Of course, even if it were to become chaotic, there was no way it could.
There was only a bed, a table, and a stool in the room.
The bedding on the bed was new, a thoughtful touch.
"Many thanks, Senior Brother Luo!"
"Don't mention it. My room is right next to yours; if you have any questions, just come find me."
With that, Senior Brother Luo returned to his own room, paying no further attention to Meng Fan.
Night was just falling. Converted to Earth time, it was barely seven o'clock in the evening, and Meng Fan naturally felt no desire to sleep.
He stepped out of his room and entered the main hall on the first floor of the Sword Pavilion.
Row upon row of wooden racks and swords exuded a chilling aura that made one's hair stand on end.
From now on, his business would be dealing with these swords.
Having transmigrated to this world only two full days ago, Meng Fan had barely had any formal contact with the world of cultivation.
To put it bluntly, here in the Shushan Sword Sect, he didn't even possess a sword of his own.
Meng Fan casually picked up an inconspicuous long sword, intending to get a feel for it.
He didn't dare touch the swords that looked formidable, fearing he wouldn't be able to handle them, so he chose an unremarkable one.
The moment Meng Fan touched the sword, whether it was his imagination or not, a message suddenly appeared in his mind.
【Sword name: Qingyu.】
【Weight: three jin and two liang, length: three chi and one cun.】
【Forged from profound iron, using Qingyuan wood fire, through a hundred-refining forging technique spanning three days and three nights.】
The moment he touched a sword, he could obtain certain information about it.
This must be a small perk brought by his Spiritual Root talent, Sword Dao.
However, this information had no practical use.
The ability of the Sword Dao talent went far beyond this!
"Clang—"
Meng Fan drew the Qingyu Sword.
The instant the Qingyu Sword was drawn, a wisp of breath, almost invisible to the naked eye, drilled into Meng Fan's body and flowed into his meridians.
Meng Fan frowned slightly.
He seemed to sense something, yet perceived nothing at all.
What a strange feeling!
What was that thing that had entered his body?
Meng Fan placed the Qingyu Sword back on the wooden rack and picked up another sword.
The moment he touched this sword, another message appeared in his mind.
【Sword name: Baiyu.】
【Weight: one jin and seven liang, length: two chi and six cun.】
【Made of flying feather wood, carved using the thousand-thread carving technique, soaked in the blood of a blood jade beast for seven days and seven nights to complete the sword.】
This was a wooden sword; it had not undergone hammer and fire forging, but had been purely carved.
Yet, despite being merely a wooden sword, its power was greater than that of the hundred-refining profound iron sword, Qingyu, which he had just handled.
However, completely unexpectedly, a murderous aura suddenly erupted from the Baiyu Sword in Meng Fan's hand.
The previous Qingyu Sword was a newly forged weapon that had never killed anyone or been stained with blood, so it carried no murderous aura.
This Baiyu Sword, however, had been collected into the Sword Pavilion after its previous owner died in battle.
The sword had been stained with countless bloodstains, and especially after its owner's demise, the murderous aura contained within it had become even more intense.
The moment Meng Fan made contact with the sword, the murderous aura erupted and began to backlash against him!
Had it been a cultivator of high proficiency, they could naturally have suppressed this murderous aura with ease.
Yet Meng Fan's cultivation level was virtually zero; he had no ability whatsoever to cope with this murderous aura!
Once this sword's malevolent energy entered his body, Meng Fan would either die or lose half his life.
He was far too weak!
Just as Meng Fan felt anxious and somewhat despairing, his Sword Dao talent officially displayed its might!
The sword's murderous aura that had surged into his body instantly vanished into nothingness.
As the murderous aura dissipated, a woman clad in fluttering white robes suddenly appeared in Meng Fan's mind.
This woman was holding the Baiyu Sword and practicing a sword form.
Her sword techniques were exceptionally graceful!
Not only were her sword techniques graceful, but her footwork was even more astonishing, like a startled swan.
"Flying Feather Sword Art"
"Startled Swan Footwork"
Once the murderous aura was neutralized, Meng Fan saw the "memories" left behind within the sword and mastered two martial arts.
Under the blessing of his Sword Dao talent, the Flying Feather Sword Art mastered by Meng Fan was even more proficient and polished than when executed by that woman in white.
However, as for the footwork "Startled Swan Footwork", he had only grasped the superficial basics.
Because the Sword Dao talent only provided boosts to sword techniques.
Therefore, although Meng Fan had witnessed the two martial arts through the "sword aura memories" of the Baiyu Sword, only the sword art was mastered the moment he touched it, directly achieving proficiency.
"Still, this is enough!"
Meng Fan drew the Baiyu Sword.
Just like when he drew the Qingyu Sword earlier, a stream of light, hard to catch with the naked eye, followed the blade into Meng Fan's body.
Meng Fan did not yet possess the ability to look within himself, so he had no idea that this stream of light, after wandering through his meridians, had plunged directly into his dantian.
He frowned, his intuition telling him that this breath entering his body was likely not a bad thing.
It should be another perk brought to him by the Sword Dao talent.
As for what this perk actually was, once his cultivation level and insight improved, he would surely understand.
Meng Fan wiped the Baiyu Sword clean and placed it back on the wooden rack.
He still remembered the task Senior Brother Luo had mentioned: within a year, he had to wipe all the swords stored on the first floor of the Sword Pavilion.
At this thought, Meng Fan couldn't help feeling a surge of excitement!
If he touched every single sword in here, how many sword techniques would he end up learning?
When the time came to integrate a hundred schools of swordsmanship, perhaps he could forge a Sword Dao of his own!
Full of enthusiasm, Meng Fan prepared to pick up a third long sword.
Senior Brother Luo had already calculated for him earlier; wanting to finish wiping these long swords within a year meant he needed to wipe about twenty swords a day.
Meng Fan was well aware of his own limitations, which was why he only picked unremarkable, "weak" long swords.
Yet sometimes, one could still misjudge.
Take the Baiyu Sword from just now, for instance; it looked inconspicuous, yet harbored astonishing murderous aura within.
Still, with the Sword Dao talent, he had no fear of such minor accidents.
However, just as he was about to select a third long sword, a major accident occurred.
There was a long sword that Meng Fan clearly had not chosen, yet it took flight of its own accord and landed right before him.
This was a... Spiritual Sword!
Only Spiritual Swords could move on their own.
Meng Fan's expression instantly shifted, and he knew he was in trouble.
From his probing conversations with Senior Brother Luo earlier, Meng Fan had already understood that this Sword Pavilion was dangerous.
Now, the danger had landed right on his head.
Just as Meng Fan was about to cry out for help from Senior Brother Luo, he found that his surrounding environment had changed.
He was no longer in the Sword Pavilion, but had appeared within a dim, seemingly boundless space.
An illusion?
Meng Fan frowned.
The next second, a woman in red appeared before him.
She possessed exquisite facial features, flowing long hair, fiery red lips, and supreme beauty.
"My lord, am I beautiful?"
The woman in red stood before Meng Fan, her red lips parting slightly as she smiled at him, her voice brimming with alluring charm.
"Beautiful!" Meng Fan said with a deadpan earnestness.
He was just speaking the truth; she was indeed very beauty.
Though trapped in an inexplicable illusion, he did not panic excessively.
Based on his previous chats with Senior Brother Luo, he could deduce that he shouldn't be dying on his very first day here.
The danger of the Sword Pavilion was progressive and imperceptible, not something that would instantly kill you the moment you stepped inside!
Therefore, despite his nervousness, Meng Fan managed to maintain a degree of calm, wanting to see what game this woman in red was playing.
The scene around them suddenly shifted!
A bed appeared before Meng Fan, and the woman in red lay upon it, her robes half-undone, exposing a bare shoulder.
"Since my lord finds your concubine beautiful, a night like this is worth a thousand pieces of gold. Why don't you hurry on over?"
The woman in red lay on the bed, beckoning to Meng Fan while striking seductive poses, oozing charm.
Meng Fan's heartbeat quickened, and his throat involuntarily bobbed.
This was...
Trying to seduce him?
To be fair, he was a teenager, full of vigor and blood.
Who could withstand this?
Meng Fan could withstand it!
Anyone else might fail to hold out, but in his past life on Earth, Meng Fan had browsed countless films.
To describe this kind of small-scale situation, honestly, there were only two words: Is that it?
What's more, Meng Fan was well aware that this scene was not a romantic encounter, but a life-threatening crisis.
Taking a deep breath, Meng Fan looked at the woman in red and said, "You are certainly beautiful, but you cannot tempt me."
"Oh? Why is that?"
The woman in red got up, stepped barefoot down from the bed, and walked right up to Meng Fan.
She hooked Meng Fan's chin with a slender finger, wearing a provocative expression.
"Does my lord think your concubine's appearance is too lacking, not worthy of your eyes?"
Meng Fan shook his head. "That's not it at all. You, spirit-creature, are extremely beautiful, but if you want to drain my primordial yang, I can't bear to let you!"
The woman in red looked at Meng Fan in surprise.
"I wouldn't have thought a kid with virtually no cultivation like you would have such extraordinary willpower, able to keep your calm at a time like this."
Meng Fan quickly said, "I truly have next to no cultivation, so even if you tried to drain me, you wouldn't get much primordial yang anyway."
"I am no spirit-creature, nor do I wish to drain your primordial yang. What I want is your life force," the woman in red chuckled.
Her fingers trailed along Meng Fan's cheek and neck; to be honest, it made his heart itch with unbearable yearning.
"However, you can rest assured—if you refuse to cooperate, I cannot drain your life force either."
In Meng Fan's view, primordial yang and life force were one and the same thing.
According to legends, men whose primordial yang was constantly drained by female spirits didn't live long either.
"Fair maiden, since that is the case, please let me return," Meng Fan said to the woman in red.
The woman in red laughed. "You fellow are much tougher than that previous brat. He didn't even last three months here before dying completely. Looks like you might live a few days longer than him!"
Meng Fan's heart skipped a beat.
He had heard Senior Brother Luo say that the previous sword-guarding disciple had lasted three months and left just a few days ago.
At the time, he had assumed that fellow had left the Sword Pavilion for a different post.
As it turned out, "leaving" in Senior Brother Luo's mouth meant death!
A sudden chill ran down Meng Fan's spine, bringing home the terrifying nature of the Sword Pavilion.
"Scared?" the woman in red asked with a smile, her laughter shaking her shoulders and looking quite radiant.
Meng Fan said rather awkwardly, "Fair maiden, since you already know my willpower is strong and you cannot seduce me, you needn't act so... coquettish."
The woman in red sat back on the bed with a dignified expression and asked, "What is it, little lord? Do you prefer that kind of style?"
Meng Fan gave a light cough, neither confirming nor denying, and left the question unanswered.
From beginning to end, this woman had never stopped teasing him.
"Fair maiden, please conduct yourself with dignity!" Meng Fan said with a solemn and earnest expression.
Of course, he was actually just putting on an act!
He had to project that he was impervious to feminine charm so that the other party would let him leave.
The moment he showed even a sliver of lust, the other party would surely find a way to pin him down and drain his primordial yang!
He had to hold back!
"I never would have guessed there would be such an upright kid in the Shushan Sword Sect."
"Hehe, interesting."
"Remember, from now on, don't call me maiden; call me Hongqi."
Meng Fan nodded. "Very well, Miss Hongqi!"
Hongqi rolled her eyes at Meng Fan and waved a hand.
Her long red sleeve swept past his eyes, and Meng Fan's vision returned to normal.
The illusion dissolved, and he was back on the first floor of the Sword Pavilion, standing before the wooden racks.
Before him rested a long sword emanating a faint red glow.
Inside his room, Senior Brother Luo, who had been meditating with closed eyes, opened them at that moment, a trace of a smile touching the corner of his mouth.
"This kid has quite astonishing mental fortitude; he actually came out completely unscathed."
"Much better than the previous fellow; he should last an extra two months."
"Not bad!"
Meanwhile, Meng Fan, who had just been praised by Senior Brother Luo, was staring at the long sword before him emitting a faint red glow.
Unable to restrain himself for a moment, he placed his hand right upon it!
Placing his hand on this long sword for an instant, information regarding the sword surfaced in Meng Fan's mind.
【Sword name: Hongqi.】
【Weight: six jin and seven liang, length: one chi, nine cun and nine fen.】
【Forged from mysterious dark iron, smelted with extreme yang fire for ten days and ten nights, hammered a thousand times with the wild-fluttering forging technique, and consecrated with the heart's blood of a young maiden. Sword complete!】
Consecrated with the heart's blood of a young maiden?
Upon reading the description of the Hongqi Sword, Meng Fan frowned.
This was sorcery!
Using living humans to consecrate a sword and take human lives was utterly devoid of conscience.
Meng Fan faintly sensed that the young maiden who had been sacrificed to the sword might well be the woman in red he had just encountered—Hongqi.
No wonder her name was Hongqi, and the sword was also called Hongqi.
What a pitiful woman!
"Sigh..." Meng Fan let out a long sigh.
He drew the Hongqi Sword, and just as before, a wisp of breath surged into his body, traveled through his meridians, and finally converged into his dantian.
Three times in a row, every time he drew a sword, a special breath poured into Meng Fan's dantian.
Who knew what ghost of a breath this was!
The previous Baiyu wooden sword had possessed a violent murderous aura that burst forth.
Yet the Hongqi Sword, which looked so brimming with evil aura, released no murderous aura toward Meng Fan at all.
This surprised Meng Fan somewhat.
Could it be because he had gotten somewhat familiar with Hongqi just now, so she wasn't giving him a hard time?
This...
When the Baiyu Sword's murderous aura had surged toward him, his Sword Dao talent activated, transforming the murderous aura into a unique memory that allowed him to master the Flying Feather Sword Art and Startled Swan Footwork.
Now that the Hongqi Sword leaked no murderous aura, it failed to trigger his Sword Dao talent, leaving him with no gains whatsoever!
Yet this wasn't necessarily a bad thing; after all, the Hongqi Sword was a Spiritual Sword and far too terrifying.
Whether his Sword Dao talent could handle the murderous aura of the Hongqi Sword was really anyone's guess.
Though his talent was formidable, Meng Fan himself was far too weak.
Meng Fan placed the Hongqi Sword back on the wooden rack and proceeded to wipe other long swords.
He planned to finish wiping twenty long swords before taking a rest.
This was his established quota!
Next, he wiped seventeen more swords, none of which produced any murderous aura.
The vast majority of the swords on the first floor of the Sword Pavilion were newly forged weapons.
Swords that had tasted blood and harbored murderous aura were, after all, a minority!
Moreover, Meng Fan was cautious and deliberately avoided weapons that looked overtly dangerous.
Though he encountered no more murderous qi, every time he drew one of the twenty long swords he wiped, a wisp of breath flowed into his body. He had no idea what that breath was.
Still, it was bound to be a blessing rather than a curse!
When he was done, Meng Fan returned to his room to rest.
Early the next morning, he picked up the Baiyu Sword from the wooden racks on the first floor of the Sword Pavilion and began practicing his swordsmanship.
"Flying Feather Sword Art"
This was the only sword technique Meng Fan had mastered, and he had learned it just yesterday.
He had to admit, Meng Fan's original body was truly useless.
Having been in the Shushan Sword Sect for so long without mastering even a single sword technique!
A miscellaneous-grade spiritual root—he was a genuine piece of trash.
The Flying Feather Sword Art shared its name with the Baiyu Sword and was indeed best suited to be executed with it.
Yesterday, within the memories of the Baiyu Sword, Meng Fan had seen a woman dancing with her sword. Evidently, after obtaining the Baiyu Sword, that woman had created a set of sword techniques tailored to it and named it the "Flying Feather Sword Art."
This sword technique could not be considered profound.
However, since Meng Fan's cultivation level was extremely low, it was precisely suited for practicing low-level sword techniques and getting started in swordsmanship!
Senior Brother Luo opened his door, walked out, and spotted Meng Fan practicing his sword.
"You brat, although your cultivation is microscopic, this set of sword techniques is executed quite decently. Looks like you've put in plenty of effort and practiced for many years, haven't you?" Senior Brother Luo casually offered a word of praise.
Meng Fan smiled shyly, neither confirming nor denying.
Naturally, he wasn't going to say that this set of sword techniques had only been learned yesterday!
The supreme talent of Sword Dao directly allowed him to reach the stage of proficiency the moment he came into contact with it, and even optimized the technique.
"I need to go out today to run some errands and purchase a few things. The first floor of the Sword Pavilion is left in your charge. I explained all the rules and regulations to you clearly yesterday," Senior Brother Luo told Meng Fan.
"Understood, Senior Brother Luo," Meng Fan replied.
After Senior Brother Luo left, Meng Fan was the only person left in the vast, empty first floor of the Sword Pavilion.
To tell the truth, it really did feel somewhat chilly.
He glanced at the stairs leading from the first floor to the second floor of the Sword Pavilion, and shook his head with a bitter smile.
Although Senior Brother Luo had not forbidden him from setting foot on the second floor, his reason told him it was better not to go up there.
Danger lurked everywhere in the Sword Pavilion; the first floor alone was fraught with peril for him, let alone the second.
If he so much as stepped onto the second floor, he might end up a corpse.
Meng Fan continued wiping the long swords, intending to finish his quota of twenty swords for the day.
When he made contact with the eighth long sword, a wave of murderous aura surged toward him.
【Sword name: Baiye.】
【Weight: nine jin and three liang, length: two chi, three cun and three fen.】
【Forged from profound iron, smelted in mortal fire for ten days and ten nights, hammered nine hundred times with an iron mallet.】
【A mortal sword, yet it has tasted the blood of three thousand six hundred and fifteen people, possessing the potential to become a demonic sword.】
This was an ordinary sword, yet it had killed over thirty-six hundred people!
It proved that while the sword itself was mortal, its previous owner was certainly no ordinary mortal.
Having drunk the blood of so many, the murderous aura contained within this sword was truly astonishing.
Meng Fan's expression shifted, turning grave in the extreme.
The sword's murderous aura surged into his body, causing his face to instantly turn pale.
If any other miscellaneous-chore disciple had been in his place, they would likely have perished on the spot under the impact of that murderous aura.
Chore disciples were far too weak; coming to the Sword Pavilion was purely courting death!
Even outer sect disciples serving as sword guards faced a nine-in-ten chance of death here.
Sword Dao talent, activate!
Instantly, the murderous aura that had rushed into Meng Fan's body was refined.
At the same time, an image appeared in Meng Fan's mind.
A ragged young beggar leaned on a sword, looking coldly at a group of beggars ahead.
"Ni Feng, if you want to beg in this territory, you have to work under me. I'll give you a chance: crawl between my legs, and I'll allow you to beg here!"
Among the group of beggars, a ringleader spoke to the youth.
The youth raised his head, staring coldly back at him.