Based on his appearance, he was seventy percent similar to Yang Guo and Ding Peng as portrayed by Louis Koo in television dramas.
As for the remaining thirty percent, it surpassed them even further!
Meng Fan's cultivation might be negligible in the Shushan Sword Sect, practically scraping the bottom of the barrel.
Yet when it came to his looks—much like his talent for [Sword Dao Mastery]—across the entire Shushan Sword Sect, there wasn't a single person who could rival him.
Therefore, Liu Yanping's earlier remark about keeping him as a kept man gave Meng Fan every reason to suspect that this young woman had designs on his body!
"Miss, please show some self-respect!" Meng Fan said with a deadpan expression.
Liu Yanping was momentarily stunned, failing to grasp what Meng Fan meant, feeling rather baffled.
A few seconds later, her little face suddenly flushed red as she understood the misunderstanding behind Meng Fan's words.
Infuriated, she snapped: "Show your head, draw your sword!"
With that, she wielded her wooden sword and slashed at Meng Fan.
Meng Fan helplessly shook his head. Why was she flying into a rage out of shame?
He raised his sword to parry, deflecting Liu Yanping's wooden sword.
Meng Fan did not use True Qi, and neither did Liu Yanping.
Especially since, in Liu Yanping's eyes, Meng Fan was merely at the 1st Layer of Qi Condensation, a vast gap away from her.
If she were to use True Qi, it would simply be too much of a bully, so their sparring session was purely a test of sword techniques.
And as for a pure contest of sword techniques itself, Meng Fan naturally had nothing to fear.
Chapter 17: Getting Shot While Lying Down
Though Meng Fan had only seen Liu Yanping practice the Blue Sea Tide-Surging Sword Technique a few times yesterday, he had already completely mastered it by now.
Especially after returning to the Sword Pavilion yesterday, in order to invent his "Myriad Swords Return to Origin," he had deduced and refined various sword techniques countless times, among which was the Blue Sea Tide-Surging Sword Technique.
Liu Yanping unleashed three consecutive strikes.
The first strike was deflected by Meng Fan.
The second strike was evaded by Meng Fan.
The third strike saw Meng Fan pierce the flat of her sword.
This inevitably infuriated Liu Yanping, igniting her competitive spirit.
The fourth, fifth, and sixth strikes grew progressively more fierce and swift.
These were the sword techniques she had optimized after returning yesterday, following Meng Fan's prompts.
Yet three moves in, Meng Fan countered every strike with ease, brushing them aside effortlessly.
Unwilling to give up, Liu Yanping continued with the seventh and eighth strikes.
The Blue Sea Tide-Surging Sword Technique consisted of eight moves in total.
On the seventh strike, the tip of her sword was precisely met and blocked by the tip of Meng Fan's sword.
Then, before the eighth strike could fully descend, the flat of Meng Fan's sword slapped against her wrist.
"Clang~~~~~"
The wooden sword in Liu Yanping's grip slipped from her hand and clattered to the ground.
A total defeat!
She stared at Meng Fan in disbelief, deeply battered, her worldview momentarily shaken.
After returning yesterday, she had already optimized the Blue Sea Tide-Surging Sword Technique, confident that her swordsmanship had improved vastly compared to before.
Yet now, in a contest of sword techniques, she had been thoroughly crushed by Meng Fan!
She was an inner sect disciple, yet she was being crushed by a newly inducted outer sect disciple. How could her worldview not be shaken?
Although she did not recognize Meng Fan, she could tell that his cultivation was only at the 1st Layer of Qi Condensation.
The 1st Layer of Qi Condensation naturally meant he had only recently become an outer sect disciple.
"Miss..."
"Miss? What miss, call me Senior Sister Liu!" Liu Yanping said exasperatedly.
Having been suppressed by Meng Fan in swordsmanship, she instinctively wanted to win back face in other areas.
She was an inner sect disciple while Meng Fan was an outer sect disciple; shouldn't he call her Senior Sister?
"Uh, Senior Sister Liu..." Meng Fan called out helplessly.
There was no help for it; in terms of status, the other party truly was his senior sister.
So be it; calling her senior sister wouldn't cause him any loss, and besides, there were Spirit Stones to be earned.
"Senior Sister Liu, although this sword technique of yours has improved compared to yesterday and patched up some flaws, it is still insufficiently refined.
For instance, in this form, your footwork should be slightly slower, while the sword in your hand should be a bit faster.
And the second form..."
The other party was going to pay with Spirit Stones, so Meng Fan felt he should be a bit more responsible—at least make her Spirit Stones feel well-spent.
Thus, he earnestly pointed out the flaws in Liu Yanping's recent sword technique and smoothly offered optimization methods.
At first, Liu Yanping was unconvinced, but the more she listened, the more she felt that what Meng Fan said made a lot of sense.
She couldn't help listening with increasing earnestness, and whenever she encountered something she didn't understand, she would even instinctively ask for guidance.
Some people in the Sword Comprehension Hall who witnessed this scene wore looks of utter astonishment.
Who Meng Fan was, they did not know, but they could tell this brat was just a rookie at the 1st Layer of Qi Condensation.
As for who Liu Yanping was, her reputation was thunderously familiar to them.
She was a notoriously wealthy little junior sister among the inner sect disciples, and Elder Liu of the Alchemy Hall's most beloved youngest granddaughter.
Most importantly, this Liu Yanping's cultivation had already reached the 9th Layer of Qi Condensation, just a single step away from stepping into the True Martial Realm.
A martial artist at the 9th Layer of Qi Condensation was actually humbly listening to the guidance of someone at the 1st Layer of Qi Condensation.
Were their eyes playing tricks on them?
"Senior Sister Liu, what's wrong with you? Has this brat tricked you?" At that moment, a young disciple walked over.
This fellow was also dressed in inner sect disciple attire, clearly an inner sect disciple.
Meng Fan rolled his eyes, but chose not to actively refute anything.
When it came to inner sect disciples, it was best not to offend them if he could avoid it.
If he were inside the Sword Pavilion with someone backing him up, he wouldn't fear inner sect disciples.
But outside, he still needed to keep a low profile.
After all, truth be told, he really wasn't a match for an inner sect disciple right now.
Unless he hardened his heart and unleashed the seed of the Supreme Emotionless Sword Intent, but that thing could only be used once; Meng Fan certainly couldn't bear to waste it casually!
"Ye Feng? Do you take me for a fool who would be tricked by an outer sect disciple at the 1st Layer of Qi Condensation?" Liu Yanping glanced at Ye Feng and sneered.
The inner sect disciple named Ye Feng instantly looked rather awkward.
He had acted out of kind intentions to warn her, yet Liu Yanping's attitude toward him was extremely harsh.
"Senior Sister Liu, I was only concerned about you. Why are you harboring such great hostility toward me?" Ye Feng wore a helpless expression.
Liu Yanping gazed coldly at Ye Feng.
"Why I have hostility toward you, don't you know well enough in your heart?
I always regarded you as my best buddy, drinking and practicing the sword together, yet you actually confessed your feelings to me!
You knew full well that I like Senior Brother Nie, yet you openly confessed to me. What should I have done if Senior Brother Nie misunderstood?
I have already made it very clear to you: I don't like you, and I hope you will keep your distance from me in the future!"
Hearing Liu Yanping's words, Meng Fan, standing to the side, stared at the pair in absolute astonishment.
This plot sounded exceptionally dramatic!
It gave off strong green tea bitch and simp male best friend vibes.
"Can't we even remain friends if we cannot become cultivation partners?" Ye Feng said helplessly, appearing extremely humble.
"If I stay friends with you, I'm afraid Senior Brother Nie will misunderstand!" Liu Yanping's words were exceptionally cold and ruthless.
Meng Fan couldn't help casting a sympathetic gaze toward Ye Feng.
Originally, since this Ye Feng had declared him a fraud the moment he walked up, Meng Fan naturally held no favorable impression of him.
Yet now, his aversion instantly transformed into pity.
Ye Feng looked at Liu Yanping with melancholy eyes and struggled, "But Senior Brother Nie doesn't like you at all. Why must you give me up for his sake?"
Liu Yanping said speechlessly, "Ye Feng, don't you understand? Even if Senior Brother Nie didn't exist, I still wouldn't like you."
Meng Fan nodded to himself on the side; with such a prompt and decisive rejection, he had indeed misunderstood her just now.
Using the term "green tea bitch" to describe this Liu Yanping was clearly biased!
A green tea bitch would neither agree nor explicitly reject, stringing people along.
"Sigh..." Ye Feng let out a helpless, drawn-out sigh. "Fine, then I'll leave."
Just as he turned to leave, however, he heard Liu Yanping's voice.
"Wait!"
He turned around with an excited expression, looking back at Liu Yanping.
Calling him back—could it be she had changed her mind?
"Apologize!" Liu Yanping glared at Ye Feng.
"Huh?" Ye Feng looked bewildered.
Liu Yanping pointed at Meng Fan and said, "Apologize to him."
Beside them, Meng Fan felt somewhat flattered, thinking to himself that this really wasn't necessary, right?
He had the surreal feeling of eating melon and suddenly realizing the gossip was about himself.
Wasn't it a bit too cruel to make Ye Feng apologize at a time like this?
Even Meng Fan, the person who had been wronged, felt a shred of sympathy for Ye Feng.
"No need, no need, it's fine," Meng Fan hurriedly said to Ye Feng.
Ye Feng, who had thought Liu Yanping had changed her mind, found his hopes instantly dashed, filled with utter despair.
Apologize?
How could he possibly be in the mood to apologize right now?
What did I do wrong?
What on earth did I do wrong?
Why must the heavens treat me this way?
"I was only concerned about you just now, afraid you were being tricked by someone," Ye Feng looked at Liu Yanping, his breathing somewhat ragged.
"You still wronged someone else, so you must apologize," Liu Yanping insisted relentlessly.
Even Meng Fan felt Liu Yanping was going a bit too far and quickly advised, "Senior Sister Liu, I'm fine. Don't make things difficult for this senior brother anymore."
As he spoke, why did he suddenly feel like he was acting a bit manipulative?
Meng Fan wryly smiled, banishing these messy thoughts from his mind.
Ye Feng glanced at Liu Yanping, then glanced at Meng Fan.
His look toward Liu Yanping was full of lingering tenderness, holding a trace of helplessness amidst heartbreak.
As for his look toward Meng Fan, it was brimful of hostility and anger.
Meng Fan...
Well, getting shot while lying down?
Chapter 18: Rich Benefactress, Let's Be Friends
"If you want me to apologize, fine, but you must first prove that he isn't a fraud," Ye Feng said, genuinely angered.
"How am I supposed to prove it?" Liu Yanping glared at Ye Feng.
"It's simple. Since he is capable of guiding your swordsmanship, then he can guide mine as well. After all, my strength is still inferior to yours," Ye Feng glanced sideways at Meng Fan.
His gaze was filled with undisguised disdain.
This made Meng Fan somewhat displeased.
Liu Yanping was the one who angered you, so why are you targeting me?
Even though an abandoned stray dog was pitiful, it shouldn't go around biting people indiscriminately!
Under such circumstances, no matter how pitiful one was, one would get beaten to death!
Liu Yanping looked at Ye Feng and said, "Very well, but True Qi is strictly prohibited; the spar is limited to sword techniques alone."
She had great confidence in Meng Fan's swordsmanship. Since this fellow could crush her in sword techniques, dealing with Ye Feng would be even easier.
Provided that Ye Feng didn't use True Qi; otherwise, it would simply be too much of a bully.
"Rest assured! If I still resort to True Qi when sparring with an outer sect disciple at the 1st Layer of Qi Condensation, I'd have no face left to show in the Shushan Sword Sect!"
Hearing Ye Feng's words, a trace of a smile appeared on Liu Yanping's face.
Putting everything else aside, in a pure contest of sword techniques, Meng Fan only needed to use the Blue Sea Tide-Surging Sword Technique to teach Ye Feng a lesson. She was very confident of that.
Moreover, she suspected that Meng Fan still possessed other hidden, ultimate sword techniques.
"Hey, hey, hey! Can you two stop dragging me into your quarrels? This has nothing to do with me!" Meng Fan said helplessly to Liu Yanping and Ye Feng.
Liu Yanping rolled her eyes, glared at Meng Fan, and snapped, "How can you say it has nothing to do with you? He just wronged you—don't you want to clear your name?"
"I don't care to prove anything. I only agreed to spar with you on sword techniques, I never agreed to spar with him."
Hearing Meng Fan's unmotivated words, Liu Yanping instantly felt displeased.
She had boasted grandly in front of Ye Feng; if Meng Fan shirked the fight, wouldn't that cause her to lose face before Ye Feng?
"Your hour isn't up yet. For now, you don't need to spar with me—just spar with him instead!" Liu Yanping told Meng Fan.
"No way, business is business, we can't mess things up like this," Meng Fan said with a serious expression.
"Then what on earth do you want?" Liu Yanping asked exasperatedly, glaring fiercely at Meng Fan.
Meng Fan glanced at Ye Feng, then looked back at Liu Yanping, before slowly spitting out three words.
"It'll cost extra!"
Hearing those three words from Meng Fan, Liu Yanping was so angry she laughed.
Really?
Talking about money with her, the inner sect's number one little wealthy benefactress?
Was he looking down on her?
Any problem that could be solved with money was not a problem!
Liu Yanping waved her hand magnanimously and declared imposingly, "Beat him, and I'll give you ten Spirit Stones!!!"
Meng Fan's eyes lit up, his heartbeat accelerating.
"Are your words true?"
Ten Spirit Stones?
That was a huge sum of money. Handed over so easily, Meng Fan couldn't help but feel a bit suspicious.
Seeing Meng Fan's suspicious expression, completely disbelieving her, Liu Yanping was thoroughly incensed.
She immediately fished out ten Spirit Stones, flung them onto the ground, and raged, "Win, and these are yours! What a spineless fellow, it's just ten Spirit Stones, yet you actually dare to doubt this young lady!!!!"
Meng Fan swallowed hard, his gaze burning with intense heat.
Only then did he realize that this girl was an outright, bona fide rich benefactress!
Especially since the appearance of these ten Spirit Stones was completely inexplicable; he suspected this girl possessed some sort of storage-type magical treasure.
Just... how filthy rich must she be?
He simply had to become friends with this girl!
Meng Fan made up his mind.
"Come on, draw your sword," Meng Fan said to Ye Feng.
Ye Feng had been waiting impatiently for a long time. He was filled with a bellyful of fiery frustration and was looking for someone to vent on.
He drew his sword, preparing to strike at Meng Fan.
"Wait, use this!" Liu Yanping tossed the wooden sword in her hand to Ye Feng.
Ye Feng possessed a genuine treasured sword; relying on the sharpness of his weapon, a single strike would have snapped Meng Fan's wooden sword in half.
To Liu Yanping's demand, Ye Feng raised no objection.
He caught the wooden sword and lunged toward Meng Fan.
With his very first move, he unleashed a killer strike from the Bright Moon Sword Technique—[Bright Moon Illuminates the Great River].
This thrust was fast, accurate, and ruthless, aiming straight for Meng Fan's chest.
In truth, the most appropriate target for this strike was the throat!
Yet even with a wooden sword, striking the throat could still be fatal, so Ye Feng held back slightly and redirected his thrust toward Meng Fan's chest.
Meng Fan shook his head.
With a single glance, he spotted the flaw in Ye Feng's strike.
Contesting sword techniques with him, yet still thinking about holding back.
That was like playing a game of chess and offering your opponent a handicap!
Was he in such a rush to throw his life away?
Meng Fan didn't know the name of Ye Feng's sword technique, but having previously watched Ye Feng practice, he had already quietly learned it.
Facing Ye Feng's strike, Meng Fan showed no panic, thrusting out his own sword in response.
Bright Moon Sword Technique—Bright Moon Illuminates the Great River!
This strike was identical to the one Ye Feng had executed, yet it contained subtle variations.
The greatest variation was that it reached the target first despite being initiated later.
Ye Feng stared dumbfounded at Meng Fan's strike, never expecting that Meng Fan would also know the Bright Moon Sword Technique.
Moreover, the Bright Moon Sword Technique executed by his opponent was vaguely even more fluid than his own!
Most importantly, his opponent's strike was aimed straight at his throat.
While his own strike was aimed at his opponent's chest.
Based on this point alone, he had already lost!
He had no choice but to retract his sword; otherwise, even if his sword pierced his opponent's chest, his opponent's sword would pierce his throat.
Under such circumstances, his opponent might sustain some injuries, but he himself would likely die!
"I lost," Ye Feng stopped, withdrew his sword, and spoke in somewhat dejected tones.
To tell the truth, Liu Yanping, standing nearby, also looked at Meng Fan with a measure of astonishment.
She frequently sparred and practiced the sword with Ye Feng, so she was quite familiar with the Bright Moon Sword Technique.
She could tell that Ye Feng had used [Bright Moon Illuminates the Great River] from the Bright Moon Sword Technique.
And Meng Fan was actually using [Bright Moon Illuminates the Great River] as well.
The exact same sword move, yet it broke the opponent's sword move.
That was simply absurd!
"How do you also know the Bright Moon Sword Technique?" Liu Yanping and Ye Feng asked almost simultaneously.
The two of them exchanged glances, ignoring their momentary tacit synchronization.
Ye Feng was actually handling it okay, but Liu Yanping was genuinely dumbfounded.
Not only did this fellow know the Blue Sea Tide-Surging Sword Technique, he also knew the Bright Moon Sword Technique!
Was there any sword technique he didn't know?
How was an outer sect disciple at the 1st Layer of Qi Condensation capable of cultivating so many sword techniques?
And the most crucial part was that he had cultivated them to the realm of mastery!
Ye Feng's Bright Moon Sword Technique was already formidable, yet Meng Fan was able to defeat Ye Feng using the exact same technique. Using the word "mastery" to describe it was not an overstatement at all.
"Uh, when he was practicing his sword earlier, I happened to watch, so I picked it up," Meng Fan said with a somewhat embarrassed expression.
Before Ye Feng could speak, Liu Yanping exploded into a furious stream of profanity.
"Bullshit!"
Chapter 19: Choose Any 1st Layer Sword Technique You Want
Liu Yanping would believe in ghosts before she believed that!
Yesterday, Meng Fan had said the exact same thing to her.
If a person could master a sword technique simply by watching someone else practice it twice, what use were sword manuals?
This Meng Fan was utterly detestable; he was treating them like fools and playing games with them.
Meng Fan felt thoroughly helpless.
Often, when you spoke the truth, not a single soul was willing to believe it.
Faced with Meng Fan's answer, Ye Feng didn't fly into a rage like Liu Yanping.
A man of few words and vicious execution, he immediately struck out once more, thrusting his sword straight at Meng Fan's throat.
Just now he had held back, leaving glaring flaws in that strike, and he refused to accept it!
This time, he went all out, without holding back in the slightest.
Meng Fan's gaze narrowed. Seeing Ye Feng attack, he similarly thrust out his sword.
Both of them were once again using the Bright Moon Sword Technique—[Bright Moon Illuminates the Great River]!
The result...
Was identical to before.
Meng Fan once again reached the target first. When the tip of his sword rested against Ye Feng's throat, Ye Feng's sword was still a full two inches away from Meng Fan's throat.
Under such circumstances, a single inch of distance was already a chasm of difference, let alone two inches.
This was utter suppression!
"I lost, I am convinced," Ye Feng dropped his wooden sword and closed his eyes.
To be honest, the shame was profound.
An inner sect disciple at the 8th Layer of Qi Condensation had actually lost to an outer sect disciple at the 1st Layer of Qi Condensation.
Although it was merely a pure contest of sword techniques and did not represent true combat power, he still felt it was humiliating in the extreme.
"When executing this form of sword technique, the moment you thrust, you should actually step out with your right foot first. Furthermore, your arm was raised too high; you should press it down by half an inch. If you can correct these two issues, you should be able to reach the opponent's throat with your sword at the exact same time as me!"
As Meng Fan spoke, he bent down and picked up the ten Spirit Stones from the ground.
With so many Spirit Stones, if he didn't offer some pointers, he wouldn't feel entirely at ease keeping them.