Because of the previous incident at the Scripture Pavilion, Meng Luoluo had slept for seven days upon returning, and her swordsmanship had fallen behind quite a bit.
During these days, Meng Luoluo did not study anything else, focusing entirely on the sword until all the missed swordsmanship was made up for, after which she began studying spell techniques.
Thinking of a future day when she would stand holding a sword with her hands behind her back, looking up at the sky in silence, and with a slight wave of her hand, the wind and clouds would instantly change, Meng Luoluo was filled with anticipation for that scene.
Therefore, she studied the spell techniques with even greater dedication.
There was also the fact that she wanted to avoid attending large classes two years from now; by then, as long as she displayed sufficient strength, she could slack off and grow vegetables, and a life of retirement was just around the corner.
Ah, just thinking about it made her happy.
Seeing the little girl so happy, He Manting was also quite pleased.
……
Two months passed.
The Eldest Senior Sister had taught her swordsmanship just about enough, and before leaving, she urged Meng Luoluo to practice diligently, noting that anything beyond that depended entirely on comprehension.
Before departing, the Eldest Senior Sister also notified the Third Senior Brother, Xu Songshan.
Since the Fifth Senior Brother was away on a task and had been delayed in returning, she had to turn to the Third Senior Brother for the fire-element and earth-element swordsmanship and spell techniques.
Every day, the Third Senior Brother carried that air of a nouveau riche, bringing along a pile of spiritual fruits and pastries filled with Spiritual Qi to explain the spell techniques and swordsmanship.
Not all attributes were suited for swordsmanship; for some Spiritual Roots, swordsmanship was somewhat weaker compared to spell techniques.
Everyone on Fan Peak practiced both swordsmanship and spells; when going out into the world, having more methods meant a higher chance of winning.
During breaks, the senior brother and junior sister would also chat about other people.
"Don't look at the Eldest Senior Sister as merely being at the Soul Formation stage; in terms of the Sword Dao, she has already reached the realm of Transforming into Threads."
Meng Luoluo: "Transforming into Threads? Cultivation and the Sword Dao do not overlap."
Although Xu Songshan did not quite understand what "overlap" meant, he roughly grasped the meaning: "The Sword Dao has nothing to do with cultivation. Cultivation is a realm that can be reached through practice, whereas the Sword Dao relies entirely on comprehension. Some people reach the Mahayana cultivation stage, yet let alone becoming a Sword Sovereign, they haven't even reached the Tongming stage, so when they go out, they can only call themselves pure spell cultivators."
Meng Luoluo: "Third Senior Brother, what about you?"
Xu Songshan: "Me? First Layer of Fusion, and my Sword Dao is only at the Intent stage; I haven't reached Tongming either."
Meng Luoluo: "Then senior brother, you..."
Xu Songshan hurriedly interrupted: "But my cultivation is also low, right? The Eldest Senior Sister is a genius; we can't compare ourselves to her, can we? How much that would deal a blow to one's self-confidence."
Why did this junior sister always know how to twist the knife in one's heart?
Meng Luoluo: "……"
That made sense, but somehow it still felt a bit wrong.
The Metal Spiritual Root possessed a natural affinity for the sword and was also the easiest to master.
With the assistance of her Metal Spiritual Root, Meng Luoluo learned the fire-element and earth-element swordsmanship very quickly.
Fire focused on offense, though its defense was much poorer; if the attack power was high enough, launching a fierce assault before the enemy even had a chance to strike, cutting out the nonsense, could be considered peerless.
Earth focused on defense, with much weaker attacks, allowing one to go toe-to-toe with the enemy in a battle of attrition.
When all was said and done, the five attributes still generated and restrained one another, neither conceding to the other.
After studying swordsmanship with the Third Senior Brother for two months, she finally went to find the Fourth Senior Sister.
Water-element swordsmanship and spell techniques appeared gentle on the surface, but in reality, they could overcome hardness with softness and blend hardness with softness, being no less inferior to the fire-element.
When explaining the water-element techniques, Shangguan Qingzhu paused for a moment: "The Water Spiritual Root has a special technique called Transforming into Water. Does Junior Sister wish to learn it?"
Hearing this, Meng Luoluo, who had been on the verge of doozing off, instantly perked up, blinking her large eyes with a gaze that clearly spelled out a desire to learn.
Seeing her look like this, Shangguan Qingzhu did not hesitate, taking Meng Luoluo directly to the edge of the pool and jumping in herself.
At the same time, she said: "When fighting with a Water Spiritual Root, it is best to borrow more of the momentum of heaven and earth, finding a place with water to control it. As long as there is enough water, you won't die. Transforming into Water is also a way of borrowing momentum; only while in the water can many attacks at most injure you, while most other attacks become ineffective, allowing you to let go and fight."
With that, she sank into the water.
The moment her body completely merged into the pool, she vanished entirely—no, rather than saying she vanished, it was more like she had turned into water.
She saw a human figure quickly form on the water's surface once more; this water person had no facial features, finger details were unclear, and even the area between the legs was just a curtain of water.
That's right, this water person was none other than Shangguan Qingzhu.
Shangguan Qingzhu then condensed several water swords, holding one in her hand while the others floated in the air.
Shangguan Qingzhu directed the water swords to attack Meng Luoluo, but Meng Luoluo neither dodged nor evaded.
Shangguan Qingzhu had not expected her younger junior sister not to dodge, and by the time she realized something was amiss, it was already a bit too late; most of the water swords were deflected, but two slipped through.
Suddenly, an illusory phantom of a giant bell appeared instantly around Meng Luoluo, emitting a deep *dong* sound.
Seeing that her junior sister was unhurt, Shangguan Qingzhu set her mind somewhat at ease, yet she still ended the technique, stepped out of the pool, and checked whether there were any injuries.
After a thorough inspection, she finally confirmed that everything was fine, and only then was she completely reassured.
After the two of them caught their breath for a moment, Shangguan Qingzhu asked: "That technique you used just now isn't from the Chaozun Sect, is it?"
Meng Luoluo nodded: "Indeed it's not. I don't know what it is either, or where it came from; I only know it's called the Immortal Heart Bell."
"I fell asleep once, and when I woke up, I had it. It's just that it only triggers when someone attacks you."
Shangguan Qingzhu: "Not bad at all. Even with my realm so much higher than yours, you were still able to block it."
"Can you teach this technique to Senior Sister?"
Meng Luoluo spread her hands: "I don't know how either. Although this thing appeared directly in my mind, I don't know how to use it; it only appears whenever I receive an attack or a threat."
Shangguan Qingzhu looked somewhat dejected: "Oh well, what a pity. Such a great self-protection method, and I can't learn it."
"Never mind. As for Junior Sister's 'Transforming into Water' just now, does Senior Sister need to explain it again? This time there won't be any mistakes, Junior Sister can rest assured."
……
After practicing the water-element for another month, only the wood-element remained.
Meng Luoluo daydreamed about the scene of herself holding a sword and standing invincible in the world.
Finally, the Fourth Senior Sister focused on explaining wood-element swordsmanship.
"The wood-element's attack is inferior to the fire-element, and its defense is inferior to the earth-element, but wood-element swordsmanship can manipulate plants, bring all things back to life, save people, and also deprive all things of their vitality—including an opponent's life."
"Of course, this requires more practice and extremely high talent; very few people have been able to wield this kind of ultimate technique to this day."
"Right now, with the assistance of your Metal Spiritual Root, there are no real shortcomings in your sword moves. The crux lies in your cultivation; insufficient spiritual power prevents you from unleashing more sword moves, and your main task at present is still to elevate your cultivation."
Meng Luoluo: "Many thanks for your guidance, Senior Sister."
Shangguan Qingzhu: "I am your senior sister, why stand on ceremony?"
Seeing Meng Luoluo's childish appearance, Shangguan Qingzhu smiled: "If you have anything you want to ask, just spit it out."
Meng Luoluo: "What cultivation realm is Senior Sister at now, and that sword strike...?"
Shangguan Qingzhu: "Sigh, and here I thought you were going to ask something else. I am currently at the sixth layer of Source Gathering, and as for that sword strike, naturally I can't use it right now."
"What's the rush? You're still young, and the road ahead is long; take it slow."
Seeing such a gentle Fourth Senior Sister, Meng Luoluo became even more certain of her intention to save people. Although Kong Qianqian was in this sect and she instinctively disliked the entire sect, facing these gentle and kind senior sisters, she felt somewhat reluctant.
You ask why she didn't dislike the senior brothers?
Meng Luoluo had noticed this problem herself, but she hadn't figured it out; she couldn't even tell whether it was an instinctive dislike or a dislike stemming from something the senior brothers had done.
Meng Luoluo was not someone who liked to make things difficult for herself; if she couldn't figure it out, she wouldn't dwell on it. If she had forgotten something, then let it be forgotten.
If she encountered it later and it was important to herself, she would naturally remember it.
Better not to think about it so much; she needed to cultivate as quickly as possible and put going to the Snow Mountain to save people on the agenda. The sooner she rescued the person, the sooner her mind would be at ease, sparing her from constantly worrying every day. Along the way, she could also visit the Snow Mountain to see if she could disrupt any of the protagonist's other fortuitous encounters. Meng Luoluo thought to herself.