"Thank you! I was wrong just now, and I apologize to you."
This time, he was truly and utterly convinced. Although Meng Fan was only an outer sect disciple at the 1st Layer of Qi Refinement, he had already surpassed him in swordsmanship. At the very least, he had bested him in the Moonlit Sword Art!
"No need for thanks. 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 stormed out of the Sword Enlightenment Hall.
Meng Fan watched this scene, somewhat surprised. What was going on here? Had love turned into hatred? Meng Fan shook his head, choosing not to dwell on it. It had nothing to do with him anyway.
"Thank you, Senior Sister Liu, for the gift of the Spirit Stones," Meng Fan turned and thanked her. This was a sincere thank you; ten Spirit Stones! What kind of concept was that? Going by the allowance provided by the Shushan Sword Sect, this could cover his expenses for three months!
"Just how many sword arts are you proficient in?" Liu Yanping looked at Meng Fan with a sense of disbelief. The *Azure Sea Tide Sword* had been enough to overwhelm her, and the *Moonlit Sword Art* had crushed Ye Feng. If not for his low cultivation base, this guy would have had a real shot at becoming a core disciple.
"Senior Sister Liu, actually, I really only watched you practice those sword arts a few times. I wouldn't call it proficiency, just a cursory understanding," Meng Fan said, looking rather bashful and shy.
A cursory understanding? If that’s the case, what does that make me—a waste? Liu Yanping glared at Meng Fan and prepared to leave the Sword Enlightenment Hall.
Meng Fan hurriedly stopped her. "Senior Sister Liu, are you leaving already?"
"If I don't leave, should I stay here and be provoked by you?" Liu Yanping snapped.
"Well, Senior Sister Liu, we agreed that I would accompany you for a sparring session for the price of one Spirit Stone. About that..."
Liu Yanping immediately flew into a rage! This money-grubber! She tossed a Spirit Stone at him and turned to leave.
Meng Fan put the Spirit Stone away and glanced around vigilantly. After a moment's hesitation, he also left the Sword Enlightenment Hall. Carrying such a massive fortune, he didn't dare to wander around outside. He couldn't help it—having never seen the world, he was just that humble.
He went to the Pill Pavilion, spent five Spirit Stones on fifty Qi Gathering Pills, and another three on thirty Body Tempering Pills. With the remaining three, he planned to return them to Senior Brother Luo.
Pocketing the seventy Qi Gathering Pills and forty Body Tempering Pills, Meng Fan excitedly returned to the Sword Pavilion. When he returned the three Spirit Stones to Senior Brother Luo, the senior brother looked surprised.
"You kid, didn't I tell you I was lending them to you? Are you too embarrassed to use them?"
Meng Fan told Senior Brother Luo about Liu Yanping giving him the Spirit Stones. Of course, he "beautified" the process slightly; he didn't mention that his swordsmanship had crushed Liu Yanping and Ye Feng, only that he had accompanied them in practice.
Senior Brother Luo didn't press for details, as he knew what kind of person Liu Yanping was. "It’s great to be young. If I had your face, I wouldn't be living such a miserable life!"
Senior Brother Luo assumed that Liu Yanping had sought out Meng Fan for practice because she was attracted to his looks. After all, one had to admit, Meng Fan was incredibly handsome—the best-looking person he had ever seen in the Shushan Sword Sect. Thinking about it, it really was a waste of talent for someone with such a face to be a sword-guarding disciple in the Sword Pavilion. He could clearly make a living on his looks alone!
"Alright, if you can cling to Liu Yanping's coattails, you certainly don't need my measly Spirit Stones," Senior Brother Luo said with a wry smile as he took them back.
"Senior Brother Luo, do you know Liu Yanping?" Meng Fan asked curiously.
"Liu Yanping is the pampered granddaughter of Elder Liu from the Pill Hall. She’s a well-known little rich girl in the Shushan Sword Sect."
Hearing this, Meng Fan was filled with surprise. "This Senior Sister Liu has such a powerful background?"
Senior Brother Luo laughed. "Yes, she really is that powerful. If you can keep her happy, you won't have to worry about a lack of Spirit Stones in the future."
Meng Fan immediately replied righteously, "Senior Brother Luo, you’ve misunderstood! I am not that kind of person!"
...
After a meal, Meng Fan looked at the countless longswords on the first floor of the Sword Pavilion and remembered a question. "Senior Brother Luo, the top fifty outer sect disciples are allowed to take a sword from the Sword Pavilion. Since I am neither a chores disciple nor an outer sect disciple, but a sword-guarding disciple of the Sword Pavilion, can I take a sword?"
Senior Brother Luo laughed immediately. "Of course you can! You're no worse than those top fifty outer sect disciples! Besides, if our own sword-guarding disciple can't even take a sword, that wouldn't make any sense, would it? Take your pick from the first floor. If you break it, you don't have to pay for it; just swap it for another. You don't even need to submit Spirit Stones. Once you reach the True Martial Realm, you can even take your pick from the second floor!"
Hearing this, joy appeared on Meng Fan's face. He began to wander the first floor, preparing to choose a personal sword of his own.
***
Seeing that Meng Fan was choosing a sword, Senior Brother Luo returned to his room without disturbing him. He didn't pretend to be mysterious or offer suggestions on what to pick. Meng Fan had been in the Sword Pavilion for quite some time now, and he was far more outstanding than he had initially thought; he believed Meng Fan would be able to choose the sword most suitable for himself.
In fact, that was exactly the case. Meng Fan could even pick the perfect swords for others, let alone for himself. He searched carefully; after all, this was a sword he would use personally, so he took it very seriously.
In truth, there were three swords most suitable for Meng Fan:
[White Night], the former sword of the God Marquis of Eternal Night, from which Meng Fan learned the Extreme Sword-Drawing Technique.
[Black Wind], the former sword of the Wuji Sword Sect Master Li Qingyun, from which Meng Fan obtained the seed of the Taishang Emotion-Severing Sword Intent.
[Copper Mountain], whose owner was unknown; Meng Fan had witnessed the Sword Momentum in the memory of this sword, allowing him to master a sword move of his own—"Mountain Splitter."
Choosing White Night would make the Extreme Sword-Drawing Technique even more effortless. Choosing Black Wind didn't seem to hold much significance, as Meng Fan had no intention of practicing the Taishang Emotion-Severing Sword. As for Copper Mountain, it was even more suitable for his "Mountain Splitter" move.
Thinking this through, he could discard Black Wind. Should he choose between White Night and Copper Mountain? After much deliberation, Meng Fan finally chose Copper Mountain. For the current Meng Fan, the utility of the "Mountain Splitter" move was the greatest. At least for now, the Copper Mountain sword was the most suitable for him.
Meng Fan took the Copper Mountain sword and returned to his room to begin his cultivation. With the Qi Gathering Pills and the coordination of the Sword Qi in his body, his cultivation speed was like riding a rocket. At this rate, in four or five days, he would be able to break through to the 2nd Layer of Qi Refinement.
Early the next morning, before dawn, Meng Fan stopped his practice because the Sword Qi in his body was exhausted. Although Qi Gathering Pills could increase his cultivation speed, only by combining them with the Sword Qi could he experience the thrill of "rocket-speed" progress.
When Meng Fan finished meditating and stepped down from his bed, he saw a scene that stunned him. The Copper Mountain sword he had left on the table last night was now broken in two.
This... he was greatly surprised. Who would come to his room in the middle of the night to attack his sword? It would be understandable if they attacked him, but to sneak into his room unnoticed just to strike at a sword—that was too outrageous!
Meng Fan hadn't slept at all last night. Although his eyes were closed during meditation, he surely would have sensed it if there had been any movement in the room. This could only mean the "culprit" was terrifyingly powerful, to the point that Meng Fan had sensed nothing at all.
Just as Meng Fan turned his head unintentionally, he saw that there was an extra sword on his bed: [Hongqi].
Meng Fan was very familiar with this sword. It had left a deep impression; it had almost sucked away his Yang energy before. A bizarre thought occurred to him, and he felt it was likely to be true. The thought was... the one who destroyed the Copper Mountain sword was the Hongqi Sword itself.
How absurd! The Copper Mountain sword had always been perfectly fine in the Sword Pavilion, but the moment he chose it as his personal sword, it suffered a murderous fate at the hands of the Hongqi Sword. This sword was clearly out to get him!
Meng Fan looked helplessly at the Hongqi Sword and said, "If you have some dissatisfaction, just come at me directly. Why take it out on an innocent sword?" He wasn't crazy; he knew the Hongqi Sword was a Spiritual Sword and could understand him.
The Hongqi Sword floated up automatically 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 Hongqi Sword destroyed the Copper Mountain sword out of jealousy? But what virtue did he possess to be favored by a Spiritual Sword?
Just as Meng Fan felt his speculation was too absurd to believe, a red light suddenly radiated from the sword, condensing into a phantom—the phantom of a girl in a red dress.
The girl, Hongqi, looked at Meng Fan and smiled. "The Copper Mountain sword is nothing but a piece of scrap iron; how could it be worthy of you? From today on, I will follow you!"
A Spiritual Sword wanted to follow him? This happiness was too sudden! Meng Fan was truly incredulous. "You want to follow me? I am just a 1st Layer of Qi Refinement sword-guarding disciple, not even as good as many outer sect disciples. Why would you want to follow me?"
To be honest, Hongqi’s high opinion of Meng Fan caught him off guard.
A hint of a curve appeared at the corner of Hongqi’s mouth, a mysterious and inscrutable smile that made it seem as if she could see right through him. She chuckled. "You have secrets. You might hide them from Old Luo, but you can't hide them from me!"
"What secrets do I have?" Meng Fan asked with a guilty conscience. This Hongqi Sword was mysterious. Given her demeanor, she must have been spying on him recently and might have truly discovered his secrets. Thinking of this, Meng Fan felt a bit nervous. But then he thought, she was just a sword—what was there to be nervous about? And if she valued him and wanted to follow him, that was a good thing, not a plot to harm him!
"Ever since you escaped from me unscathed last time, I have been observing you. You seem honest, but you are actually quite cunning. Every time you wipe a sword, you steal a sliver of its Sword Essence—or rather, the origin of the sword. This is something humans simply cannot detect; only a sword spirit like me could discover your little tricks."
Meng Fan raised an eyebrow. The secret Hongqi discovered was that he absorbed Sword Qi from the swords? For him, that was indeed a significant secret!
Meng Fan said calmly, "What of it? It’s just normal cultivation. The 'sword origin' you speak of doesn't belong to anyone; how can you say I stole it?" That was taking, not stealing! If he stood there and took a breath, she couldn't accuse him of stealing air, could she?
"That's not important. Anyway, I have no intention of exposing you or causing you any trouble," Hongqi said casually.
"Then what do you want?" Meng Fan asked.
"Didn't I just say? I intend to follow you."
"Why?"
"Because you have a future. You're a stock with potential!"
Hearing Hongqi’s words, Meng Fan couldn't help but smile bitterly. "You believe in me that much?"
"Of course. Although you seem ordinary, your comprehension of the Sword Dao is monstrous. Don't think I don't know that you learn sword arts almost instantly upon seeing them once. In the entire Shushan Sword Sect, there is no disciple as monstrous as you!"
Meng Fan shook his head. "But in the end, I am only a disciple with an Inferior Spiritual Root."
***
Hongqi’s mouth twitched, and a smile appeared on her face. "You absorb the essence of the sword every day. Although it’s all consumed by your cultivation, your physique is being tempered every time you absorb it. Over time, your physique will undergo a transformation and eventually become an Innate Sword Body. At that point, who will care about an Inferior Spiritual Root?"
Innate Sword Body? Hearing this term, surprise appeared on Meng Fan's face. He had never heard of an Innate Sword Body before, but it sounded very powerful.
"What is an Innate Sword Body?" Meng Fan asked curiously.
"A person's aptitude is not just about Spiritual Roots; there is also physique. [Spiritual Root] represents your talent for cultivation. With a Top-tier Spiritual Root, your cultivation speed is a hundred times—or even more—that of an Inferior Spiritual Root! [Physique] represents the strength of your power. For example, someone with a God-tier physique at the 1st Layer of True Martial might be able to kill a 9th Layer of True Martial warrior who has no physique! If you can cultivate an Innate Sword Body, you can, in a sense, compensate for your lack of Spiritual Root. While your cultivation speed might not match those with High-tier or Top-tier roots, you can defeat them by leaping over levels!"
Hearing Hongqi’s words, Meng Fan was surprised. This was information he had never been exposed to before. For him, this was truly good news! But when it came down to it, all of this was brought to him by [Sword Dao Apotheosis].
"What you’re talking about is just a possibility. I might not necessarily achieve an Innate Sword Body," Meng Fan said to Hongqi.
Hongqi said calmly, "Even if it's just a possibility, it's enough for me to follow you. After all, others don't even have that possibility!"
Meng Fan nodded. That made sense; there was no problem with that logic. He thought for a moment and asked, "If you take the initiative to follow me, you must have a motive. What is it you want?" Some things had to be clarified, or Meng Fan couldn't rest easy. After all, Hongqi was too powerful—this sword could threaten his life!
"You don't need to be so wary of me. 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 be practical."
Hongqi sighed, then said earnestly, "I follow you because I hope you can avenge me in the future!"
Avenge? Meng Fan frowned. He remembered the information he had received upon his first contact with the Hongqi Sword: [Sacrificed to the sword with the heart-blood of a young girl]. Sacrificing a living person to a sword was truly heinous! The Hongqi before him now—the sword spirit of the Hongqi Sword—must have been that girl. She should have been a girl in the prime of her youth, innocent and enjoying life. Instead, she was sacrificed, becoming a sword spirit trapped within the sword, living a fate worse than death!
Thinking of this, Meng Fan couldn't help but feel sympathy for Hongqi. "How long has this Hongqi Sword been 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 hung open, and she stared at Meng Fan in disbelief, unable to speak. After a while, she regained her composure and controlled her shock. "Why would you ask that? What do you know?"
Meng Fan sighed. "This Hongqi Sword was forged using evil arts, sacrificing a living person to create a Spiritual Sword. If I’m not mistaken, you are that girl who was sacrificed. And your enemy is the swordsmith of the Hongqi Sword!"
"How did you know?" Upon hearing Meng Fan’s words, Hongqi frowned deeply.
"I just recognized the forging method of this sword; the rest was just following the logic of the situation," Meng Fan said casually.
Hongqi was surprised. "You understand sword casting too?"
Meng Fan shook his head. "I don't know how to forge, but theoretically, I know a thing or two. I can recognize some of the techniques."
"The secrets you carry are truly frightening. I thought that after observing you for these past days, I understood you, but I didn't expect you to have so many more secrets!"
Meng Fan smiled without explaining. "Since you’ve been open with me, I’ll give you an answer, too: as long as you follow me sincerely, I can help you get your revenge."
Hongqi frowned. "You don't even ask who my enemy is, or what their cultivation level is?"
"Clang!" A sword hummed.
Meng Fan drew the Hongqi Sword, and a cold light burst out in his room. Even without the stimulation of True Qi, the blade of the Hongqi Sword radiated a bone-chilling cold. The malevolence of this sword was truly astonishing. Not to mention the murderous intent accumulated after killing and staining itself with blood, the resentment and grievance of Hongqi herself were endless.
Meng Fan looked at the blade, a hint of calm confidence on his face. "No matter who your enemy is, no matter what their cultivation level is, even if a Human Immortal stands before me, sooner or later, they will die under this Hongqi Sword."
Hongqi didn't expect Meng Fan to be so confident. Before, this guy kept calling himself a disciple with an Inferior Spiritual Root, acting completely dejected. Could it be that it was all an act?
Meng Fan smiled at Hongqi. "I thank you for trusting me and having faith in me. But in truth, I have even more confidence than you do."
With the [Sword Dao Apotheosis] supreme talent, as long as Meng Fan was given enough time, he could slay the gods and Buddhas of the heavens for her to see.
"I look forward to the day that truly happens," Hongqi said, her tone complex. After speaking, her phantom turned into red light and returned to the Hongqi Sword.
"You will see that day." Meng Fan took one last look at the Hongqi Sword and sheathed it.
Meng Fan carried the Hongqi Sword and the Copper Mountain sword out of his room. The Copper Mountain sword had been destroyed, and he didn't know if he would have to compensate for it. Yesterday, Senior Brother Luo seemed to say that if his sword broke in the future, he wouldn't need to hand over Spirit Stones and could simply swap it. He hoped the senior brother wasn't just talking nonsense.