Yet in terms of appearance, much like her [Sword Dao Master] talent, across the entire Shushan Sword Sect, there wasn't a single person who could rival her.
Therefore, Liu Yanping's earlier remark about keeping him as a kept man gave Meng Fan every reason to suspect that this young lady had designs on his body!
"Miss, please have some self-respect!" Meng Fan said with a completely serious expression.
Liu Yanping was stunned for a moment, failing to grasp what Meng Fan meant by those words, finding them somewhat inexplicable.
A few seconds later, her little face suddenly flushed red as she understood the misunderstanding in Meng Fan's words.
She immediately raged, "Have some self-respect your head! Take my sword!"
With that, she brandished her wooden sword and slashed at Meng Fan.
Meng Fan shook his head helplessly. Why was she flying into a rage out of shame?
He raised his sword to parry, deflecting Liu Yanping's wooden sword.
Neither Meng Fan nor Liu Yanping used any True Qi.
Especially in Liu Yanping's view, Meng Fan was merely at the 1st Layer of Qi Refinement, a far too vast gap between them.
If she were to use True Qi, it would simply be bullying, so her spar with Meng Fan was purely a test of swordsmanship.
And to a pure test of swordsmanship itself, Meng Fan was naturally completely unfazed.
Chapter 17: Caught in the Crossfire While Lying Down
As for the Blue Sea Tide-Rising Sword Technique, although Meng Fan had only watched Liu Yanping practice it a few times yesterday, he had already completely mastered it by now.
Especially after returning to the Sword Pavilion yesterday, in order to create his Myriad Swords Return to Sect, he had deduced and perfected various sword techniques countless times, and the Blue Sea Tide-Rising Sword was among them.
Liu Yanping struck three times in succession.
The first strike was deflected by Meng Fan.
The second strike was evaded by Meng Fan.
The third strike was met squarely on the blade by Meng Fan's sword.
This inevitably filled Liu Yanping with intense anger, her competitive spirit bursting forth.
The fourth, fifth, and sixth strikes grew faster and fiercer with each pass.
These were the sword techniques she had optimized after returning yesterday, following Meng Fan's hints.
Yet three moves down, Meng Fan met every move with a counter, blocking them effortlessly.
Refusing to give up, Liu Yanping continued with the seventh and eighth strikes.
The Blue Sea Tide-Rising Sword had a total of eight moves.
On the seventh strike, the tip of her sword was precisely met and held 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 slipped from Liu Yanping's grasp 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-Rising Sword, confident that her swordsmanship had improved vastly compared to before.
Yet now, when competing in swordsmanship, she was directly thrashed by Meng Fan!
She was an inner disciple, yet she was thoroughly thrashed by a newly arrived outer disciple. How could she not question her life?
Although she didn't recognize Meng Fan, she could tell that his cultivation was only at the 1st Layer of Qi Refinement.
The 1st Layer of Qi Refinement naturally meant he had only recently become an outer disciple.
"Miss..."
"Miss, what miss? Call me Senior Sister Liu!" Liu Yanping said in exasperation.
Having been crushed in swordsmanship by Meng Fan, she subconsciously wanted to win back face elsewhere.
She was an inner disciple while Meng Fan was an outer 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.
If she wanted to be called that, so be it. Calling her senior sister didn't cost him anything, and besides, there were Spirit Stones to be earned.
"Senior Sister Liu, although this sword technique of yours has improved compared to yesterday and made up for some flaws, it is still not fully perfected.
For instance, in this form, your footwork should be a bit slower, while the sword in your hand should be a bit faster.
And for the second form..."
The other party was going to pay with Spirit Stones, after all, and Meng Fan felt he should be a bit more responsible, at least making her Spirit Stones well spent.
Therefore, he earnestly pointed out the loopholes in Liu Yanping's recent swordsmanship and smoothly offered optimization methods.
Liu Yanping had been unconvinced at first, but as she listened on, she gradually felt that what Meng Fan said made a lot of sense.
Involuntarily, she listened with growing earnestness, occasionally even asking for guidance out of instinct when encountering parts she didn't understand.
Some people in the Sword Comprehension Hall who witnessed this scene wore faces full of astonishment.
Who Meng Fan was, they did not know, but they could tell this brat was merely a rookie at the 1st Layer of Qi Refinement.
As for who Liu Yanping was, her reputation resounded like thunder in their ears.
She was a notoriously wealthy little junior sister among the inner disciples, and the deeply cherished granddaughter of Elder Liu from the Pill-Refining Hall.
Most importantly, this Liu Yanping's cultivation had already reached the 9th Layer of Qi Refinement, just a step away from stepping into the True Martial Realm.
A martial artist at the 9th Layer of Qi Refinement was actually humbly listening to the guidance of someone at the 1st Layer of Qi Refinement.
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 the attire of an inner disciple, clearly an inner disciple himself.
Meng Fan rolled his eyes internally, but he didn't actively retort.
As for inner disciples, he preferred 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 disciples.
Outside, however, he still needed to keep a low profile.
Truth be told, to speak the absolute truth, he really wasn't a match for an inner disciple right now.
Unless he hardened his heart and unleashed the seed of the Taishang Emotion-Severing Sword Intent, but that trick could only be used once, and Meng Fan was far too reluctant to waste it casually!
"Ye Feng? Do you take me for a fool who would be tricked by an outer disciple at the 1st Layer of Qi Refinement?" Liu Yanping glanced at Ye Feng and sneered.
This inner disciple named Ye Feng instantly looked rather awkward.
He had only meant it out of kind concern, yet Liu Yanping's attitude toward him was exceptionally harsh.
"Senior Sister Liu, I was only concerned about you. Why do you hold such deep malice toward me?" Ye Feng looked helpless.
Liu Yanping looked coldly at Ye Feng.
"Why do I hold malice toward you? Don't you know well enough in your heart?
I always regarded you as my best buddy, drinking together 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 anyway. What were you going to do if Senior Brother Nie misunderstood?
I've already made it very clear to you: I don't like you, and I hope you'll keep your distance from me in the future!"
Hearing Liu Yanping's words, Meng Fan, standing to the side, stared dumbfounded at the two of them.
This plot sounded thoroughly entertaining!
It had the distinct vibe of a green tea bitch paired with a friend-zoned backup boy.
"Can't we even remain friends if we cannot become cultivation partners?" Ye Feng said helplessly, appearing extremely humble.
"If I remain friends with you, I'm afraid Senior Brother Nie might misunderstand!" Liu Yanping's words were exceptionally cold and merciless.
Meng Fan couldn't help casting a sympathetic look toward Ye Feng.
Originally, because Ye Feng had come up accusing him of being a liar, Meng Fan had assumed he was looking for trouble and naturally felt no goodwill toward him.
Yet now, his annoyance instantly morphed into pity.
Ye Feng looked at Liu Yanping with melancholic eyes and struggled, "But Senior Brother Nie doesn't like you at all. Why must you give me up for his sake?"
Liu Yanping retorted speechlessly, "Ye Feng, don't you understand yet? Even without Senior Brother Nie, I still wouldn't like you."
Meng Fan nodded to himself nearby. Such a prompt and decisive rejection meant he had misunderstood her just moments ago.
Describing this Liu Yanping as a green tea bitch was clearly a biased oversimplification!
A green tea bitch would neither agree nor explicitly refuse, keeping others on a string.
"Sigh..." Ye Feng let out a helpless, prolonged sigh. "Alright, then I'll leave."
Just as he turned to leave, however, he heard Liu Yanping's voice ring out.
"Wait a minute!"
He turned around excitedly, looking back at Liu Yanping.
Calling him back—could it be that she had changed her mind?
"Apologize!" Liu Yanping looked 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 seeds only to find the gossip was about himself.
To demand an apology from Ye Feng at a time like this—wasn't that a bit too cruel?
Even Meng Fan, the wronged party, felt a twinge 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 a change of heart, instantly saw his hopes 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 conned by someone," Ye Feng looked at Liu Yanping, his breathing turning somewhat ragged.
"Then you also wronged an innocent person. You should apologize," Liu Yanping said relentlessly.
Even Meng Fan felt Liu Yanping was going a bit too far and quickly persuaded her, "Senior Sister Liu, I'm fine. Stop making things difficult for this senior brother."
As he spoke, why did he suddenly feel like he was acting all scheming and manipulative?
Meng Fan gave a wry smile, banishing these messy thoughts from his mind.
Ye Feng glanced at Liu Yanping, then looked at Meng Fan.
His gaze toward Liu Yanping was filled with swirling tenderness, underlying heartbreak, and a trace of helplessness.
As for his gaze toward Meng Fan, it was brimful of hostility and anger.
Meng Fan...
Well, caught in the crossfire while simply lying down?
Chapter 18: Wealthy Benefactress, Let's Be Friends
"If you want me to apologize, fine, but you have to prove first that he isn't a swindler." Ye Feng was truly angry.
"How am I supposed to prove it?" Liu Yanping glared at Ye Feng.
"Simple. Since he can guide your swordsmanship, he can guide mine too. After all, my strength is still inferior to yours." Ye Feng glanced sideways at Meng Fan.
His gaze was filled with utter disdain.
That made Meng Fan somewhat displeased.
The one who angered you is Liu Yanping; why are you targeting me?
Sure, a stray, abandoned dog was pitiful, but it couldn't just bite people indiscriminately!
Under these circumstances, even the most pitiful creature would get beaten to death!
Liu Yanping looked at Ye Feng and said, "Fine, but no True Qi is allowed. We restrict ourselves purely to a spar of swordsmanship."
She had great confidence in Meng Fan's swordsmanship; since this fellow could crush her in sword skills, 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 use True Qi when sparring in swordsmanship with an outer disciple at the 1st Layer of Qi Refinement, I'd have no face left to show in the Shushan Sword Sect!"
Hearing Ye Feng's words, a smile appeared on Liu Yanping's face.
Putting everything else aside, if it came to a pure test of swordsmanship, Meng Fan could teach Ye Feng a lesson using only the Blue Sea Tide-Rising Sword. In this she had absolute confidence.
Moreover, she suspected that Meng Fan still held other trump-card sword techniques in reserve.
"Hey, hey, hey! When you two quarrel, can you leave me out of it? This has nothing to do with me!" Meng Fan said somewhat helplessly to Liu Yanping and Ye Feng.
Liu Yanping rolled her eyes, glared at Meng Fan, and demanded, "How can you say it has nothing to do with you? He wronged you, don't you want to prove yourself?"
"I don't want to prove anything. I only agreed to spar in swordsmanship with you; I never agreed to spar with him."
Hearing Meng Fan's spineless words, Liu Yanping instantly felt displeased.
She had boasted grandly in front of Ye Feng; if Meng Fan avoided the fight, wouldn't that make her lose face in front of Ye Feng?
"The hour isn't up yet. You don't have to spar with me right now, just spar with him instead!" Liu Yanping told Meng Fan.
"No way. One thing is one thing, you can't just mess around like this," Meng Fan said with a serious expression.
"Then what on earth do you want?" Liu Yanping asked, exasperated, glaring fiercely at Meng Fan.
Meng Fan glanced at Ye Feng, then looked back at Liu Yanping, and finally slowly spat out three words:
"It costs extra!"
Hearing those three words from Meng Fan, Liu Yanping was so angry she laughed.
Just that?
Trying to talk money with her, the number one little rich girl of the inner sect?
Was he looking down on her?
Any problem that could be solved with money wasn't a problem at all!
With a grand wave of her hand, Liu Yanping declared with magnificent audacity, "Beat him, and I'll give you ten Spirit Stones!!!"
Meng Fan's eyes lit up, and his heartbeat began to quicken.
"Is that true?"
Ten Spirit Stones?
This was a huge fortune, and for her to pull it out so casually made Meng Fan slightly suspicious.
Seeing Meng Fan's skeptical expression, completely disbelieving her, Liu Yanping grew furious.
She immediately fished out ten Spirit Stones, tossed them onto the ground, and raged: "As long as you win, these are yours! What a spineless fellow, it's just ten Spirit Stones, how dare you doubt this young lady?!"
Meng Fan swallowed hard, his gaze burning with intensity.
Only then did he realize that this girl was an outright wealthy benefactress!
Especially since these ten Spirit Stones had appeared out of nowhere, making him suspect the girl possessed a storage-type magical treasure.
Just how... obscenely rich was she?
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 long since grown impatient; a belly full of fire was burning inside him, and he 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 actually carried a genuine sharp sword; relying on the sharpness of his weapon, a single strike from him could snap Meng Fan's wooden sword in two.
Ye Feng did not refuse Liu Yanping's request.
He caught the wooden sword and lunged at Meng Fan with a thrust.
As soon as he struck, he unleashed the killer move of the Bright Moon Sword Technique—[Bright Moon Illuminates the Great River].
This thrust was fast, accurate, and fierce, aiming straight for Meng Fan's chest.
In truth, the most appropriate target for this thrust was the throat!
Yet even with a wooden sword, striking the throat could still be fatal, so Ye Feng held back slightly, redirecting his strike toward Meng Fan's chest.
Meng Fan shook his head.
With a single glance, he saw the flaws in Ye Feng's sword stroke.
To be competing in swordsmanship against him and still thinking about holding back—
That was like playing chess and expecting your opponent to hand you a handicap of several pieces!
Was the man eager to die quickly?
Meng Fan didn't know the name of Ye Feng's sword technique, but having watched Ye Feng practice earlier, he had already learned it silently.
Facing Ye Feng's sword 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 Ye Feng's, yet it held subtle variations.
The greatest variation was reaching the target first despite starting later.
Ye Feng stared dumbfounded at Meng Fan's sword strike; he never expected Meng Fan to know the Bright Moon Sword Technique as well.
Moreover, the Bright Moon Sword Technique executed by the other party was vaguely smoother than his own!
Most importantly, the other party's sword was aiming straight for his throat.
While his own sword was aiming at the other party's chest.
On this single point alone, he had already lost!
He had to retract his sword; otherwise, even if his sword pierced the other party's chest, the other party's sword would pierce his throat first.
In that scenario, the opponent might sustain some injuries, but he himself would likely die!
"I lost." Ye Feng stopped, withdrew his sword, and spoke with a hint of dejection.
To tell the truth, Liu Yanping, standing nearby, also looked at Meng Fan with a measure of astonishment.
She often 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.
An identical sword form, yet it broke the opponent's sword form.
This was utterly 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 tacit coordination at the moment.
Ye Feng was more or less alright, but Liu Yanping was genuinely stunned.
This fellow not only knew the Blue Sea Tide-Rising Sword, he also knew the Bright Moon Sword Technique!
Was there any sword technique he didn't know?
How could an outer disciple at the 1st Layer of Qi Refinement be capable of practicing so many sword techniques?
Most crucially, he had practiced 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 entirely justified.
"Um, when he was practicing his sword just now, I watched, so I picked up a bit," Meng Fan said with a somewhat embarrassed expression.
Before Ye Feng could speak, Liu Yanping burst out with a coarse remark in a fit of rage:
"My foot!"
Chapter 19: Choose Any Sword Technique You Like at the 1st Layer
Liu Yanping would believe that if she believed in ghosts!
Meng Fan had said the exact same thing to her yesterday.
If someone could master a sword technique simply by watching others practice it twice, what use would sword manuals even be?
This Meng Fan was simply detestable, treating them like fools and toying with them.
Meng Fan felt thoroughly helpless.
Most of the time, when you spoke the truth, no one was willing to believe it.
Faced with Meng Fan's answer, Ye Feng didn't fly into a rage the way Liu Yanping did.
This fellow was a man of few words and vicious actions; without a word, he struck out with his sword once more, thrusting straight at Meng Fan's throat.
He had held back earlier, and that strike had contained obvious flaws, which was why he refused to accept defeat!
This time, he struck with all his might, holding back not a single shred.
Meng Fan's eyes narrowed. Seeing Ye Feng attack, he similarly thrust out his sword to meet it.
The two of them were still using the Bright Moon Sword Technique—Bright Moon Illuminates the Great River!
The result...
Was identical to before.
Meng Fan once again struck first despite starting later. By the time his sword tip 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 was a gulf as vast as heaven and earth, let alone two inches.
This was total suppression!
"I lost, I am utterly convinced." Ye Feng dropped the wooden sword in his hand and closed his eyes.
To tell the truth, it was genuinely humiliating.
An inner disciple at the 8th Layer of Qi Refinement had actually lost to an outer disciple at the 1st Layer of Qi Refinement.
Even though it was purely a test of swordsmanship and didn't represent true combat strength, he still felt it was intensely shameful.
"In this particular form, when you thrust your sword, you should step out with your right foot first. At the same time, your arm was raised too high; it should be lowered by half an inch. If you can correct these two issues, you should be able to press your sword against your opponent's throat at the exact same time as I do!"
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 at ease taking them.
Hearing Meng Fan's words, Ye Feng, who had been keeping his eyes closed, abruptly snapped them open.
A faint flash of brilliant light lingered in his gaze.
He brandished his sword and gestured a couple of times, then a hint of pleasant surprise appeared on his face.
Trying it out according to Meng Fan's instructions, he felt that this sword move had indeed become much smoother.