Unsheathed

Outside the small town neighboring the Sword Water Villa, Chen Ping'an returned his sword to its scabbard atop a small and serene mountain. He then descended the mountain and slowly walked along the official road.

He walked past the small town and arrived outside the entrance of the Sword Water Villa.

Chen Ping'an took off his bamboo hat and smiled at an elderly steward of the villa, saying, "Can you please inform Sword Saint Song that Chen Ping'an is here to treat him to some hotpot?"

The old steward hesitated for a moment and glanced at the young man. The visitor had a sword on his back and a wine gourd by his side, so he was most likely a member of the cultivation world as well. However, he looked unfamiliar, and he had never heard the name Chen Ping'an before either. In other words, he most likely wasn't an old acquaintance or friend of the villa. Moreover, it made even less sense for this person to visit the villa now. With this in mind, the old steward said in an apologetic voice, "Young Master, our villa isn't accepting any guests right now, so please make your way back."

Chen Ping'an had no option but to explain to the old steward that he was genuinely friends with Senior Song. In fact, he had even stayed at the villa for a period of time back then and practiced fist techniques in the pavilion near the waterfall.

The Sword Water Villa was very strict about rules, and the old steward didn't like to talk about other matters beyond guarding his own area. In addition, Song Yushao had designated the area near the Mountain and Water Pavilion as a restricted area back then, so the old steward genuinely hadn't heard about Chen Ping'an before. Most importantly, the old steward was proud of his good eyesight and decent memory even though he was getting old, and he was confident that he could remember all of his acquaintances from the cultivation world as long as he glanced at them a few times. However, he genuinely didn't recognize the young man in front of him. He had never seen this person before!

The old steward subtly stepped to the side, coincidentally blocking the side entrance, lest this suspicious junior from the cultivation world barge into the villa without permission. Things weren't going smoothly at the villa right now, and the external dangers were significant and terrifying. Even so, the old steward was sure that things would be the same as the previous time when the army of the imperial court had been bearing down on them. They could turn misfortune into fortune as long as the old villa master was still present.

In the depths of the old steward's heart, however, he was still filled with deep anxiety. After all, Chu Hao, the person who liked to challenge the villa all the time, had not only been promoted in the imperial court, but he now wielded immense power over other officials. This was in stark contrast to his status as an ordinary general back then. In addition, there was also the rapidly rising Unruly Saber Villa which should have been friends with the Sword Water Villa. However, the cultivation world was a place where one would often feel helpless. Everyone liked to fight for the top spot.

Su Lang, the Green Bamboo Sword Immortal from the Pine Stream Nation, had killed Sword Grandmaster Lin Gushan from the Ancient Elm Nation, with the divine weapon, Green Jewel, hanging from his hip being proof of this. Su Lang was of the view that his sword skills had already reached a pinnacle level, so he wanted to fight for the top spot of swordsmanship with the old villa master of the Sword Water Villa. Meanwhile, Wang Yiran wanted to fight the old villa master for the title of number one martial artist in the Water Combing Nation. As for the two villas, they were naturally like two competing forces in the cultivation world as well.

However, even for those in the Sword Water Villa, regardless of their position, it was difficult to claim that the Green Bamboo Sword Immortal Su Lang and the Unruly Saber Villa's Wang Yiran were necessarily bad people.

He had already arrived at the entrance of the Sword Water Villa, so Chen Ping'an wasn't in much hurry anymore. He remained patient as he tried to convince the old steward.