Sword of Coming

Sword of Coming

The sun of dawn illuminated the towering city wall.

Die Zhang, Dong Huafu, and Fan Dache chose to retreat.

Meanwhile, Ning Yao, Chen Sanqiu, and Yan Zhuo chose to stay on the front lines.

Chen Ping'an returned to their side and changed his face mask to that of a middle-aged man. He helped Chen Sanqiu and Yan Zhuo observe the battlefield, and he would occasionally speak up and give them a reminder.

Compared to his detailed instructions for Fan Dache, his suggestions to Chen Sanqiu and Yan Zhuo were far more concise. He was simply helping them pick up some of the finer details they had missed on the battlefield.

He offered suggestions on how their flying swords should travel and where they should land, and he also helped them quickly review their previous actions, striving to become better. Moreover, it wasn't the case that Chen Ping'an would overlook the abilities of these two Golden Core Tier sword cultivators simply because they had become good friends and often drank wine together, and in reality, he had benefited greatly from carefully observing the battle and watching the sword strikes of Chen Sanqiu and Yan Zhuo.

Afterward, Chen Ping'an went to look for Fan Dache.

Fan Dache felt slightly exasperated after seeing Chen Ping'an, who now had the appearance of a middle-aged man. Those who became Chen Ping'an's enemies were truly as unfortunate as could be. There wouldn't be auspicious azure smoke rising from their ancestors' graves, but instead ominous black smoke that even the coffins couldn't contain.

Although exasperated, Fan Dache also felt extremely grateful at the same time. He would have flailed around for much longer if it hadn't been for Chen Ping'an's arrival and help.

Chen Ping'an squatted down and tossed Fan Dache a pot of Bamboo Sea Small World Wine, saying with a smile, "Remember to think about my good points."

"You're using Fan Dache's money to buy wine and then turning around to give it to him to build goodwill. I've learned a valuable lesson," Dong Huafu commented.

Chen Ping'an pretended that he didn't hear this as he slapped a yellow paper Cleansing Talisman on his body to get rid of the smell of blood.

"Are you heading somewhere else to pick up money?" Die Zhang asked with a smile.

Chen Ping'an nodded and replied, "I'll just casually walk around. I'm afraid of making things worse instead of better and attracting the attention of some great demon, so I didn't really dare to provide too much help. I plan to discuss this with the sword immortals afterward, and I'll ask them whether or not I can oversee a small section of the city wall by myself. I'll act as bait and wait for a bite.

"If any of you retreat from the battlefield at that time, you can make your way over to witness the impressive demeanor of a great cultivator soaring through the sky on his sword. Oh, and remember to bring some wine if you come. You're not allowed to watch for free."

"Then I'm not going," Dong Huafu said with a shake of his head.

"Count me out as well," Die Zhang said with a smile.

Fan Dache noticed Chen Ping'an looking over at him, so he could only muster his courage and say with honesty, "I don't dare to go."

Chen Ping'an smiled widely and said, "Dache, you don't have to come, but you can surely send some wine over, no? In any case, who cares about seeing you?"

Die Zhang and Dong Huafu stood up in unison and continued south to the city wall.

Fan Dache also wanted to follow them, but Chen Ping'an raised a hand and gestured for him to slow down.

"Do you feel a lot of pressure when you fight side-by-side with your friends?" Chen Ping'an asked. "Does it feel like you're holding them back every time you try to help them?"

Fan Dache nodded in response.

Chen Ping'an smiled and continued, "It's not necessarily a bad thing to think like this, but you have to suppress these thoughts if you want things to improve. Don't forget, Fan Dache, you're a sword cultivator at the peak stage of the Dragon Gate Tier, and you're not yet thirty years old. Do you know that in the Majestic World, even in the Northern Complete Reed Continent that's renowned for having a huge number of sword cultivators, it's incredibly impressive for a young prodigy to possess the talent to eventually advance to the Golden Core Tier?"

Chen Ping'an pointed at himself and said, "Just because I exist, it doesn't mean that everyone in the Majestic World is like Chen Ping'an. In terms of the ability to kill enemies, there are indeed people around the same age as me in the mountains who can do better than I can. There should be quite a decent number of them. However, there are many — a huge number — of them who are inferior to me."

He paused for a moment before continuing slowly, "I traveled extensively through the martial world in my hometown, the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent. If you were to cultivate there, Fan Dache, you would be a prodigy whom an entire mortal empire would have extremely high hopes in. Perhaps you thought I was always joking in the past, and that I was teasing myself in a self-deprecating manner by referring to myself as a mighty fifth tier cultivator. However, that's not entirely true.

"Over at my hometown, even an Abode Tier demon or ghost can be undisputedly regarded as a powerful great demon or terrifying malicious ghost. Just think about this. With this context in mind, just how lofty is a Golden Core Tier innate sword talent who's yet to reach thirty years old in a place like the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent?"

Fan Dache nodded and replied, "I never thought about these things in the past, and I was never too interested in matters pertaining to the Majestic World. From a young age until now, I've always regarded my aptitude and talent as okay but still not good enough."

Chen Ping'an smiled and spread his hands apart, tapping his fingers at two opposite ends in the air and saying, "What I'm saying is this: It's one extreme for you to regard all of your actions as wrong when you're with Ning Yao, Chen Sanqiu, and the others. Similarly, it's another extreme for you to regard yourself as a formidable sword cultivator who can rival an entire nation over at my hometown. Neither of these extremes should be adopted."

Chen Ping'an raised a hand and clenched it into a fist, waving it in the middle between the two imaginary extremes, explaining, "These extremes can exist, and it's unavoidable that they do. However, a sword cultivator's Dao Heart should land here, indomitable and unwavering.

"Speaking broadly, external matters are truly nothing more than just that, external matters that are very difficult for us to fully control. On the other hand, the heart of a cultivator is always within reach, able to be tempered and cultivated to a higher level at any moment. The small world of the human body is nothing more than a very small world, but the human heart can encompass all matter and can be even loftier and vaster than heaven and earth.

"This is especially the case for sword cultivators, whose flying swords can travel to wherever their thoughts can reach. They enjoy a sense of freedom that encompasses their bodies, hearts, and lives. I feel like this notion is very correct. In fact, I'll give it to you for free along with the pot of wine in your hand."

Fan Dache's eyes were limpid as he took a large swig of wine. He wiped his mouth and said in a solemn voice, "Chen Ping'an, if you spoke these words to me in the past, I might have understood you, but I might not have truly accepted your point. However, things are different now, and I completely understand you."

Chen Ping'an smiled faintly and replied, "It's actually all the same. I only arrived at where I am today after suffering hardships of various levels, walking and stopping all the time, and thinking about all manner of things."

Fan Dache fell silent for a moment before suddenly asking in curiosity, "Which sage or mighty figure uttered the sentence that you gave me along with this pot of wine? The more I think about it, the more sense it makes."

Chen Ping'an rubbed his chin and remarked, "Dache, so be it if your little brain isn't the brightest, but what's with your problematic gaze?"

Fan Dache smiled and stood up, forcefully tossing the wine pot aside before making his way toward Chen Sanqiu and the others.

However, Chen Ping'an unexpectedly reached forward and grabbed the empty wine pot, after which he stood up and loudly scolded, "A measly Dragon Gate Tier sword cultivator dares to act all high and mighty in front of a powerful second tier cultivator?! Do wine pots not cost money?!"

Fan Dache felt slightly guilty, and he couldn't help but look back even as he briskly walked away. What he saw was the second shopkeeper cocking his head and placing his finger beside his ear, slowly pulling off his face mask.

"Chen Ping'an, I just can't forget her no matter what. Am I very pathetic?" Fan Dache asked.

Chen Ping'an placed the face mask made by Zhu Lian in his sleeve, after which he smiled and replied, "In terms of a lovestruck person being obsessed, there's nothing better than this."

"This isn't what you said when we just met, was it? You gave me a huge scolding," Fan Dache said in puzzlement.

Chen Ping'an had a listless expression as he grabbed his Sword Nurturing Gourd and took a swig of wine. He then smiled and replied, "I don't have the time and effort to explain this to you. You can mull over this yourself. Also, try to act more like a mighty Dragon Gate Tier sword immortal. People get heated and into each other's faces when arguing, but sword immortals shouldn't bear grudges after fighting."

In reality, Chen Ping'an was no longer worried about Fan Dache feeling heartbroken due to romantic reasons. Fan Dache seemingly wasn't outstanding compared to the others when it came to cultivation, speech, and actions, but Chen Ping'an was extremely confident that his path of cultivation would be very sustainable and long-lasting. What Chen Ping'an was more worried about right now was Fan Dache listening to his explanations and understanding them, yet discovering that he couldn't achieve what he needed to. Or perhaps not being able to achieve them well enough. This would lead to another set of problems.

Being oblivious to certain principles was a formless form of disapproval, while learning about certain principles and accepting them was a form of approval. However, failing to act on these principles would be a second disapproval.

Generally speaking, facing a second disapproval would mean a dead end for that principle — it would have arrived at the graveyard in the heart, and not even a corpse would remain. Most terrifying of all, a whole string of principles and knowledge related to the deceased principle would also die alongside it, leading to swathes and swathes of deaths.

However, Fan Dache unexpectedly said, "If I'm temporarily unable to strengthen the resolve of my sword heart as you described, and if I'm unable to stop being affected by Chen Sanqiu and the others, then remember to remind me about it, Chen Ping'an. If once isn't enough, remind me twice. I don't have any great strengths, but I'm relatively good at taking feedback on board."

"Easy done," Chen Ping'an said with a smile.

"Then you should also take a piece of advice from me," Fan Dache said. "This battle will drag on for a long time, so it won't hurt for you to rest for a few days or half a month. You should nurture your wounds back to full health before returning to the city wall.

"Otherwise, if you continue to fight like this, it will be very difficult for you to recover to your peak when we need to leave the city wall and venture to the battlefield in the south in the future. You're my guardian sword cultivator, so you should worry about my safety even if you're not worried about your own. Otherwise, do you still want to drink free wine in the future?"

"That's a fair comment," Chen Ping'an said with a nod.

After saying this, Chen Ping'an truly summoned his talismanic boat and left the city wall.

When Fan Dache arrived at the city wall to the south, Ning Yao smiled at him and said, "Thank you."

Fan Dache wanted to keep a stern expression, but he couldn't stop the smile from stretching across his face.

"What a complete idiot," Dong Huafu commented.

Chen Sanqiu, whose flying sword was the most carefree and graceful when it killed enemies, smiled faintly and said, "Dong Huafu, if you're so capable, why don't you have Ning Yao thank you as well?"

Dong Huafu turned around and asked, "Big Sister Ning, can you say thank you to me?"

Ning Yao kept looking straight ahead as she replied, "You can piss off."

Dong Huafu nodded in response, accepting Ning Yao's praise. He then turned to Chen Sanqiu and Fan Dache and asked, "Big Sister Ning is always straightforward and honest with me. Can the same be said for the two of you?"

Chen Sanqiu gave him a big thumbs up.

Fan Dache took a deep breath and summoned his bonded flying sword, having it swoop down the city wall with a flash of sword light.

Chen Ping'an had nothing better to do as he steered his talismanic boat, so he copied his disciples and lay down on the bow of the immortal ship, using his hands to paddle it along. To his surprise, the boat actually seemed to travel a bit faster...?

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