Hearing Meng Fan's words, Ye Feng, who had been sitting with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them.
A faint flash of light gleamed in his gaze.
He gestured twice with his sword, a trace of pleasant surprise appearing on his face.
After trying it out the way Meng Fan suggested, he felt that this sword technique had indeed become much smoother.
"Thank you! I was wrong just now, I apologize to you."
This time, he was genuinely convinced.
Although Meng Fan was only an outer disciple at the 1st Layer of Qi Condensation, he had already convinced him through his swordsmanship.
At least when it came to the Bright Moon Sword Technique, he was thoroughly convinced!
"Don't mention it. If you want to thank someone, thank Senior Sister Liu. After all, it was her Spirit Stones," Meng Fan said to Ye Feng.
As a result, Ye Feng glared fiercely at Liu Yanping and then strode right out of the Sword Comprehension Hall.
Meng Fan watched this scene in astonishment.
What was going on here?
Had love turned into hatred?
Meng Fan shook his head and let it go.
Anyway, it had nothing to do with him.
"Thank you, Senior Sister Liu, for the gift of the Spirit Stones," Meng Fan turned back and thanked Liu Yanping.
This was a genuine expression of gratitude. Ten Spirit Stones—what kind of concept was that?
According to the allowance given to him by the Shushan Sword Sect, this could support him for three months!
"Just how many sword techniques are you actually proficient in?" Liu Yanping looked at Meng Fan with a sense of disbelief.
The *Seething Seas Sword Technique* was able to overwhelm her.
The *Bright Moon Sword Technique* was able to overwhelm Ye Feng.
If not for his slightly low cultivation level, this fellow would practically have a shot at competing to become a core disciple.
"Senior Sister Liu, actually I really just watched you practice your sword techniques a few times. I can't be considered proficient, just a smattering of knowledge," Meng Fan said with a somewhat embarrassed and intensely bashful look.
A smattering of knowledge?
Then what does that make me? A piece of trash?
Liu Yanping glared fiercely at Meng Fan and prepared to leave the Sword Comprehension Hall.
Meng Fan quickly stopped Liu Yanping and said, "Senior Sister Liu, are you leaving already?"
Liu Yanping snapped, "Not leaving? Should I stay here and let you provoke me?"
Looking a bit sheepish, Meng Fan said, "Well, Senior Sister Liu, we agreed earlier that I would accompany you in sparring with swords for a reward of one Spirit Stone. You, this..."
Liu Yanping instantly flew into a rage!
This money-grubber!
She tossed a Spirit Stone at Meng Fan and turned on her heel to leave.
Meng Fan put away the Spirit Stone and cast a cautious glance around his surroundings.
Hesitating for a moment, he also left the Sword Comprehension Hall.
Harnessing such a massive fortune, he didn't dare to go out and fool around anymore.
There was no helping it; having never seen the world, he was just that humble!
After that, he went to the Pill Pavilion again, spending five Spirit Stones to buy fifty Qi Gathering Pills, and then another three Spirit Stones to buy thirty Body Tempering Pills.
With the remaining three Spirit Stones, he planned to go back and return them to Senior Brother Luo.
Clutching seventy Qi Gathering Pills and forty Body Tempering Pills, Meng Fan headed back to the Sword Pavilion in high spirits.
When he returned the three Spirit Stones to Senior Brother Luo, Senior Brother Luo looked utterly astonished.
"You brat, didn't I say I was lending them to you? Are you too embarrassed to use them?"
Meng Fan told Senior Brother Luo about how Liu Yanping had given him Spirit Stones.
Naturally, he "beautified" the process a bit.
He didn't mention that his swordsmanship had overwhelmed Liu Yanping and Ye Feng; he only said he had accompanied them in sword practice.
Senior Brother Luo didn't probe deeply either.
Because he also knew what kind of person Liu Yanping was.
"It's great to be young! If I had a face like yours, I wouldn't have ended up in such a miserable state!"
Senior Brother Luo assumed that Liu Yanping had sought out Meng Fan for sword practice because she was captivated by Meng Fan's good looks.
After all, credit where credit was due, Meng Fan's face was indeed extremely handsome; he had never seen anyone in the Shushan Sword Sect more handsome than Meng Fan.
Thinking about it that way, wearing a face like this and coming to the Sword Pavilion as a sword-guarding disciple was indeed letting his talents go to waste.
Clearly, he could easily make a living on his looks alone!
"Alright, since you've managed to cling to Liu Yanping's coattails, you certainly don't need these few Spirit Stones of mine." Senior Brother Luo took the three Spirit Stones back with a bitter smile.
"Senior Brother Luo knows Liu Yanping too?" Meng Fan asked out of curiosity.
"Liu Yanping is Elder Liu from the Alchemy Hall's most doted-upon granddaughter, and she's a famously wealthy little heiress in the Shushan Sword Sect."
Hearing this, Meng Fan's face immediately registered utter astonishment.
"This Senior Sister Liu has such a formidable background?"
Senior Brother Luo laughed and said, "Yes, she really is that formidable. If you manage to keep her happy, you definitely won't lack Spirit Stones in the future."
Meng Fan immediately said with righteous indignation, "Senior Brother Luo has misunderstood, I am not that kind of person!"
After the meal, Meng Fan looked at the countless long swords on the first floor of the Sword Pavilion and thought of a question.
"Senior Brother Luo, the top fifty outer disciples are permitted to come to the Sword Pavilion to claim a sword. I am currently neither a handyman disciple nor an outer disciple, but a sword-guarding disciple of the Sword Pavilion. Can I claim a sword here in the Sword Pavilion?"
Senior Brother Luo immediately laughed and said, "Of course you can! You are by no means inferior to any of those top fifty outer disciples! Besides, if even the sword-guarding disciples of our own Sword Pavilion can't claim a sword, how would that make any sense? Feel free to pick any sword on the first floor of the Sword Pavilion. If you break it, you don't have to compensate for it—just swap it for a new one, and you don't even need to hand in any Spirit Stones. Once you cultivate to the True Martial Realm, you can even freely pick swords from the second floor of the Sword Pavilion!"
Hearing Senior Brother Luo's words, a look of pleasant surprise appeared on Meng Fan's face.
Then he began wandering around the first floor of the Sword Pavilion, preparing to choose a personal sword of his own.
Chapter 20: Meng Fan's Personal Sword!
Seeing that Meng Fan was going to select a sword, Senior Brother Luo returned to his own room and did not disturb him.
He also didn't put on a show of mystery by reminding Meng Fan what kind of sword to choose.
Because Meng Fan had already been at the Sword Pavilion for quite a few days, and Meng Fan was far more exceptional than he had previously thought, he believed that Meng Fan would be able to choose the sword that suited him best!
There was no need to worry.
And indeed, that was the case. Meng Fan could even help others pick the most suitable swords, let alone choose one for himself.
Meng Fan made a meticulous selection. After all, this was a sword he would be using himself, so he chose very carefully.
Actually, there were three swords that suited Meng Fan best!
[White Night], the former personal sword of the peerless Night Monarch, from which Meng Fan learned the Ultimate Quick-Draw Sword Technique.
[Black Wind], the former personal sword of Li Qingyun, Sect Master of the Wuji Sword Sect, from which Meng Fan obtained the seed of the Supreme Emotionless Sword Intent.
[Copper Mountain], the owner of the sword was unknown, but Meng Fan saw a sword momentum from this sword's memories, thereby mastering and synthesizing a sword move of his own—Mountain Splitting.
Choosing the White Night sword would make Meng Fan's execution of the Ultimate Quick-Draw Sword Technique much handier.
Choosing Black Wind seemed to have little meaning, because Meng Fan had no intention of cultivating the Supreme Emotionless Sword.
As for the Copper Mountain sword, it was even more suited for Meng Fan to execute Mountain Splitting.
Thinking along these lines, the Black Wind sword could be discarded first.
Should he choose between White Night and Copper Mountain?
After much deliberation, Meng Fan finally chose Copper Mountain.
Because for Meng Fan at this moment, the sword move [Mountain Splitting] was of the greatest utility!
At least for Meng Fan right now, the Copper Mountain sword suited him best.
Meng Fan took the Copper Mountain sword and returned to his room to begin cultivation.
With the Qi Gathering Pills combined with the coordination of the sword essence inside his body, Meng Fan's cultivation speed was simply like riding a rocket.
At this rate, in at most four or five days, he would be able to break through to the 2nd Layer of Qi Condensation.
Early the next morning, before dawn had broken.
Because the sword essence in his body had been completely depleted, Meng Fan stopped his cultivation.
Although Qi Gathering Pills could also enhance his cultivation speed, only by simultaneously pairing Qi Gathering Pills with sword essence could one experience the rocket-like thrill of cultivation.
When Meng Fan finished his meditation and stepped down from the bed, he saw a scene that left him dumbfounded.
The Copper Mountain sword that he had left on the table last night had actually turned into a broken sword, snapped into two halves.
This...
Could not help but leave Meng Fan greatly startled.
Who would sneak into his room in the middle of the night and make a move against his Copper Mountain sword?
Him making a move against *him* could be understood, but to enter his room without anyone knowing and then viciously destroy a sword—wasn't that utterly absurd?
Last night, Meng Fan had not slept the entire time.
Although his eyes were closed while meditating, if there had been any movement in the room, he definitely would have been able to sense it.
One could only say that the "culprit" who destroyed the sword was terrifyingly formidable, for Meng Fan not to have sensed a single thing.
Just as Meng Fan inadvertently turned his head, he saw that there was actually an extra sword lying on his bed.
[Hongqi]
Meng Fan was very familiar with this sword and had a deep impression of it; it had almost sucked away his vital masculine energy before.
An absurd guess popped into Meng Fan's mind.
After all, he felt that the probability of this guess being true was easily eighty or ninety percent!
This guess was...
The one that destroyed the Copper Mountain sword was none other than the Hongqi Sword.
How utterly absurd!
The Copper Mountain sword had remained completely intact within the Sword Pavilion, but the moment he chose it as his personal sword, it met a tragic end at the hands of the Hongqi Sword.
This Hongqi Sword was clearly making things difficult for him on purpose!
Looking rather helpless, Meng Fan stared at the Hongqi Sword and said, "If you have any grievances, just come straight at me. Why take it out on an innocent sword?"
He hadn't gone mad; he knew that the Hongqi Sword was a spiritual sword and could understand what he was saying.
The Hongqi Sword automatically floated up and landed in Meng Fan's hand.
Meng Fan frowned and said in disbelief, "You want to follow me? To be my personal sword?"
Could it be that the reason the Hongqi Sword destroyed the Copper Mountain sword was out of jealousy?
Yet who was he, Meng Fan, to deserve the favor of a spiritual sword?
Just as Meng Fan felt that this guess of his was preposterous and unbelievable, a burst of red light suddenly radiated from the Hongqi Sword.
The red light gradually condensed into a phantom image.
The phantom of a young girl in a red dress.
The girl, Hongqi!
Hongqi looked at Meng Fan and smiled. "The Copper Mountain sword was nothing more than a piece of scrap metal, how could it ever be worthy of you? Starting today, I'm following you!"
A spiritual sword wanted to follow him?
Did this kind of happiness come this abruptly?
Meng Fan really found it a bit hard to believe!
With a bewildered expression, he said, "You want to follow me? I'm just a sword-guarding disciple at the 1st Layer of Qi Condensation, inferior to even many outer disciples. Why would you want to follow me?"
To be honest, Hongqi valuing him so much made Meng Fan feel quite surprised.
The corners of Hongqi's mouth tugged upward, revealing a mysterious and unfathomable smile, as if she had seen right through Meng Fan.
With a chuckle, she said, "You harbor secrets that might fool Old Luo, but you can't fool me!"
"What secrets do I have?" Meng Fan asked with a guilty conscience.
This Hongqi Sword was so mysterious; judging by this posture, it had probably been peeping at him lately and might have genuinely discovered his secrets.
Thinking of this, Meng Fan couldn't help but feel a bit nervous.
Yet on second thought, the other party was merely a sword, what was there for him to be nervous about?
Besides, the other party valuing him and wanting to follow him was a good thing; it wasn't like she was trying to harm him!
"Ever since you escaped safely from my hands last time, I've been observing you. You brat look honest, but you're actually craftier than anyone. Every time you wipe a long sword, you steal a sliver of sword essence, or rather, sword origin. Ordinary human beings simply cannot detect this kind of thing. Only a sword spirit like me could discover your little tricks."
Meng Fan raised an eyebrow.
The secret Hongqi discovered referred to him absorbing sword essence from the sword bodies?
To him, this certainly was no small secret!
With a calm expression, Meng Fan said, "What's so remarkable about that? It's just normal cultivation. The sword origin you speak of doesn't belong to anyone in particular, how can you say I stole it?"
This was taking, not stealing!
If I stand here and take a breath, you can't possibly accuse me of stealing the air, can you?
"That doesn't matter. Anyway, I have no intention of exposing you, nor do I plan to cause trouble for you," Hongqi said casually.
"Then what do you want?" Meng Fan asked.
"Didn't I just say it? I'm planning to follow you."
"Why?"
"Because you have a future ahead of you. You're a stock with great potential!"
Hearing Hongqi's words, Meng Fan couldn't help but give a bitter smile. "Do you trust me that much?"
"Of course. Although you brat look utterly ordinary, your comprehension on the path of the Sword Dao can only be described as monstrous. Don't think I don't know—you learn sword techniques almost the moment you look at them. Throughout the entire Shushan Sword Sect, there isn't another disciple as monstrous as you!"
Meng Fan shook his head. "Yet when all is said and done, I'm merely a disciple with inferior-grade spiritual roots."
Chapter 21: Innate Sword Body, Capable of Slaying Human Immortals
Hongqi's mouth twitched, and a smile appeared on her face.
"You brat absorb the sword origin every day. Although it's all consumed by your cultivation, every time you absorb sword origin, your physique undergoes tempering. As time goes on, your physique will also transform, and sooner or later, it will evolve into an Innate Sword Body. At that time, what would an inferior-grade spiritual root even matter?"
Innate Sword Body?
Hearing this term, a look of surprise appeared on Meng Fan's face.
He had never heard of any Innate Sword Body before, but it sounded exceedingly formidable.
"What is an Innate Sword Body?" Meng Fan asked out of curiosity.
"A person's aptitude consists of more than just spiritual roots; there is also physique. [Spiritual roots] represent your cultivation talent—possessing top-grade spiritual roots makes your cultivation speed a hundred times, or even more, that of inferior-grade spiritual roots! [Physique] represents the strength of your might. For instance, someone possessing a divine physique might even be able to brutally slay a True Martial 9th Layer warrior who lacks a special physique while they themselves are only at the 1st Layer of True Martial! If you can cultivate into an Innate Sword Body, then in a sense, it can make up for the deficiencies in your spiritual roots. Although your cultivation speed might not match up to upper-grade or top-grade spiritual roots, you'll be able to fight above your weight class and crush them!"
Hearing Hongqi's words, a trace of surprise surfaced on Meng Fan's face.
This kind of information was something he had never understood before.
For him, this truly was good news!
Yet when all was said and done, all of this was brought to him by [Sword Dao Divine Communication].
"What you speak of is merely a possibility. It doesn't necessarily mean I will cultivate into an Innate Sword Body," Meng Fan said to Hongqi.
Hongqi calmly replied, "Even if it's just a possibility, it's enough for me to follow you. After all, other people don't even have a possibility!"
Meng Fan nodded. The reasoning made sense, and there was nothing wrong with it.
He thought for a moment and asked, "You are voluntarily following me, which means you must have an ulterior motive. What is it that you're plotting?"
Some things had to be made clear, otherwise Meng Fan wouldn't be able to rest easy.
After all, Hongqi was too powerful; this sword could threaten his very life!
"Actually, you don't need to be so wary of me, because choosing to follow you means acknowledging you as my master. I will only help you, not harm you," Hongqi said with a bitter smile.
Meng Fan shook his head.
"I don't believe you're that kind-hearted. After all, the first time we met, you almost sucked me dry! So if we want to reach a mutual understanding, let's talk about something tangible."
Hongqi sighed, then said earnestly, "I am following you in the hope that you can help me exact revenge in the future!"
Revenge?
Meng Fan frowned.
He thought of the information he received during his very first encounter with the Hongqi Sword—[Sacrificing a maiden's heart blood to forge the sword].
Sacrificing a living person to forge a sword was utterly devoid of human conscience!
The Hongqi before his eyes right now, the sword spirit of this Hongqi Sword, should be that very maiden who was sacrificed.
She should have been a blooming young girl, innocent and carefree, enjoying her life.
Instead, she was sacrificed for a sword, turned into a sword spirit trapped within the blade, wishing she were dead!
Thinking of this, Meng Fan couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for Hongqi.
"How long ago was this Hongqi Sword forged? Is your enemy still alive?" Meng Fan asked.
"The Hongqi Sword was forged thirty-six years ago. As for my enemy, naturally he is still..."
Hongqi's expression suddenly changed. Her mouth dropped open as she stared incredulously at Meng Fan, unable to speak.
A moment later, she finally regained her composure and reined in her shock.
"Why would you ask that? Just what do you know?"
Meng Fan sighed and said, "This Hongqi Sword was forged using evil arts, sacrificing a living person to cast a spiritual sword. If I guessed correctly, you are that sacrificed maiden. And your enemy is the swordsmith who forged the Hongqi Sword!"
"How do you know?" Hearing Meng Fan's words, Hongqi frowned deeply.
"I only managed to discern the method used to forge this sword; the rest was just a logical deduction," Meng Fan said casually.
Hongqi was astonished. "You even understand swordsmithing?"
Meng Fan shook his head. "I don't know how to forge swords, I just have a smattering of theoretical knowledge and can recognize certain techniques."
"The secrets on you brat are truly frighteningly numerous. I thought that after observing you for all these days, I understood you quite well, but I never expected you to still have so many secrets!"
Meng Fan smiled and offered no explanation.
"Since you've laid your cards on the table, I'll give you an answer as well. As long as you genuinely follow me, I can help you exact your revenge."
Hongqi frowned. "You didn't even ask who my enemy is, or what his cultivation realm is?"
"Clang!"
A clear chime of a sword rang out.
Meng Fan drew the Hongqi Sword, and a cold flash burst forth inside his room.
Even without True Qi driving it, the blade of the Hongqi Sword still exuded waves of biting cold intent.
The malevolent aura of this sword was indeed astonishing.
Not to mention the malevolent aura accumulated from the blood it had shed after killing people, Hongqi herself already possessed an endless reservoir of malevolence and resentment.
Meng Fan looked at the blade, a trace of faint confidence appearing on his face.
"No matter who your enemy is, and no matter what cultivation realm he's in, even if a Human Immortal stands before me, sooner or later he will die beneath this Hongqi Sword."
Hongqi hadn't expected Meng Fan to be so confident.
Clearly, this fellow had been spouting nonsense about having inferior-grade spiritual roots and looking utterly dejected just a moment ago.
Could it all have been an act?
Meng Fan smiled at Hongqi and said, "Actually, I thank you for trusting me and having faith in me. But the truth is, I have even more confidence than you do!"
With the supreme talent of [Sword Dao Divine Communication] existing, as long as Meng Fan was given enough time, he would dare to show you how he could butcher all the gods and buddhas in the sky.
"I look forward to that day actually arriving," Hongqi said with a somewhat complicated tone.
With that, her phantom transformed into a red light and re-entered the Hongqi Sword.
"You will see that day," Meng Fan glanced at the Hongqi Sword and sheathed it.