CHAPTER 471 (1): I HEARD THAT YOU WANTED TO CHALLENGE SOMEONE'S SWORDSMANSHIP

On the banks of the Iron Talisman River, there were several elderly scholars wearing tall crowns and dressed in robes with large sleeves as they walked ahead of everyone else. There were young men and young women in Confucian robes walking behind them, and it was clear that they were all disciples of the Confucian Sect.

The group of Confucian scholars was like a long azure snake, and everyone loudly recited the Exhortation to Learning as they walked.

The river water gurgled, and the sound of recitation echoed.

There was a young girl dressed in red among the group of scholars, and a small silver gourd filled with water tied to her hip. She was carrying a small green bamboo bookcase on her back, and after passing Red Candle Town and Go Table Mountain, she had once privately told Mountain Master Mao that she wanted to return to Dragon Spring Prefecture by herself.

That way, she could decide by herself where she advanced quicker and where she advanced slower. The old Confucian scholar hadn't agreed, saying that traversing the mountains and rivers wasn't a form of scholarly pursuit. This was an activity in which she needed to conform to the group.

When they passed the water god temple of the Iron Talisman River, Yang Hua, the highest-ranking river god of the Great Li Empire, surprisingly appeared in front of the Confucian disciples. This was a river goddess who almost never appeared in front of other people, and she held a long sword with a golden tassel in her arms as she looked at the group of disappearing disciples who hailed from both the Great Li Empire and the Great Sui Nation.

Mountain Cliff Academy had already been stripped of its status as one of the seventy-two Confucian academies, so there was technically no need for a high-ranking river god like Yang Hua to show such respect toward them.

However, Mountain Cliff Academy, which had now relocated to Eastern Splendor Mountain in the Great Sui Nation's capital, was once a holy land in the hearts of all scholars in the Great Li Empire. Moreover, many of Mao Xiaodong's students still held posts in the imperial court of the Great Li Empire, especially in the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of War. He was still highly respected throughout the empire.

Meanwhile, Yang Hua had admired and looked up to Mountain Cliff Academy for a long time when she was still a sword-bearing maidservant for that imperial concubine. She had once visited the academy with her mistress, and she had already seen the tall and sturdy Scholar Mao at that time. It was because of this that she appeared in front of the group of Confucian disciples today.

There were already people waiting for them at the waterfall on the boundary of the Iron Talisman River and the Dragon Whisker River.

The mountain masters of Cloud Drape Mountain's Forest Deer Academy, Prefectural Overseer Wu Yuan of Dragon Spring Prefecture, County Magistrate Yuan, and Kiln Supervision Official Cao were among the group of people waiting for them.

There was also an old man from the Li Clan, and he was none other than the clan leader of Fortune Street's Li Clan as well as the grandfather of Li Xisheng, Li Baozhen, and Li Baoping. The old man was at the Nascent Tier, and he was already a top-level guest elder of the Great Li Empire. It was just that his status had never been made public before.

Back then, the Imperial Song Clan of the Great Li Empire had secretly given many special benefits to the Four Families and Ten Clans which had controlled the large majority of the dragon kilns. The Imperial Song Clan had once signed a secret contract with the sages, permitting each of the Four Families and Ten Clans to keep the bonded porcelains of one to three cultivation prodigies. These cultivation prodigies were granted an exception and allowed to cultivate under the noses of the former sages who had overlooked the Jewel Small World, and they were also allowed to ignore the secret restrictions and suppression of the Jewel Small World.

However, these cultivators would essentially be imprisoning themselves in the Jewel Small World, and they were prohibited from leaving the blessed land without permission. There was another exception to this rule, however, and the Imperial Song Clan allowed three cultivators to secretly leave the blessed land every one hundred years. As for why the clan leader of the Li Clan hadn't been taken out of the blessed land by the Great Li Empire even though he had already advanced to the Golden Core Tier back then, this was a secret matter that presumably involved many other things.

The old clan leader of the Li Clan was a Nascent Tier earth immortal, after all, so a wide smile that couldn't be concealed instantly spread across his face when he saw his darling granddaughter.

For some reason, however, he had a nagging feeling that his granddaughter was still a misfit much like before. She still seemed to do things her own way, yet she seemed slightly different from before at the same time. The old man felt both happy and disappointed.

Little Baoping had grown up, after all, secretly growing up just like that. She secretly grew up without even notifying her grandpa who adored her so much.

Intergenerational love was very clear in the Li Clan, especially between the clan leader and Li Baoping, his youngest grandchild. He adored her more than he adored both of his grandsons in total. Most importantly, because of their mother's evident favoritism, there was a seemingly peculiar relationship between Li Xisheng and Li Baozhen in the eyes of the Li Clan's servants. However, the two of them never held back their love for their little sister.

Carrying her small and aged bamboo bookcase, Li Baoping walked by herself near the banks of the Dragon Whisker River where the water was shallow but the crashing waves were thunderous.

In reality, Li Huai, who was walking with his two friends, and Lin Shouyi, who was discussing matters with the teachers of the academy, were also carrying similar bamboo bookcases on their backs.

The three bamboo bookcases had all been crafted by a single person, so it was only natural that they looked very similar. However, Li Baoping's bookcase had been made the earliest using the most ordinary green bamboo. Meanwhile, Lin Shouyi and Li Huai's bamboo bookcases had been made after their journey through Go Table Mountain, so Chen Ping'an had crafted them using the courage bamboo that Wei Bo had given them. Many years had already passed, yet the bamboo bookcases were still as verdant green as before.

As for Yu Lu and Xie Xie who had come across Chen Ping'an for the first time at the border pass of the Great Li Empire, they hadn't enjoyed the good fortune of receiving a bamboo bookcase from Chen Ping'an.

Formal God Wei Bo of the Great Li Empire's Northern Mountain didn't appear, nor did Sage Ruan Qiong of the Dragon Spring Sword Sect.

A deputy mountain master who had once smacked the table in front of Mao Xiaodong and been lectured by Cui Dongshan afterward frowned slightly upon noticing this. The Great Li Empire's decision was reasonable but not entirely acceptable.

The two most important and influential figures were both ignoring Mountain Cliff Academy.

Most importantly, no one seemed to want to explain this, neither Forest Deer Academy nor Prefectural Overseer Wu Yuan.

The deputy mountain master who hailed from a large clan in the Great Sui Nation couldn't help but sigh with emotion in his mind. At the end of the day, this was caused by the weakening of the Great Sui Nation and the strengthening of the Great Li Empire. Thinking back to the past, just how many scholars of the Great Li Empire had traveled to the Great Sui Nation and the Lu Empire to study? Just how many poems had they composed to express their joy at interacting with scholars and literati from the two nations?

The group of Confucian disciples stopped, and the scholars from Mountain Cliff Academy started to make small talk with the envoy from the Great Li Empire.

Li Baoping saw her grandpa, and only then did she act in a similar manner to the past, with her bamboo bookcase and silver gourd swaying around as she sprinted over.

"Run slower, Little Baoping," the old man hollered with a smile.

Li Baoping screeched to a halt in front of the old man, standing still before smiling widely and loudly greeting her grandpa.

The old man went against his heart as he complained, "A big girl like you shouldn't act like this anymore."

Nearby, Ma Lian who hailed from a powerful clan in the Great Sui Nation breathed a sigh of relief when he saw a smile finally appear on the young girl's face. His mood also started to improve.

Liu Guan shook his head upon seeing this. There was no medicine that could save the blockheaded Ma Lian anymore. He behaved the same way in the academy, and he would become dejected and downcast if he didn't see the young girl for a few days. However, he would never dare to greet her if he coincidentally came across her in the academy or elsewhere. Liu Guan couldn't understand this no matter how he racked his brain. Ma Lian was from a powerful clan of the Great Sui Nation that had enjoyed affluence for many generations, so why was he too cowardly to even express his feelings for a girl?

Li Huai knew about the secret details, and after they received a letter that Chen Ping'an had sent from Dragon Spring Prefecture, Li Baoping had planned to take leave and return home. Their teachers at the academy hadn't approved her request, however, and another piece of news had suddenly spread just as Li Baoping had been about to climb over the wall and run away.

Mountain Master Mao was going to personally lead a small group of students to the Great Li Empire's Cloud Drape Mountain, after which they would exchange knowledge and debate with students from Forest Deer Academy. Apart from this, they could also spectate a rare ceremony where hundreds upon thousands of gods and deities traveled at night together to visit the mountains.

In any case, it was Li Baoping's own fault for wanting to give her junior uncle a surprise and deciding not to tell him or the others in Downtrodden Mountain that they could return home this time.

Halfway through their trip, Li Baoping received some news from some unknown place — perhaps it was a letter from her family or whatnot — and she immediately became dispirited and deflated. She talked less and less, returning to a similar state that she had displayed in the academy over the past few years. As Li Baoping read more and more books and read quicker and quicker, she surprisingly asked fewer and fewer questions of other people.

Almost all of the scholars and teachers in the academy had been stumped by her strange and difficult questions before, yet they felt surprisingly lonely and unaccustomed now that the questions had dried up. They missed the time when the little girl wearing a bright red jacket would ask them all kinds of weird and wonderful questions with a straight face.

Mountain Cliff Academy's students needed to go to Cloud Drape Mountain's Forest Deer Academy first, after which they would have two days of free time. Afterward, they would gather together at Forest Deer Academy again to watch the Mountain and Water Night Travel Banquet hosted by the Northern Mountain of the Great Li Empire.

The scholars and disciples walked through the small town.

The elderly clan leader of the Li Clan didn't go to his ancestral residence in Fortune Street, and he instead planned to accompany Little Baoping into the mountains. Of course, as a Nascent Tier cultivator and as a top-level guest elder of the Great Li Empire, and as a knowledgeable Confucian scholar to begin with, the old man naturally didn't walk alongside Li Baoping. After all, that would only cause his granddaughter to grow even more distant from her classmates in the Great Sui Nation.

Not long after the disciples from the Great Sui Nation left the small town and walked past True Jewel Mountain, a tanned young girl holding a hiking pole and wearing a criss-crossing sword and saber on one hip sprinted over with an agile yellow dog. She was short and unable to catch sight of the red clothes among the crowd of scholars and disciples, so she ran atop her master's mountain and finally caught sight of that familiar figure. She waved earnestly and shouted with vigor, "Big Sister Baoping! I'm over here! Here!"

Li Baoping immediately turned around, hurriedly leaving the group of scholars and disciples and running toward the small mountain when she saw Pei Qian jumping up and down in the distance.

Li Huai was delighted, and he stopped in his tracks and waited until he fell to the end of the group. He then raised his voice and shouted, "Pei Qian! What about me, what about me?"

Pei Qian rolled her eyes and ignored him.

Liu Guan and Ma Lian laughed loudly, taking pleasure in Li Huai's misfortune.

Pei Qian had occasionally written letters to the Great Sui Nation's Mountain Cliff Academy over the past few years, and she would sometimes mention Ma Lian and Liu Guan in these letters, two people whom she viewed as pawns. She had promised Li Huai that they would travel around the cultivation world together in the future, after all, and they had agreed to split the spoils fifty-fifty. However, how could she make clear her lofty status if she didn't have a few pawns waving flags around and cheering her on from the sidelines? Ma Lian was a bit dumb, but he was a very loyal person. Liu Guan was very shrewd and calculating, and he could be used as an advisor.

Li Baoping ran toward True Jewel Mountain, while Pei Qian ran down True Jewel Mountain, with the two of them eventually meeting each other at the foot of the mountain.

Li Baoping reached over and placed a hand on Pei Qian's head, gesturing up and down and asking, "Why aren't you growing taller, Pei Qian?"

As if struck by a bolt of lightning, Pei Qian immediately fell into low spirits.

By the looks of it, Big Sister Baoping was not very good at talking to other people. After all, who would target someone's shortcomings like this straight away?

"It's okay, one's ambition isn't limited by one's height," Li Baoping suddenly added.

Pei Qian's mood improved slightly, and she said, "Yes, yes, yes, that's right. My ambitions are lofty, and everyone in Downtrodden Mountain knows this. Even Master approves of my ambitions."

After saying this, Pei Qian shot a sideways glance at the dog that was lying on the ground nearby.

The dog kept its head down, not daring to lock eyes with the young girl holding the hiking pole.

At the mention of her master, Pei Qian consoled her friend and continued, "Don't feel sad, Big Sister Baoping. My master didn't know you guys were coming, and that's why he ran off to the cultivation world by himself. You definitely shouldn't feel sad about this. When I see Master afterward, I'll make sure to scold him for you... Mhm, I'll reprimand him in a few sentences... Actually, one sentence will be enough."

Li Baoping was almost an entire head taller than Pei Qian now, and she smiled and asked, "Why are you staying in the small town now? Aren't you practicing your Deranged Demon Sword Technique in Downtrodden Mountain?"

Pei Qian stood up straight, puffing her chest out and standing on her tippy-toes as she replied, "You might not know, Big Sister Baoping, but I'm looking after two shops for my master in the small town now. Two very, very big shops!"

Li Baoping was very surprised, and she asked, "You're already this capable?"

Pei Qian nodded earnestly and replied, "If you don't believe me, Big Sister Baoping, then I can take you to Dragon Riding Alley right now! I personally put up the couplets, door gods, and fortune characters over there as well!"

"Mhm, that's not bad. You're not tall, but you're already able to shoulder some responsibilities for Junior Uncle," Li Baoping said in praise.

Pei Qian grinned from ear to ear when she heard this. Big Sister Baoping didn't hand out praise lightly.

Li Baoping turned around and glanced at the group of scholars and disciples, saying to Pei Qian, "I need to go to Cloud Drape Mountain's Forest Deer Academy first. After we settle down there, I'll come down the mountain to play with you."

Looking at the tall Li Baoping who had a slender face, it was as if Pei Qian was suddenly reminded of something. She was still filled with joy just then, yet she suddenly burst into tears at this moment, lowering her head and using the back of her hands to wipe away her tears. She sobbed and said, "Big Sister Baoping, Master was so skinny when he returned home this time! He was even skinnier than you, and he was so skinny that I almost didn't recognize him! Master didn't say anything, but I knew that he definitely had it very rough at Bamboo Scroll Lake over the past three years.

"Big Sister Baoping, you've read many books and are very capable and brave as well, and Master also likes you very much. However, you didn't visit Master during the past few years, and Master would have definitely been happier seeing you than seeing me... Perhaps he wouldn't feel so tired anymore..."

Li Baoping smiled and turned around to gaze toward the south. She squinted her eyes, and it was evident that her face was no longer as chubby as before. Instead, her chin was slender and slightly sharp.

She bent down and helped Pei Qian wipe away her tears, saying in a soft voice, "Alright, alright, it's all my fault. I'm the one to blame."

Pei Qian felt slightly guilty after crying for a while, and she said, "Sorry about that, Big Sister Baoping. I was just spewing nonsense."

Li Baoping patted Pei Qian's shoulder and said with a smile, "I'll see you in a moment."

Pei Qian nodded in response and watched Li Baoping turn around and leave.

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