Unexpectedly

Chen Ping'an stopped his standing fist exercise and turned toward the world beyond the city wall.

A little over a hundred zhang away, an unexpected visitor hovered in midair on his sword.

He was Fei Ran, the alias of the swordsman ranked first among Tuoyue Mountain's Hundred Sword Immortals. He liked to appear as a green-robed swordsman.

Fei Ran smiled. "Fine punches."

Chen Ping'an nodded. "Don't steal my moves. Have some shame."

Fei Ran was cut from the same cloth as Shou Chen. Neither had a shred of a sword cultivator's bearing.

Fei Ran shook his head. "I really couldn't learn them."

He had previously followed the Great Demon Qie Yun to the Vast Heaven and Earth, then traded his military merit with Tuoyue Mountain for Reed Flower Island. His choice had been rather surprising. Given his standing, taking over half the Yulong Sect's former grounds would not have been difficult. Many military tents therefore guessed that Fei Ran had taken a fancy to the island's Creation Cave. It probably concealed a separate world that Zuo, passing through, had failed to discover, allowing Fei Ran to snap up a bargain.

Chen Ping'an glanced at Fei Ran, then looked away. Several dozen li beyond the wall, great flakes of snow fell in a particularly magnificent storm. Unfortunately, Dragon Lord kept it at bay, so none could reach the wall.

Following the young Yin Guan's gaze, Fei Ran turned to look at the snow, then smiled back at him. "When I was young, I studied with Teacher Zhou. I liked leafing through the Qingci and Green Chapters and collections of Roaming Immortal Poems from the Vast Heaven and Earth. Their imaginings were splendid. Unfortunately, Teacher Zhou had exacting tastes. When compiling poetry, he often kept only the finest lines and cut anything