exchange a punch with Chen Ping’an!

Yu Juanfu charged forward, throwing a punch with unwavering determination.

Unexpectedly, as he approached, the man seemed to suddenly change his mind, no longer wanting to answer her question with a punch. He spun his body, bending over and turning around, not only dodging Yu Juanfu’s punch, but also coming behind Yu Juanfu. He pressed his hand on the back of her head, and then ran wildly, slamming Yu Juanfu’s face into the city wall.

Cui Dongshan chuckled, “Eldest Senior Sister, do you see? The pinnacle of fist intent isn’t in reckless punches, but in when a person punches, stops punching, and then punches again. The fist follows my heart, and with heart, you can respond effortlessly. This is perfection, truly mastering the essence of fist techniques. Otherwise, if Mister hadn’t changed the trajectory of that punch just now and had delivered it directly, that woman would either be dead or half-dead.”

Pei Qian stared intently, complaining, “Don’t interrupt.”

Cui Dongshan didn’t mind. Although she seemed indifferent, as if she hadn’t remembered anything, in reality, many of the scenes she thought she had seen but not remembered, and all the sounds of heaven and earth she had heard but seemed not to hear, were actually in her heart. Whenever she needed to recall them for use, she could instantly remember them.

Yu Juanfu sat on the ground with her back against the city wall, looking up at Chen Ping’an, “There’s a third round.”

Chen Ping’an shook his head, “There’s no third round. You and I both know that. If you’re not convinced, you can wait until you break through.”

Yu Juanfu swallowed a mouthful of blood, not bothering to wipe the blood from her face, and frowned, “Sparring between martial artists is always beneficial. Are you afraid that Ning Yao will misunderstand?”

Chen Ping’an nodded, “Afraid.”

Yu Juanfu was speechless.

Only then did Chen Ping’an look up at the talisman boat, raise an arm, lightly clench his fist, and shake it, smiling, “You’ve arrived.”

Pei Qian jumped up, her hiking stick tucked under her arm, stood on the railing of the boat, and imitated that little rice grain, lightly clapping her hands.

Cao Qinglang walked to the front of the ferry, the boy also rarely smiling so brightly.

Cui Dongshan was still sitting on the ground, his hands in his sleeves, bowing his head and saluting, “Student greets Mister.”

If you add Zuo You, who was sitting cross-legged on the city wall in the distance of the Sword Qi Great Wall.

Then today’s Sword Qi Great Wall.

The Wen Sheng lineage, which was regarded as having declining incense and could be ignored.

Had Grand Sword Immortal Zuo You, Seventh Realm martial artist Chen Ping’an, Fourth Realm martial artist peak Pei Qian, Jade Pure Realm Cui Dongshan, and Grotto Heaven Realm bottleneck Cao Qinglang.