Unsheathed

Ning Yao furrowed her brows, and she reached over to grab the ancient book.

Surprisingly, however, it was pulled back by Chen Ping\'an.

The young woman froze, and a sense of fury started to well up inside her. It was as if she had never been humiliated like this before.

She was the mighty Ning Yao, and to say nothing of the fact that her father and mother were both 12th Tier Sword Immortals, she had also been regarded as a top-notch sword prodigy ever since birth. After leaving home and traveling around for so many years, she had only ever lost during sword battles or spell technique battles. However, no one had ever insulted her character like this before. This was nothing but a crappy book, so did she, Ning Yao, need to flip through it or obtain it through underhanded methods?

Ning Yao grabbed the hilt of her saber and narrowed her slender eyes.

Slender eyes and red lips...

This was an apt description for the young woman sitting before Chen Ping\'an.

If one looked closely, one would realize that Ning Yao was, in fact, an extremely beautiful young woman. However, she was radiating with a gallant and resilient aura that completely suppressed her womanly beauty.

Chen Ping\'an\'s next words had the magical effect of turning a terrible situation into a good one. However, the young woman was so stifled that she almost suffered an internal injury.

"Ning Yao, I obtained this book from Gu Can\'s house. Even though I don\'t consider this as stealing, I definitely have to return the book to Gu Can in the future. Since we\'re friends, I can allow you to read through it. However, I hope that you can keep its contents to yourself."

The young woman took a deep breath. She then slammed the table before glaring at Chen Ping\'an and saying, "Read through what? You can read it yourself! I\'m not interested!"

When she heard Chen Ping\'an\'s next reply, she truly didn\'t know whether to laugh or to cry.

"But Ning Yao, I can\'t read! Can you teach me?"

The young woman suddenly changed her mind, and she said with a chuckle, "You\'re not afraid that I\'ll take advantage of you? Just think about it. Gu Can is clearly someone who\'s received a profound amount of ancestral blessing, so much so that even the natural sword talent Liu Xianyang can\'t compare to him. In the thousands of years of history of the small town, few people can compare to Gu Can. Thus, just how incredible will this book be? This is a treasure that he carefully hid away. Aren\'t you afraid that I\'ll develop sinister thoughts after seeing it? Aren\'t you afraid that I\'ll snatch this extremely valuable book for myself?"

The warm yellow light from the flickering candle illuminated the young boy\'s faint smile. He didn\'t try to explain anything.

Ning Yao humphed before shuffling over and gesturing for Chen Ping\'an to sit next to her. After waiting for a long while, however, Chen Ping\'an still didn\'t show any signs of moving. Ning Yao chuckled in anger and growled, "I can defeat 100 of you with a single hand."

After saying this, she chuckled to herself, "Perhaps you\'re afraid that I\'ll take advantage of you?"

Chen Ping\'an was slightly tense and uneasy as he walked over to sit next to her.

However, Ning Yao was still immersed in the comment that she had made just then. She murmured to herself, "Defeating 100 Chen Ping\'ans with a single hand... Mhm, this saying has a wide range of applications. When I see someone and spar with them, if I manage to defeat them, I can say, \'You only have the strength of 3000 Chen Ping\'ans, yet you still dared to battle with me\'. Yeah, that seems fairly impressive. When I come across a ferocious beast or sinister wyrm, I can also tell myself that these evil beasts are equivalent to 30,000 Chen Ping\'ans, so I have to flee as quickly as possible. Haha, very nice, very nice..."

Chen Ping\'an was completely baffled. The young woman sitting next to him had suddenly started to chuckle stupidly to herself.

The chuckling young woman made the impoverished young boy suddenly feel like he was an extremely wealthy person.

At this moment, the young boy and young girl didn\'t realize that the joking phrase "defeating 100 Chen Ping\'ans with a single hand" would eventually become a weighty and powerful phrase in the future.

This would be especially true when the young boy in straw sandals was no longer a young boy.

The more time that passed, the more this would be so.

Ning Yao finally came to her senses. She coughed before sitting up straight and picking up the book. After quickly flipping through a few pages, she closed the book and used a finger to tap the cover twice. She then turned to Chen Ping\'an and said, "This is a fist technique called Mountain Shaking. According to the rules of the cultivation world, you can refer to this book as the Mountain Shaking Guide."

"And then?" Chen Ping\'an asked with an eager expression.

Ning Yao fought back the urge to roll her eyes, and she forced herself to appear more serious as she flipped open the book again. Her slender finger slid along the page, and she read, "There exists an insect in my hometown called the pi fu[1]. Unlike others of its ilk, it does nothing but transport mountain rocks into the water for its entire life.

"My fist technique decides not victory and loss, but life and death. It places emphasis not on movements, but on intent. Upon mastery of all six stances, one shall obtain profound power. A single move, and deep wounds to the heart and soul shall your opponent suffer.

"Though never honored in parallel with the most paramount fist techniques of this age, it remains my firm belief that the Mountain Shaking Guide shall have its place among the martial arts techniques of the world. Fated person, I hope you can promote and bring glory to this fist technique."

Ning Yao forced herself to remain patient as she read the introduction to Chen Ping\'an.

This was a thin book, with the entire guide only containing a mere six fist technique stances. However, the introduction wasn\'t short at all.

After reading the introduction, Ning Yao pushed the book back to Chen Ping\'an. She patted his shoulder and said in a perfunctory manner, "Make sure to look after it."

Chen Ping\'an nodded and carefully placed his hands on the two sides of the book.

Ning Yao wanted to burst into laughter when she saw this. Was the book going to grow legs and run away? Or was Chen Ping\'an afraid that it would trip and fall off the table?

Chen Ping\'an vigorously rubbed his right hand on his sleeve. Only then did he open the book and read through the introduction. He then flipped through the remaining pages that were decorated with text and diagrams. In any case, he couldn\'t understand anything that he was reading.

Ning Yao sat sideways, with one arm resting on the table. She looked at the young boy and said in a teasing manner, "Do you feel like you\'ve struck gold? Are you going to use a gold hatchet to chop wood and a gold bowl to eat your meals in the future?"

Chen Ping’an didn\'t look up. Instead, he continued to carefully analyze the diagrams and incomprehensible characters as he replied in a frank manner, "When I saw the expression in your eyes, I already knew that this wouldn\'t be an especially powerful fist technique. However, that doesn\'t matter. This is already good enough for me."

Ning Yao frowned and replied in an equally frank manner, "I have indeed seen and heard of many impressive things before. Apart from these, however, I can only determine whether something is good or bad. As for how good or how bad, that\'s quite hard to say..."

Chen Ping\'an looked up and asked, "Then is this Mountain Shaking Guide considered good, but not too good?"

Ning Yao huffed and blurted, "I don\'t know how to describe just how terrible this crappy fist technique is!"

The young boy in straw sandals blinked in reply, with a faint smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

It was clear that he already knew the answer. He was merely joking around with the young girl.

Ning Yao reached down and unsheathed an inch of her saber, and she said in a threatening voice, "You want me to chop you up, huh?"

Chen Ping\'an looked down at the saber and green scabbard hanging on her waist, and he complimented sincerely, "It\'s beautiful."

Ning Yao calmly accepted this praise. "The swords and sabers that I choose are naturally not bad!"

Chen Ping\'an gazed at her, and he slightly envied and admired her confidence and demeanor. Even though she was the same age as him, and was in an unfamiliar place, she still managed to rise like a bright and unstoppable sun no matter what situation she faced. Using his keen sense, Chen Ping\'an had already discovered this when he had witnessed Daoist Lu\'s extremely cautious manner when dealing with her.

Chen Ping\'an couldn\'t help but exclaim, "How nice would it be if the sunshine could be swapped for copper coins!"

Ning Yao didn\'t know where he was coming from, and she said in astonishment, "Chen Ping\'an, have you gone mad thinking about money?"

Chen Ping\'an hurriedly changed the topic, flipping to the first diagram in the book and asking, "Ning Yao, can you help me read the words on this diagram?"

Ning Yao mulled over this for a moment. She didn\'t refuse, and simply asked, "Do you know why I was able to determine that this fist technique was only so-so with a single glance?"

Chen Ping\'an shook his head. "I am indeed curious."

Ning Yao smiled in response, and decided to turn around to face the young boy. She crossed her legs before pointing to the book and explaining in a patient manner, "The secret techniques of martial artists and cultivation techniques of cultivators are usually recorded in three different ways. The first type is like this Mountain Shaking Guide, where they\'re written on ordinary paper. Regarding how long they can last, that depends on one\'s luck. To say nothing of war or calamities, just the weather and insects alone will cause the book to slowly decay and rot, right?"

Chen Ping\'an nodded in realization.

Ning Yao continued, "Thus, an unwritten rule appeared when it came to recording techniques through this kind of written method. The more valuable the contents, the more valuable the material it would be recorded on. This is similar to how you wouldn\'t place an imperial jade seal in a box made out of cheap wood."

Chen Ping\'an mulled over these words.

Ning Yao hesitated for a brief moment before deciding to be honest with Chen Ping\'an. "The next type of recording is an unwritten one which focuses on teaching through instruction and example. Such a method is usually used when it comes to the important skills and techniques of sects and clans. These are usually secrets that can\'t be revealed to others. Or perhaps they\'re techniques that can only be taught to males and not females and so on. In fact, even direct disciples and in-house disciples won\'t necessarily be able to obtain the complete true inheritance. This is the importance of true inheritances."

Ning Yao sighed before continuing, "As for the last type, the focus is on teaching in a manner that can only be felt and understood in one\'s mind, but cannot be explained in words. For example, let\'s look at the two forces that entered the small town this time. There was Cai Jinjian, and Dawn Cloud Mountain where she comes from practices something called Observing the Sea of Clouds. The sea of clouds is vast, and the iridescent light that they radiate is especially unique, and they more so contain an abundant amount of spiritual energy. The Qi refiners in Eastern Treasured Vial Continent refer to these clouds as beauties in the sky. Some of these clouds and iridescent lights can transform into the shape of previous masters and ancestors, and those who are fated can even communicate and interact with them.

"Meanwhile, when it is so fated, it\'s said that the sword spirits of ancient ancestors from different peaks will also appear at the peak of Sun Scorch Mountain. This is a mountain peak that\'s brimming with sword intent. These sword spirits will display the Sword Dao, and as for who can witness this, this isn\'t determined by one\'s age, status, or cultivation.

Ning Yao finally said, "Of course, there\'s also no notion of definite rank between the three methods of recording. For example, if one uses the first method to carve characters on a jade plate or on bamboo plates harvested from the bamboo sea in the 72 blessed lands, it\'s naturally a different matter altogether. Apart from this, there\'s also a myriad of other mysterious items. If you advance far enough, you\'ll eventually encounter a pleasant surprise. In this vast world, all kinds of strange and peculiar things exist. In the future, it\'s best that you leave this small town and take a look around in the outside world. There\'s no need to dream about venturing beyond Eastern Treasured Vial Continent or venturing beyond this world, but you need to at least try to venture to the borders of the Great Li Empire."

Chen Ping\'an nodded again and again in understanding, but it was clear that his mind was still on the fist technique before him. He pointed to a character and asked, "Ning Yao, how do I read this?"

The young girl was extremely ticked off, and replied, "Run along!"

1. Pi fu is a type of large ant. ☜