Unsheathed

On the second floor, Cui Cheng remained barefoot as usual, but on this day, he wasn't seated with his legs crossed. Instead, his eyes were closed, and he had adopted an unfamiliar fist stance that Chen Ping'an had never seen before. One hand was spread out in a palm, while the other was clenched into a fist, and the former was elevated over the latter.

Chen Ping'an didn't want to interrupt Cui Cheng's standing meditation, and he removed his conical bamboo hat, then took off Sword Immortal as well after a brief hesitation before sitting down in silence.

Cui Cheng opened his eyes, but his posture remained unchanged as he said, "All fist techniques under the heavens can be categorized as hard or soft. My fist techniques can be said to be of ultimate hardness, but even though I've traveled far and wide and seen many soft fist techniques, never have I seen one worthy of the title of the ultimate softness."

Chen Ping'an considered this momentarily, then said, "In addition to the fist technique used, one's mental state is also very important. Compared with your fist techniques, discounting the caliber of the fist technique or the potency of one's fist intent, it's most likely more difficult to achieve ultimate softness than it is to reach ultimate hardness.

“Perhaps this would be easier to achieve for a Daoist cultivator who turns to fist techniques, but it'll be extremely difficult for pure martial artists. One's intent comes from within, and unless one can achieve the appropriate mental state, there will be no way for them to reach the pinnacle."

Cui Cheng withdrew his fist stance as he nodded and said, "That wasn't too bad. It seems like you're finally gained a slightly better understanding of fist techniques and intent than the average infant."

Chen Ping'an was already accustomed to this. The difficulty of securing a compliment from Cui Cheng was most likely roughly on par with that of Zheng Dafeng getting more than ten words out of Old Man Yang in a single conversation.

Cui Cheng sat down as he stared intently at Chen Ping'an.

Following his return from Bamboo Scroll Lake, he had endured a period of training under Cui Cheng, followed by a trip to the central region of the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent, and he was no longer looking as frail and emaciated as before.

However, his eyes, which were often referred to as windows to one's soul, had become a little deeper, like a pair of old wells. Either the wells were completely dry and filled with nothing but darkness, or they were filled with water, making it more difficult to glean what laid at their bottoms.

"If I gave you a chance to go back in time in your current mental state, what would you do with Gu Can? Would you kill him or not?" Cui Cheng asked.

"I would still choose to spare him," Chen Ping'an replied.