Chapter 447 (3): What a Coincidence, I'm also a Swordsman

Prince Han Jingxin was yet to manage his own territory, yet he had already succeeded in gaining the services of the unrestrained Hu Han and the extremely haughty General Xu. He hadn't achieved this by relying on his status alone.

One wouldn't feel tired from watching others do the heavy lifting, and the same was true for Han Jingxin as he treated the imminent battle as a form of entertainment. Meanwhile, General Xu was calm and composed as he held his lance and remained seated on his horse.

Hu Han had rubbed his fists in delight and eagerness before, and his perception of the young man in azure cotton robes became increasingly clear the closer he got to him. His understanding of the situation was much more direct and clear than that of Mr. Zeng in the distance.

They continued to approach each other, only coming to a stop when there were but five paces between them.

Hu Han surprisingly felt a sense of danger, yet the smile remained on his face as he glanced at the bamboo saber and ancient sword hanging by the young man's waist. "Young boy, it can't be that you're also a pure martial artist, right?"

However, Chen Ping'an unexpectedly nodded in reply and countered, "It's quite a coincidence, don't you think?"

Hu Han smiled with squinted eyes and replied, "Yes, of course this is a great coincidence. Since we're both from the cultivation world, I can't help myself but uphold the righteous nature of cultivators from the cultivation world. Let's make a deal, okay? You and that young boy can leave, but you need to leave behind that fox skin ghost beauty. What do you say?"

Chen Ping'an smiled and offered no response.

Hu Han shifted his gaze, once again observing the depth of Chen Ping'an's footprints in the snow.

Ordinary people wouldn't be able to notice any difference, yet as a seventh tier martial artist, Hu Han naturally possessed incredible eyesight and impressive observation abilities, allowing him to notice the smallest of details. After dismounting his horse and walking over, the footprints of the young man were noticeably uneven, with some shallow and some deep.

Chen Ping'an smiled faintly and suggested, "You don't need to look; you won't be able to decipher anything useful from that. When I embarked on my second distant journey by myself and boarded an intercontinental ship, I already understood what I needed to do to conceal the information revealed by my footsteps and breathing. One should never intend to do harm to others, but one should always remain guarded against the ill intentions of others. The more I practiced fist techniques, the more this became natural, eventually becoming a habit of mine. In fact, there might be times when I'm not even aware that I'm disguising my footsteps and breathing."

Hu Han faltered for a moment before clicking his tongue in wonder and remarking, "Little Brother, you truly are an elite!"

Chen Ping'an didn't confirm or deny this, and he instead asked, "You're a Vajra Body Tier martial artist, right? But your foundation is an absolute mess. It's no better than paper mache."

Hu Han chuckled and threatened, "Little Brother, your words sure are hurtful. Be careful that I become unhappy and rip out your tongue."

Chen Ping'an nodded and conceded, "Yes, it's all my fault. I've interacted with far too many dead people during the past few months, so I've already become accustomed to chatting more than normal. In reality, I was never like this when I faced enemies in the past."

"No wonder!" Hu Han exclaimed in realization. "That's no worry at all. As your senior in the cultivation world, I'm the complete opposite of Little Brother. I like to chat with people while I'm... in the process of killing people!

The snow under Hu Han's feet sprayed up into the surroundings.

He lunged forward and threw a punch at Chen Ping'an's abdomen.

Chen Ping'an placed a hand behind his back after rolling up his sleeves, using his other hand to lightly catch Hu Han's attack. Their hands only touched briefly before Chen Ping'an used the momentum to float back four or five steps.

Hu Han continued to lunge forward after failing to strike his opponent with his first punch, ferociously throwing a flurry of punches.

The falling snow around the short and monkey-like martial artist was violently pushed away by his powerful and abundant fist aura.

Chen Ping'an used his elbow to block Hu Han's strikes, during which he slid back several more steps. Two small steps behind him was his steed.

Hu Han felt like he had roughly figured out the true strength of this mysterious young man, so he didn't plan to hold back any longer. He launched a swift and fatal attack, yet not only did the young man block his fist with his elbow, but he even unleashed a burst of explosive strength as if he were a tsunami crashing over a levee. Hu Han hurriedly suppressed his breath of pure True Qi in fright and retreated several steps, with his movements still appearing smooth and confident. He was a Vajra Body Tier martial arts grandmaster, after all.

After standing still, there was a look of realization on Hu Han's face as he exclaimed, "Good one, young boy, your acting was quite good! You even managed to trick me!"

As it turned out, Chen Ping'an's fierce punch was seemingly wanting to fight to the death with him, yet it had only made slight contact and immediately stopped upon contact. This was analogous to a little child holding a hammer and using all of their strength to lift it up, after which the hammer promptly plummeted back down, yet it surprisingly stopped and hovered an inch or so from the ground. Most importantly, the little child seemed to struggle immensely when picking up the hammer, yet they didn't appear to be tired at all when holding it afterward.

If Hu Han hadn't retreated, perhaps he could have seized the opportunity to charge forward and potentially shatter the young man's chest with a single punch.

However, Hu Han was well aware that there was a much greater chance of his opponent hiding a trump card and waiting for him to charge over. For example, the hand that was held behind his back.

The young man possessed masterful control over his fist aura, so even if his cultivation base wasn't high, it was most definitely the case that he had tempered his physique hundreds upon thousands of times with the help of a mighty figure. Otherwise, he had tempered his physique through countless life-and-death battles.

Chen Ping'an shook his wrist, appearing calm and relaxed as he commented, "To say nothing of the Martial Arts Maniac, your martial arts mastery is inferior to even Smiley Face whom I met in the past. Your cultivation base might be high, but you and Smiley Face are most likely both pure martial artists walking the same path. Your fist intent is insufficient, so you try to make up for this with movement techniques."

There was a dark shadow on Hu Han's face.

This wasn't to say that the most powerful martial artist of the Stone Brush Nation was feeling afraid after just a few exchanges with his opponent. This was naturally impossible.

Rather, the hand clasped behind his opponent's back as well as the saber and sword hanging by his opponent's waist all made him feel slightly irritated.

This was a natural instinct that martial arts grandmasters would hone through countless life-and-death battles.

This was the most troublesome aspect.

As for Chen Ping'an's remarks about his foundation being an absolute mess and no better than paper mache and his fist intent being insufficient and needing to be made up for with movement techniques? Hu Han couldn't care less about these nonsensical words.

"One can freely unleash and retract their fists as long as their mind and fists are joined together as well. When practicing fist techniques, the importance of tempering the mind can't be understated. In fact, tempering the mind is just as important for martial artists as it is for Qi refiners. What follows fist intent is fist stances, and what follows fist stances is fist techniques. A Vajra Body Tier martial artist like you won't be able to survive for many days if you're tossed into that particular place. Instead, you'll be reduced to the best whetstone for martial artists over there."

Chen Ping'an smiled and said, "Alright, that's enough chatter. I already understand your true strength."

Hu Han also held a hand behind his back, raising his other hand and hooking his index finger to beckon Chen Ping'an over. There was a wide grin on his face as he said, "Proper behavior is based on reciprocity, so now it's your turn to attack me first, lest you feel like I'm bullying a junior and not displaying the generosity of a senior."

In reality, "Ironsmith" Hu Han would be better off as long as they continued to engage in close-quarter combat.

Parents might give their children unsuitable names, but the cultivation world would never give people incorrect nicknames.

Ma Duyi almost laughed out loud when she heard Chen Ping'an saying that one could freely unleash and retract their fists as long as their mind and fists were joined together.

In the beginning, she had thought that Mr. Chen was randomly making this up as a joke. However, her expression quickly became serious as she looked at his figure. It couldn't be that he had genuinely learned to link his knowledge and fist intent together, right?

Ma Duyi wouldn't have had such strange thoughts if it were anyone else. When it came to Chen Ping'an, however, Ma Duyi felt like even the slimmest of possibilities would become much greater possibilities. It was as if he could be that single exception.

For example, who apart from him would sit idly in that room at the mountain entrance of Cyan Gorge Island for so long?

Who apart from him would genuinely decide to leave Bamboo Scroll Lake and embark on a journey like this?

Chen Ping'an strode forward.

His movement remained calm and nonchalant, and he didn't appear like a grandmaster at all.

This was in stark contrast to Hu Han, where each of his attacks would unleash a thundering fist aura and obliterate all of the snow in the surroundings.

Hu Han was finally able to decipher a few things.

The young man who was hiding his strength had definitely suffered some severe wounds recently, resulting in each of his attacks being like... a bookkeeper carefully managing each of his small transactions, trying to eke out every last drop of profit.

He was completely devoid of the heroic spirit of pure martial artists!

Hu Han was overflowing with killing intent as he fully unleashed his power.

However, his heart suddenly jolted, with his instinct telling him that he shouldn't allow the young man to freely throw a punch at him. However, his experience as a martial arts grandmaster from the cultivation world told him that he could eventually kill the young man as long as he charged forward and didn't hold back anymore.

Hu Han's mind wavered slightly.

It was also at this moment that a fist struck his body.

Hu Han roared with laughter after taking the punch, jeering, "Hahaha, what was that? Are you a little girl trying to tickle me or what...?"

However, it wasn't long before Hu Han wasn't able to laugh anymore.

The first punch was immediately followed by a relentless flurry of punches, with each punch striking its target.

It was as if he were being struck by a thundering waterfall that measured nine thousand meters in height.

Hu Han did his best to block each punch, and the two of them swayed back and forth as they whipped up a wind and snowstorm on the path.

Even if Hu Han were truly a paper mache Vajra Body Tier martial artist, he was still a Vajra Body Tier martial artist who was peerless in a nation, after all!

Beads of sweat appeared on Hu Han's forehead after he blocked seven or eight punches.

Not only was Hu Han drenched in sweat after taking eleven punches, but there was even blood seeping from the corners of his mouth.

Meanwhile, the young man who was unleashing his fists quicker and quicker wasn't showing any signs of tiring or wanting to stop.

Hu Han felt extremely vexed, and the mighty seventh tier martial artist eventually decided to abandon any thoughts of counterattacking. He channeled his astral energy through all of his meridians, protecting all of his critical acupoints as he allowed the young man to continually punch him. One's fist intent could be kept at the same level for a long time, but one's breath of True Qi as a martial artist couldn't be maintained forever. When the young man's breath of True Qi was eventually exhausted, that would be the best time for Hu Han to reply with a fist of his own.

However, what Hu Han heard was the loud bellow of Mr. Zeng coming from far behind him: "General Xu, make haste and help Hu Han interrupt the fist intent of that young man!"

General Xu frowned at this request, but he didn't hesitate at all as he charged forward on his horse.

He was regarded as the strongest warrior on horseback in the Stone Brush Nation, with his combat power immense as he sat on horseback and wielded his long lance. He was no ordinary martial artist.

Indeed, this was the fundamental reason why Hu Han had been willing to ride alongside General Xu and chat and laugh with him just then. Everything was dictated by one's true strength.

As for General Xu's title of Lance-Wielding Poet that had spread throughout the imperial court of the Stone Brush Nation? This was because the emperor had granted a special exemption and allowed him to bring his lance into the imperial palace during his first audience with the emperor. Following the conclusion of the imperial court's discussions, the emperor had surprisingly instructed someone to bring over a violently tempered horse that hadn't been trained yet, asking General Xu to ride on the horse with his lance in front of all of the officials.

While doing so, General Xu needed to use the tip of his lance to compose a renowned poem about the famous Confucian scholars of the Stone Brush Nation. Moreover, the horse had to be galloping the entire time, or else General Xu would be stripped of his long lance which had been passed down as a family heirloom. As further punishment, he would also be expelled from the border army. If he succeeded, however, he would obtain rich rewards and be promoted to a fourth-rank military official!

In the end, his incredible feat won him renown in the entire nation.

At the time, he had lightly put down his long lance before getting on his knees at the bottom of the steps and kowtowing to the emperor, respectfully thanking the emperor for his great generosity.

The young general had been shaking with emotion as he spoke with immense gratitude.

Everyone thought that the young man who possessed incredible martial fortune was unable to control his excitement and gratitude.

The emperor was delighted, and he had personally given General Xu the title of Lance-Wielding Poet.

However, General Xu had actually been feeling anger and indignation all these years, regarding this event as the most humiliating of his life!

The long lance had been passed down through four generations and lapped up the blood of countless enemies, yet after being passed down to him, it had actually been used as something akin to a woman's needle for embroidery?!

Xu Mao's clan had loyally served the nation for many generations, with all of his ancestors gallant and honorable as they sacrificed themselves on the battlefield without any applause or fanfare. So how could he, Xu Mao, become a measly actor seeking applause and validation from others?

As the general, horse, and lance surged forward, it was as if he possessed the aura of an earth-shattering battlefield.

Even though Chen Ping'an and Hu Han were engaged in close-quarter combat and hard to separate, the tip of Xu Mao's lance was able to remain pointing at Chen Ping'an's neck the entire time as he threw his twelfth punch.

Chen Ping'an didn't insist on throwing the next punch of the Deity Drumming Technique.

Everything was going as he had expected.

If it wasn't the general's long lance that arrived, it would have been that middle-aged man's long sword instead.

Chen Ping'an simply launched a palm strike and pushed aside Hu Han who was yet to suffer any life-threatening injuries, causing him to stumble back and perfectly block the sharp tip of the charging general's lance. Meanwhile, he took several steps to the side.

𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Xu Mao rotated his wrist slightly, and the lance that was just about to skewer Hu Han thrust into empty air, just barely passing under the arm of the skinny and monkey-like martial arts grandmaster.

Chen Ping'an forcefully stomped his foot.

All the snow within a twenty-meter radius of Chen Ping'an instantly flew into the air.

Xu Mao almost immediately shut his eyes.

He then suddenly opened his eyes and raised his long lance high into the air before thrusting it forward for another attack.

The tip of the lance sunk downward.

A young man in azure landed on the long lance and slid down, using his knee to knock Xu Mao off his horse and send him flying.

However, Xu Mao's grip on his lance remained extremely tight, not letting his weapon go even as he vomited a mouthful of blood. When he stood up, he discovered the young man standing on his steed and not seizing this opportunity to press his advantage.

It was only then that Xu Mao looked toward Hu Han who had dashed away from the battle, roaring in rage, "Hu Han! I helped you break free from the dangerous situation, yet you're going to stand aside and do nothing now?! Are you purposely trying to harm me?!"

Chen Ping'an didn't look at Xu Mao, and he instead looked at Han Jingxin and Mr. Zeng who were further away as he smiled and said, "I encourage you not to rely on him, a paper mache Vajra Body Tier martial artist who's already scared out of his wits. He can't be relied on anymore."

Han Jingxin's expression was slightly solemn. Xu Mao and Hu Han had both been defeated? It wasn't terrifying that they had lost to the young man in both exchanges, and what was terrifying was the fact that the young man had struck a critical nerve and caused a rift between Xu Mao and Han Jingxin so quickly.

What would happen if Hu Han genuinely lost his courage as a martial artist? How would they fight then? Perhaps he would need to rely on Mr. Zeng, the middle-aged swordsman beside him? Hu Han was more reliable than Xu Mao, but Han Jingxin had his own plans as well. Either Mr. Zeng offered his help and decided to kill that young man, or he would stay back and protect the prince with his life.

If Mr. Zeng didn't join the battle, then there would still be room for discussion regardless of how bad the situation became. If Mr. Zeng joined the battle and lost as well, then would he need to personally bow and apologize at that time?

Moreover, that was assuming that the young man was willing to entertain his apology and give him the opportunity to rectify the situation.

It was said that some stubborn cultivators from the mountains would become merciless toward even family and friends if they truly decided to go all out for the sake of the Great Dao.