Chapter 1

Tianyuan Great World. Northern Region. Shushan Sword Sect. "Meng Fan, you ranked last in this outer sect... servant disciple assessment. According to custom, the bottom-ranked disciple is eliminated and will be expelled from the Shushan Sword Sect."

Meng Fan looked at the Shushan Sword Sect deacon standing before him, a trace of surprise flashing across his face. He had transmigrated to this world not even two days ago, and he was already getting expelled from his sect? This starting script was completely wrong! Merging with the original owner's memories, he recalled a bit and asked with some confusion, "Deacon Wang, I remember that in this assessment, I seemed to be the second to last?" Although being second to last was also humiliating, customarily only the very last person would be eliminated. Deacon Wang said with a cold expression, "Yang Qian, who was last, broke the sect rules and has already been expelled from the sect, so you are now the last one." Hearing this, Meng Fan was left completely dumbfounded. Can things even work like this? He had just transmigrated into this world and was preparing to rely on the Shushan Sword Sect to soar to greatness. If he were expelled from the sect and became an outcast of the Shushan Sword Sect, it would be practically impossible to seek refuge in another sect. Moreover, this world was extremely dangerous! He absolutely could not leave the Shushan Sword Sect; otherwise, he might die without even knowing how he died! Meng Fan hurriedly said, "Deacon Wang, can you please make an exception? Although Yang Qian broke the sect rules, he was still the last one in this assessment, so this elimination spot should still fall on him, right?" As he spoke, he pulled a low-grade spirit stone from his chest and handed it to Deacon Wang. The spiritual Qi inside this low-grade spirit stone had already been depleted by thirty percent, making it hardly anything of high quality. Yet this was Meng Fan's entire fortune. As a servant disciple—and a lagging-behind servant disciple at that—who faced the constant threat of elimination, it was terribly difficult for Meng Fan to earn money! "Meng Fan, it's not that I want to lecture you, but you know your own level quite well. Even if you stay this time, the elimination spot for the next round will definitely fall on you anyway. Why bother struggling so bitterly?" Deacon Wang accepted Meng Fan's spirit stone without batting an eye. A mosquito's leg was still meat no matter how small, and a low-grade spirit stone with seventy percent spiritual Qi was still a spirit stone. It would be foolish not to take it! Beside Deacon Wang, another servant disciple spoke up, "Junior Brother Meng, you should be very clear that with your miscellaneous spiritual root aptitude, you simply cannot make it in the Shushan Sword Sect. You might as well leave the sect early and find another way to make a living." This servant disciple was named Yang Fei. Although they were both servant disciples, Yang Fei's assessment scores were always in the top three, making him incomparable to Meng Fan. Some time ago, Yang Fei had been taken in as a nominal disciple by Deacon Wang, a future that could truly be described as full of boundless promise. [Miscellaneous Spiritual Root] Hearing these four words, a sense of helplessness welled up in Meng Fan's heart. A miscellaneous spiritual root was the worst kind of spiritual root, far inferior even to a low-grade spiritual root! Miscellaneous spiritual root, low-grade spiritual root, mid-grade spiritual root, high-grade spiritual root, top-grade spiritual root, heavenly-grade spiritual root, divine-grade spiritual root. With so many levels of spiritual roots, one could tell just by looking how substandard a miscellaneous spiritual root was! Though a miscellaneous spiritual root was still a spiritual root—making one stronger than an ordinary mortal and capable of cultivation—it was undoubtedly cannon fodder in the world of cultivating immortals. It could be said that the previous owner of Meng Fan's body had a classic "trash protagonist" starting hand. Yet Meng Fan, having transmigrated over, was no trash! Though this body of his remained a miscellaneous spiritual root, his transmigration had brought him a perk. Talent — [Sword Dao God-Connection]. Just how terrifying was this talent? Born with a Sword Heart! Born with a Sword Soul! Born with a Sword God! Any sword move mastered upon learning. Any sword intent comprehended upon enlightenment. Any sword momentum understood at a glance. Any Sword Dao... could be thoroughly mastered! As long as Meng Fan was given time, he was destined to become a generation of sword immortals. Unfortunately, he had just transmigrated and hadn't even begun to exert himself when he was faced with the crisis of being expelled from the sect. Granted, with Meng Fan's talent of [Sword Dao God-Connection], even if he were expelled from the Shushan Sword Sect, he would still have hope of rising to prominence. However, since he had a high starting point like the Shushan Sword Sect, why on earth would he want to experience a hellish start? "Deacon Wang, can you give this disciple another chance? This disciple will definitely cultivate diligently, and in the next assessment, I will certainly not be the last!" Meng Fan said to Deacon Wang with a sincere expression. "Every disciple facing elimination begs me like this, yet they still get eliminated in the next round," Deacon Wang sighed and said. "However, what you said is not entirely unreasonable; the last one in this assessment was indeed Yang Qian. Nominally speaking, you were second to last, so it is indeed somewhat inappropriate for me to eliminate you right now!" Meng Fan instantly breathed a sigh of relief. He knew that the single spirit stone had done the trick. Otherwise, since Deacon Wang had already come all this way, he surely would have eliminated him! "Many thanks, Deacon Wang!" Meng Fan hurriedly thanked Deacon Wang. Deacon Wang nodded and turned to leave. However, just as he took half a step away, he turned back and looked at Meng Fan. "Deacon Wang, do you have any other instructions?" Seeing the other party turn back, Meng Fan immediately and tactfully asked. Deacon Wang glanced at Meng Fan, a trace of a smile appearing on his face, and then said, "Even if I spare you this time, you'll still be eliminated in the next assessment. How about I point out a bright path for you?" Point out a bright path for me? Meng Fan felt somewhat skeptical. Could offering that single piece of spirit stone really have such a great effect? This Deacon Wang didn't look like someone who hadn't seen the world! "Deacon Wang, please speak. What bright path?" "The Sword Pavilion is lacking a sword-guarding disciple, and I don't have any suitable candidates here right now. Seeing that you're a sharp lad, would you like to be a sword-guarding disciple?" "The Sword Pavilion? A sword-guarding disciple?" "That's right. A Sword Pavilion sword-guarding disciple enjoys treatment equivalent to an outer sect disciple. From then on, you won't need to participate in servant disciple assessments, nor will you have to worry about being eliminated." The Sword Pavilion! It was an elite place within the Shushan Sword Sect. Servant disciples like Meng Fan had no qualifications whatsoever to enter the Sword Pavilion, let alone retrieve swords. Only the cream of the crop among outer sect disciples, as well as higher-ranking inner sect disciples and the like, were qualified to retrieve swords from the Sword Pavilion. ... A moment later, Meng Fan received the token of a Sword Pavilion sword-guarding disciple from Deacon Wang's hands and prepared to report to the Sword Pavilion. Though he had his suspicions, feeling that Deacon Wang wouldn't be kind enough to let him take advantage of such a bargain. Still, only a fool would pass up a free bargain. Whatever trouble came, he would deal with it when it arrived! Besides, as a servant disciple on the verge of elimination, he had nothing worth Deacon Wang coveting. The only spirit stone on his person had already been voluntarily given to Deacon Wang! Beside Deacon Wang, Yang Fei watched Meng Fan's departing figure, his brows furrowing slightly as he asked in puzzlement, "Master, didn't Senior Brother Qian ask you to chase Meng Fan away?" "How is it that not only did you keep Meng Fan, but you even let him enter the Sword Pavilion?" "Won't this offend Senior Brother Qian?" "Senior Brother Qian is Elder Qian's son; you didn't need to offend him!" Deacon Wang sneered, "What do you understand?" "The Sword Pavilion conceals tens of thousands of swords, among which countless are evil swords." "A servant disciple with practically zero cultivation will not survive a month in the Sword Pavilion." "He's dead for sure!"

"Master, that fellow Meng Fan is lowly to the extreme. He doesn't even have the qualifications to offend Senior Brother Qian. Why would Senior Brother Qian pay attention to him?" Yang Fei asked with some curiosity. Deacon Wang smiled and said, "Because of that heavenly pride, Li Xuerou!" Li Xuerou? A trace of surprise appeared on Yang Fei's face. This girl was always first in every assessment. Not only had she early on been promoted from a servant disciple to an outer sect disciple, but she had also advanced from an outer sect disciple to an inner sect disciple. There were even rumors that Li Xuerou might be promoted to a core disciple! Could such a proud daughter of heaven have a connection with Meng Fan? Deacon Wang said, "Qian Lechong has fancied Li Xuerou for so long, yet Li Xuerou completely ignores him. Do you know why that is?" Why? Yang Fei frowned and asked doubtfully, "Could it be related to this Meng Fan?" "Indeed. Li Xuerou and Meng Fan were childhood sweethearts since they were little. Qian Lechong found out that the person Li Xuerou likes is Meng Fan, which is why he wants to make a move against Meng Fan." Yang Fei said incredulously, "Impossible. How could Li Xuerou possibly like a good-for-nothing like Meng Fan?" Deacon Wang shook his head and said, "The village where Li Xuerou and Meng Fan lived was slaughtered by the Sky Eagle Demonic Cult, leaving only the two of them alive." "Before joining the Shushan Sword Sect, they relied on each other to survive, so naturally their bond is extremely deep." "If Qian Lechong wants to win Li Xuerou's heart, he must eliminate Meng Fan, this stumbling block!" ... On the other side, Meng Fan had already arrived at the Sword Pavilion holding the token of a sword-guarding disciple. As soon as he stepped through the door, he saw a ragged old man sitting on a small wooden stool by the entrance. Meng Fan immediately felt a surge of profound respect. Usually, in novels and storybooks, figures dressed like this in such locations were invariably masters among masters! The old man glanced at Meng Fan and said expressionlessly, "Kid, you've come to the wrong place. This isn't somewhere you can be." Meng Fan hurriedly and respectfully presented the sword-guarding disciple's token. "Senior, this junior is the newly appointed sword-guarding disciple of the Sword Pavilion." The old man took the token, glanced at it, then tossed it back to Meng Fan, sneering, "Who on earth did you offend? To have been sent here as a sword-guarding disciple?" "Ah?" Meng Fan was somewhat helpless. He had guessed that Deacon Wang wouldn't be kind enough to arrange some cushy gig for him. "What does senior mean by this?" he quickly asked to follow up. The old man shook his head and sighed. "What it means doesn't matter anymore. Since you've accepted the sword-guarding disciple token, you are now a sword-guarding disciple of the Sword Pavilion." Even if you regret it now, it's too late. Backing out is treated as betraying the sect, and people die for that! Since you're here, settle in and guard the swords properly. Right, don't call me 'senior'; it gives me the creeps. Just call me Senior Brother Luo from now on." Senior Brother? Looking at the other man's head of white hair and aged appearance, Meng Fan was slightly dazed. Nevertheless, he nodded and obediently called out, "Understood, Senior Brother Luo." Senior Brother Luo flashed a grim smile at Meng Fan and stood up from the stool. "Follow me inside!" The old man beckoned to Meng Fan and led him through the main hall doors. Beyond the doors lay a vast, spacious hall. Inside the hall were rows of wooden racks, and upon each rack rested rows of longswords. A single glance showed at least several thousand longswords. Some looked plain and unadorned, while others radiated a captivating aura. Even just a glimpse chilled Meng Fan to the bone. It felt as though wisps of sword Qi were about to pierce right out of the swords and shoot toward Meng Fan. Most terrifying of all was a longsword in the corner, brimming with vicious malevolence, which suddenly erupted with a pitch-black sword radiance that lunged straight at Meng Fan. This sword radiance was extremely fast, swift as lightning. In the blink of an eye, it was right in front of Meng Fan. Yet, when it was less than a foot away from Meng Fan, the sword radiance abruptly vanished. "Your composure is not bad. For a scrawny kid like you not to be frightened paralyzed on the ground, you're doing pretty well!" The look Senior Brother Luo cast at Meng Fan carried a trace of slight satisfaction. "Senior Brother Luo, what was that just now?" Meng Fan asked with lingering apprehension. "That was Crimson Moon provoking you!" Senior Brother Luo explained, "Crimson Moon is the most wicked sword on the first floor of this Sword Pavilion. Anyone who steps into the Sword Pavilion will be provoked by it." "The sword radiance just now was purely a provocation and a scare; it wasn't actually attacking you." "If it had attacked you, you'd be a corpse right now!" Meng Fan's heartbeat accelerated slightly, tension gripping him. Why were the swords inside this Sword Pavilion even more terrifying than people? Listening to Senior Brother Luo's introduction, it felt as though these swords were actually alive! As expected of an immortal cultivation world—all sorts of bizarre things existed here. "From now on, the territory of the first floor of the Sword Pavilion belongs to you." "Your task is to wipe down all of these longswords every day." "Of course, I don't mean you have to finish wiping them all in a single day. You just need to clean and wipe them once within a year." "Calculated out, wiping about twenty a day is plenty, not too many at all!" Hearing Senior Brother Luo's words, Meng Fan nodded. It wasn't many! Yet his intuition told him things were probably not that simple. After all, quite a few of these swords looked rather malevolent. "What about the other floors?" Meng Fan asked Senior Brother Luo. The Sword Pavilion had a total of five floors. Senior Brother Luo had only mentioned the first floor just now. "You don't need to worry about the other floors. If you don't want to die, don't let curiosity get the better of you," Senior Brother Luo said with a cold face. It seemed the other floors were extremely dangerous! Meng Fan made up his mind right then and there: he would absolutely never set foot on the second floor of the Sword Pavilion, let alone the third. To be honest, Meng Fan was already somewhat regretting his decision at this point. Through his brief interaction with Senior Brother Luo, he felt that this job as a Sword Pavilion sword-guarding disciple was more than ordinarily dangerous. That Deacon Wang was truly setting him up! Senior Brother Luo smiled and said, "Scared? Being scared is useless; as I said before, since you're here, settle in. What's more, the Sword Pavilion's sword-guarding disciples receive a subsidy of one low-grade spirit stone every month." "This is treatment fit for an outer sect disciple. I see your cultivation is practically zero; you must be a servant disciple, right?" "Work hard. Although being a sword-guarding disciple is dangerous, wealth and honor are sought amidst peril!" "As long as you can survive doing the task of a sword-guarding disciple for a full year, you can become an inner sect disciple of the Shushan Sword Sect." "If you can last a full ten years, then you'll be a deacon of the Shushan Sword Sect." "If you last a full thirty years, you'll be an elder!" "As for lasting a full hundred years, well..." "Heh, then you're just dreaming!" Could it really be that mystical? The treatment for a Sword Pavilion sword-guarding disciple was actually this high? However, greater opportunity usually also meant greater risk! Meng Fan instinctively asked, "Senior Brother Luo, how long have you been here?" "Two years!" Senior Brother Luo stated a time that greatly surprised Meng Fan. He had assumed this Senior Brother Luo had been in the Sword Pavilion for at least a dozen years. Given his age, after all! Senior Brother Luo chuckled at Meng Fan and said, "Kid, do you know why I didn't let you call me senior?" "Why?" Meng Fan followed up. "Because I'm only a few years older than you!"