Chapter 362 (1): Shoulders Carrying Hopes and Aspirations

Chapter 362 (1): Shoulders Carrying Hopes and Aspirations

Zheng Dafeng was stunned into silence, and he was trying to make a connection between the young man before him and the young boy from back in Jewel Small World, but it was clear that he was struggling in that endeavor.

In the end, all he could do was grumble, "Calm down! You spat all over my face!"

After a brief silence, Zheng Dafeng accepted the vial of Seated Meditation Pills from Chen Ping'an. If Chen Ping'an wasn't exaggerating about the quality of these pills, then just two pills would be enough to suppress his injuries. However, making a full recovery was not such a simple matter, and the root of his problems couldn't be remedied with just a pill or two.

Pei Qian was looking into the room from the doorstep, and she was furious as she raised her hiking pole and yelled, "What the hell's wrong with you? If you keep being so ungrateful, I'm going to get really mad!"

Zheng Dafeng put the vial away, then turned to her with an amused grin as he replied, "I'm absolutely quaking in my boots! My, where has a beautiful and heroic maiden like you come from?"

Pei Qian cleared her throat, then stood up straight and slammed the bottom of her hiking pole into the ground as she declared, "Listen up! My name is Pei Qian, and I'm a princess who's fallen on hard times. Chen Ping'an is my... master, and I'm the founding disciple of our sect!"

Pei Qian no longer dared to proclaim herself Chen Ping'an's daughter in front of others for fear of a beating.

Zheng Dafeng stared at Pei Qian for a moment with his mouth slightly agape, then turned to Chen Ping'an, wondering how this strange duo had come together.

"Let's go inside, I have some important matters to discuss with you," Chen Ping'an said.

"Important matters? Haven't we already discussed everything?" Zheng Dafeng asked.

"Just because I'm willing to get involved in this doesn't mean I actually have a death wish!" Chen Ping'an snapped. "How many Golden Core Tier and Nascent Tier earth immortals does the opposing camp have? Which powers are fence sitters, which earth immortals will actually take part in the battle, will there potentially be any cultivators of the Upper Five Tiers getting involved?

“These are all things that I have to familiarize myself with. On top of that, I also have to learn about the geomancy of Old Dragon City and the escape routes that we can take near Dragon Scaling Platform, and you have to tell me about the your battles against the Fu Clan, the Fang Clan, and the Ding Clan."

Zheng Dafeng was developing a headache from the barrage of questions, and he pulled out the vial of Seated Meditation Pills and thrust it back at Chen Ping'an as he grumbled, "I don't want your stuff. I told you we're not the same type of people."

Chen Ping'an paid no heed to him as he strode directly into the shop.

The ying soul with the Zhao surname had already appeared in the shop, and he smiled as he said, "I can tell you everything you want to know."

Zheng Dafeng heaved a forlorn sigh, then habitually scratched his own crotch before picking up his stool and returning to the shop. From there, he followed Chen Ping'an to the backyard. After entering Zheng Dafeng's room, Chen Ping'an and the yin soul with the Zhao surname sat down across from each other,.

Pei Qian didn't dare to sit on the main seat at the head of the table between them. Instead, she sat down on the bench facing the entrance of the room, leaving the main seat vacant for Zheng Dafeng. As for Wei Xian and the others, Chen Ping'an instructed them to bring chairs for themselves and listen in on the conversation as well.

Prior to taking a seat, Zheng Dafeng finally displayed some hospitality befitting of a host, placing a large handful of sunflower seeds onto a dish before setting the dish down in front of Pei Qian, who took a glance at Chen Ping'an, then reluctantly thanked Zheng Dafeng.

After that, Zheng Dafeng brought out two large dishes of salted peanuts and beef jerky for himself.

Pei Qian looked at the sunflower seeds in her small dishes, then looked at the feast that Zheng Dafeng had laid out for himself. Even his dishes were larger than hers was!

Pei Qian gave him a thumbs-up as she praised in a facetious manner, "What a generous and hospitable host you are!"

"It's alright, you don't have to thank me," Zheng Dafeng replied with a wide grin.

Pei Qian sat down onto her stool in a huff to eat her sunflower seeds in a disgruntled fashion.

Chen Ping'an set his Sword Nurturing Gourd down onto the table and asked, "Are you able to drink?"

Zheng Dafeng was chewing on some peanuts as he shook his head and replied, "I'm afraid not. Drinking is strictly off limits for me in the near future."

"In six days, during the Major Cold solar term, Zheng Dafeng and Fu Qi will engage in a battle to the death on the Fu Clan's, Dragon Scaling Platform," the yin soul with the Zhao surname said. "Only one of the two will be able to leave the Dragon Scaling Platform alive on that day.

“If Zheng Dafeng dies, then all we'll have to do is gather his body, and we won't be in any danger. After killing a ninth tier martial artist, the Fu Clan will have already won back its lost honor, and it won't be so petty as to insist on targeting the Dust Medicinal Shop."

A wry smile then appeared on the yin soul's face as he continued, "Of course, I can't just stand by and watch Zheng Dafeng die on the Dragon Scaling Platform. If he dies, then I won't even be able to continue existing as a yin soul, let alone protect my descendants.

“Hence, even if the Dragon Scaling Platform is rife with restrictions on the day, I'll still have to venture into the fray, but if I'm forced to do that, then it means that all is already lost, and I'll only be slightly delaying Zheng Dafeng inevitable death.

“If you decide to enter the battle as well, then everything will descend into complete chaos. Setting aside all of the Golden Core and Nascent Tier cultivators, even all of the Middle Five Tier cultivators from all of the city's five major clans aside from the Fan Clan will most likely throw their hats into the ring as well."

"I'm already aware of that. That would be the worst possible outcome. What's the best possible outcome?" Chen Ping'an asked.

The yin soul was rather taken aback. It seemed that Chen Ping'an had changed a lot over the course of his trip to Stalactite Mountain and back. However, as a yin soul, his facial features were quite blurry, so the surprise on his face wasn't very noticeable.

The yin soul continued, "After defeating Chu Yang, Zheng Dafeng fought against a Nascent Tier Fu Clan ancestor wielding a pseudo-celestial tool. Having been in Old Dragon City for so long, the Fu Clan has transformed its manor into a small world much like an academy or a Daoist temple. Hence, that battle was a very arduous one for Zheng Dafeng."

"I was just holding back," Zheng Dafeng scoffed. "My target from the very beginning was always to beat the crap out of Fu Qi. If I hadn't intentionally suppressed my own cultivation base, I would've stomped that old fart into the ground and spat on his face."

Chen Ping'an was rather skeptical, but the yin god smiled and corroborated, "Zheng Dafeng's telling the truth, he really was holding back because he didn't want to reveal his true cultivation base too soon."

Zheng Dafeng took a glance at him out of the corner of his eye as he scoffed, "Have you forgotten all of the comfortable days that you were able to spend with me?"

The yin soul harrumphed cold in response.

"Are there any Unpolished Jade Tier cultivators lurking behind the scenes? If so, how many?" Chen Ping'an asked.

"How many Unpolished Jade Tier cultivators do you think there are on our Eastern Treasured Vial Continent? Let me count them off for you," Zheng Dafeng chuckled. "Ruan Qiong of our Jewel Small World is one. The Song Clan is a powerful force, is it not? It's conquered close to half of Eastern Treasured Vial Continent, but they still worship that old swordsmith like a Bodhisattva, do they not?

“The old ancestor of Great Sui Nation's Gao Clan is another one. He likes to go around parading as a storyteller, and even he didn't dare to take a punch from my senior brother. There's also Wei Jin of Wind Snow Temple, but he's a prodigy that only comes around once in a thousand years, perhaps even longer.

“There's definitely one on True Martial Mountain, but he never likes to show himself. The leader of Divine Edict Sect only recently reached the Immortal Tier and attained the Heavenly Lord title. The mountain master of Lake View Academy may not even be at the Upper Five Tiers yet. So there you have it, how many Unpolished Jade Tier cultivators are there?

“Of course, there are also people like Heavenly Lord Xie Shi of Northern Complete Reed Continent, Sword Immortal Cao Xi of Southern Whirl Continent, and the Mohist wandering hero, Xu Ruo, but they don't count as cultivators of our Eastern Treasured Vial Continent."

"Why do Heavenly Lord Xie Shi and Sword Immortal Cao Xi not count?" Chen Ping'an asked. "Both of them came out of our Jewel Small World, and they may have made their reputations on other continents, but they still share the same hometown as us. In particular, Cao Xi's ancestral residence is also on Clay Vase Alley, and I ran into him there last time.

“I have to say, he's not a great guy. He tampered with the door gods at my house, but thankfully, Li Baoping's brother saw through what he did and made things right again."

Zheng Dafeng couldn't argue with this, so he could only chew on some jerky in silence.

Wei Xian and the others had been trying to remain composed this entire time, but they were really struggling to maintain their composure at this point.

Just how ridiculous a place was this "hometown" of Chen Ping'an's?

What kind of fucking town had a gatekeeper who was a ninth tier martial artist, who, in turn, had a tenth tier martial artist as his senior brother? And it was also home to a sword immortal and a Daoist Heavenly Lord? Was there any ordinary person in that town?!

Having just been rebuked by Chen Ping'an, Zheng Dafeng wanted to redeem himself, and he asked, "Alright, but how many tenth tier martial artists are there on Eastern Treasured Vial Continent? There are only two, right? Li Er and Song Changjing. I'm going to be next, right? Surely your fist technique instructor isn't also a tenth tier martial artist!"

Chen Ping'an hesitated momentarily, then said in a truthful fashion, "Honestly, I think he is."

Zheng Dafeng rubbed a hand over his own face, then yelled in indignation, "Well, I almost progressed straight to the tenth tier from the pinnacle of the eighth tier! How about that? Has anyone ever done that before?"

"Then how about you progress to the tenth tier right here for me? We'd have nothing to worry about then," Chen Ping'an chuckled. "I wouldn't even have to go to the Dragon Scaling Platform then. I'll just stay in the Dust Medicinal Shop and cook up a big celebratory feast for you, how about that?"

Zheng Dafeng had no response to this.

If it were so easy to reach the tenth tier, then why would Li Er have left Jewel Small World?

For pure martial artists, the difference between the ninth and tenth tiers was rather similar to that between the twelfth and thirteenth tiers for swordsmen.

As for the eleventh tier for martial artists and fourteenth tier for swordsmen, those tiers were only really ever seen in legends.

Those two bottlenecks were even more diabolical than that of the fifth and sixth tiers and the tenth and eleventh tiers for Qi refiners.

Zheng Dafeng was an extremely ambitious man, but even he didn't dare to aim for the Martial God Tier.

The yin soul with the Zhao surname was feeling very pleased. It seemed like Chen Ping'an knew exactly how to push Zheng Dafeng's buttons.

Chen Ping'an turned to the yin soul and asked, "Is there something special about this Dust Medicinal Shop?"

"Of course," the yin soul replied with a smile. "The divine lord instructed me to choose this place for a reason. Once the formation is activated, my cultivation base can be elevated to the Unpolished Jade Tier here."

"Even then, it's only a way for you to elevate your own cultivation base at the cost of good karma, and you won't be able to keep it up for long," Zheng Dafeng sighed.

"Do you really think I haven't been doing anything useful this entire time that we've been in Old Dragon City?" the yin soul scoffed. "All you've been doing is sunbathing all day and waiting for celestial maidens to fly over your head, but I've actually been applying my time effectively. If we can make it through this month, then perhaps things will take a turn for the better."

"I see."

"Alright, let's tally up the people that we have on our side then," Chen Ping'an said with a smile.

Zheng Dafeng popped a handful of salted peanuts into his own mouth, then asked, "Who are you referring to? Are we not already all in this room?"

Pei Qian pointed at herself with a joyful smile as she asked, "I count as well? But I still haven't mastered my unrivaled swordsmanship yet."

It was a rare moment of self-awareness from Pei Qian.

"I disagree, Heroine Pei. You are actually the backbone of our group, so do not look down on yourself!" Zheng Dafeng said in a serious voice.

Pei Qian gladly accepted the compliment, and she pushed her empty dish at Zheng Dafeng as she demanded, "Get me some more sunflower seeds."