Sword-Asking Peak was not far from the Main Peak, visible from afar, yet Luan Jian had not set foot upon it for a long time.
Only because...
Alas!
Had the late sect master still been alive, our Jiushen Sect would never have fallen to such a state today.
Today we are the knife and the cutting board, while we are the fish and the meat; who knows how many people envy the blessed land of the Hundred Thousand Mountains, the spirit veins and immortal springs where nine gods hold up the saint.
Luan Jian reined in her thoughts and came to a halt, for she had already stepped onto the Main Peak and, at the very summit, saw that familiar figure. In a daze, he bore a slight resemblance to the late sect master in form, but unfortunately, he had not inherited a single shred of the late sect master's talent or disposition.
Hmm?
Han Feng suddenly felt a flash of inspiration, as if sensing something. He turned his head and his eyes lit up involuntarily.
The woman before him had deep, bright eyes, like an untainted fairy descending to the mortal realm. Close at hand, Han Feng could even see her temples, like cascading waterfalls and drifting clouds, swaying gently in the wind, dreamlike and illusory. A gown of thin gauze drifted in the light of day, setting off her skin like ice and bones like jade, making one stand in awe and dare not approach.
There are beauties like jade in books—at this moment, that phrase seemed to have its truest interpretation and annotation.
The only pity was that this peerless beauty, who seemed to have just stepped down from the misty clouds, had a clear scar on the tail of her eyebrow. Although it was only half an inch long, it cast a blemish on this exquisite picture, involuntarily evoking a sense of regret and heartache.
Originally, Han Feng had accepted the fact of transmigrating, but the moment he saw this peerless beauty, he wavered once again.
Could this really not be a dream?
"A celestial maiden?" Han Feng's gaze was full of appreciation, marveling at the wonder of creation that it could concentrate such beauty and spirit to this extent.
"Luan Jian of Sword-Asking Peak, pays respects to the Sect Master." Hearing Han Feng call her a celestial maiden and stare fixedly at her without moving, Luan Jian sighed inwardly, the lingering trace of sorrow and weariness between her brows seeming to grow even heavier.
This person truly cannot change his dog's nature...
Alas!
Yet, the words of the late sect master before his death were something Luan Jian dared not forget for a single day.
Therefore, she suppressed the disgust in her heart. Her gaze merely swept over Han Feng and immediately moved away, shining like lightning across the entire Main Peak, trying to find the source of that terrifying sword intent just now.
The result, of course, was finding nothing at all.
What on earth happened here?
Shocked in her heart, terrified of missing an unfathomable opportunity, Luan Jian hurriedly reined in her mind, opened her six senses, and tried her utmost to comprehend the residual mystery of sword intent lingering here. A slight gain here would already match years of closed-door bitter contemplation!
Could it be that a peerless expert like a Sword Saint has truly descended upon our Jiushen Sect?
Unwilling though she was to the extreme, the only person Luan Jian could ask was the Sect Master before her.
"Sect Master." Luan Jian dropped her gaze back onto Han Feng, slightly bowed, and asked, "As you were cultivating here just now, did you see anything unusual?"
Unwilling to pierce through his facade as a buffoon, she euphemistically used the term "cultivating."
"Unusual? Not at all!" Han Feng shook his head, casually pointed at Sword-Asking Peak standing in the distance, and smiled, "It's just that after reading, seeing this peak stand tall and upright like a pillar propping up the sky, I was moved..."
"What?!"
Even with Luan Jian's clear and bright sword heart, she could not help losing her composure at this moment, her entire aura almost bursting forth in an instant. She stared at this perpetually unserious new sect master like he had seen a ghost, and trembled, "Are you saying that the heaven-shaking sword intent on the Main Peak just now was... emitted by you?"
"It seems so." Han Feng was not entirely certain either, and smiled, "Aside from reading, I had a slight insight, and unintentionally startled heaven and earth. I am ashamed..."
This!
Luan Jian's breathing was slightly disordered; years of pure cultivation in the Dao of the Sword could not buy her peace of mind at this moment.
What a "slight insight"!
What an "unintentional disturbance"!
Could it be that all these years, every single one of us has misjudged him?
"Sect Master!" Luan Jian uncontrollably recalled the strange words spoken by the late sect master before his death, which now seemed to be pregnant with hidden mysteries. Her body trembled slightly, her towering, erect breasts rising and falling in tremors, making the view even more breathtaking. With great difficulty, she forced herself to calm down and slowly asked, "What... what is your cultivation realm now?"
Me! Top-tier Project 985 level! Late-stage Ph.D.!
...All those exams for nothing.
Han Feng sighed, trying to make himself blend into this world. According to some records he had just seen in books, he carefully and meticulously sensed it, and then said somewhat uncertainly, "If we go by what the books say, I should now be considered... Spirit-Activation Realm, Third Grade?"
Ah!
Only the Spirit-Activation Realm?!
Luan Jian was stunned, then smiled bitterly.
This sect master had previously been merely at the Mortal-Shedding Realm; if he could truly step into Spirit-Activation now, it would already be an incredible miracle. Why did she use the word "merely"?
It was all because the heaven and earth phenomenon just now was too terrifying, causing Luan Jian to harbor unwarranted expectations toward this mysterious sect master.
Spirit-Activation Realm?
Impossible!
Having cultivated the sword all her life, her spiritual sense was sharp; although she only saw a glimpse of the leopard, Luan Jian believed she could not possibly be mistaken. Just that sword intent from moments ago, which had almost drained the colors of heaven and earth—even if it was only a fleeting flash—was enough to repel thousands upon thousands of demons and evils.
Such a Spirit-Activation Realm was unheard of!
Even she, a powerful sword cultivator on the verge of condensing a Nascent Soul, could never unleash such sword intent, and even understanding the mysteries within it was a task barely within her grasp.
Mortal-Shedding, Spirit-Activation, Golden Core, Nascent Soul...
Even if he really were in the Spirit-Activation Realm, he was separated from her by almost two major realms. How could it be that *she* was the one unable to understand his sword intent?
An epiphany?
Since when was there such a terrifying epiphany!
Unless it was the legendary awakening of past-life wisdom, could it be that...
Late Sect Master!
Is that you?
Luan Jian's gaze flickered, the excitement in her heart instantly surging upward. Her originally ice-cold, pretty face flushed with a rare rosy hue due to excessive excitement, adding several points of pitiful vitality to an otherwise somewhat cold painting, making her even more dazzlingly charming and breathtakingly beautiful.
"A fairy transformed into a mortal!"
Han Feng watched this exquisite picture unfold before his eyes, feeling emotional in his heart, thinking that the wonder of creation was indeed the handiwork of a heavenly god, able to create such rugged and towering sword peaks, yet also capable of creating such a poetic and picturesque beauty.
Boom!
With just this single thought, Han Feng's eyes flashed strangely, and a look of apology appeared on his face as he looked at Luan Jian and said, "I'm sorry... Now, it seems I'm at the sixth grade of the Spirit-Activation Realm. You are so beautiful that you made me realize the wonder of creation, and I have gained a brand-new understanding of the swordsmanship in the book just now, so..."
You?!
Luan Jian, who was still immersed in shock, was caught off guard, a flash of shame and annoyance flushing her face.
Dammit!
I fell for this dog's trick again!
What sword intent filling the sky, what epiphany entering the Dao!
It was all completely made up!
And now, saying it was because she was too beautiful, and that a single glance raised him by three grades... was a blatant, shameless mockery of the highest order.
Look at this fellow before her; there wasn't the slightest fluctuation of spiritual energy on him. I'm afraid even the meager accumulation from his initial Mortal-Shedding Realm had vanished completely. Who knows if all those heavenly treasures over the years were eaten into a dog's belly!
Enough...
Luan Jian gritted her teeth, barely reined in her sword heart, and completely ignored the innocent-looking Han Feng. She bowed solemnly toward the azure blue sky.
That mysterious Sword Saint and expert, regardless of whether he existed or not, had bestowed an immense favor upon the Jiushen Sect, and the rites could not be neglected.
As for the person before her...
Alas!
For the sake of the late sect master, Luan Jian sighed, once again suppressing the urge to commit murder. She stretched out a finger to point at a stone wall not far away and said coldly, "Sect Master, the sect is now in decline and frail, fraught with crises. Those wolves lurking around could pounce at any moment. I advise you... to conduct yourself well, and stop messing around with these filthy, messy things that chill the hearts of all the disciples..."
Huh?
Seeing the fairy drift away, Han Feng felt a trace of melancholy in his heart.
However, he basically didn't understand what she had said.
Who was messing with filthy things?
Aren't you slandering my innocence? I'm just a proper librarian...
Han Feng frowned, and following the direction Luan Jian had pointed before she left, he saw a stone wall. On the stone wall, many characters had actually been carved with a sharp instrument.
Right at the top were three large characters—
Bed-Sharing Roster.