"Alright, I'll be counting on your guidance in the future, Senior Sister," Zhang Yuan said with a nod. This could be considered an unexpected stroke of good fortune.
Though he had never formally performed master-disciple initiation rites, he was now practicing the techniques of the Jade Essence Sect, which made him half a disciple of Master Shuiyue.
With Master Shuiyue's permission, he could finally cultivate openly and aboveboard.
...
Spring came and autumn went.
In the blink of an eye, a year had passed.
Zhang Yuan spent his days either flirting with Lu Xueqi or cultivating, and his progress had been remarkable. He had already reached the Jade Purity Realm Layer 4, making him a rising star of the Jade Essence Sect.
Of course...
Because he was blind, he was neither cherished by older brothers nor loved by older sisters. No one cared about him, nor did anyone know that he had already embarked on the path of cultivation and achieved considerable success.
Even Master Shuiyue had never come to check on him.
He was truly lonely.
The only good thing was that after a year of getting along, he and Lu Xueqi had grown inseparable. Everything that should be done had been done, and what shouldn't be done yet was very close to happening.
Guard against fire, theft, and junior martial brothers...
That was a very true saying, but Lu Xueqi's level was simply too low, and she was utterly unable to defend against him.
At this moment, Zhang Yuan emerged from his room into the courtyard outside, but he did not see that little girl, Lu Xueqi.
A thought stirred in his mind. He snapped a bamboo branch from a nearby bush and began to practice his swordplay.
Clad in fluttering white robes that moved without wind, his sleeves dancing in the desolate autumn wind, he kicked up the bamboo leaves on the ground, sending them swirling across the sky.
As Zhang Yuan gently brandished the bamboo branch, the aura of an peerless swordsman washed over the surroundings.
What he practiced was the True Formula of Divine Sword Deflecting Thunder. His movements were exceedingly practiced, and with every lift and shift, wind and lightning surged—it was obvious his swordsmanship had reached a certain level of mastery.
Yet, upon closer inspection, the movements of his swordplay differed from the True Formula of Divine Sword Deflecting Thunder in numerous ways.
Indeed!
Ever since Zhang Yuan had watched Lu Xueqi practice the True Formula of Divine Sword Deflecting Thunder last year, he had felt that this technique had many unreasonable aspects. Its movements were rigid and awkward; it could clearly be more concise and lethal, yet it insisted on being showy and flashy.
Zhang Yuan had always held to a single philosophy: swordsmanship was an art meant for killing.
If one practiced swordsmanship and it wasn't for the sake of killing, it would be utterly meaningless.
Therefore, he had spent a full year absorbing the knowledge of this world in the Scripture Pavilion, studying sword-related techniques. Then, using the True Formula of Divine Sword Deflecting Thunder as a foundation, he had created a second version.
He stripped away the rigid movements and the flashy, meaningless stances, transforming the True Formula of Divine Sword Deflecting Thunder into a sword technique born purely for slaughter.
He had merely tweaked it by a tiny, insignificant margin.
"Hah!"
As Zhang Yuan's swordplay grew faster and faster toward the end, he let out a sharp cry, using heavenly lightning as his guide. Wind and lightning moved in unison as a terrifying, murderous sword qi soared into the sky before crashing down upon the giant boulder ahead.
The boulder instantly shattered into pieces, turning into a pile of debris.
Zhang Yuan frowned.
Although he still could not match Senior Sister Lu Xueqi's feat of reducing a giant boulder to fine powder with a single wave of her sword, the gap between them was no longer large.
Furthermore, he had given birth to Sword Intent.
If he remembered correctly, when Lu Xueqi practiced last year, she had possessed no Sword Intent either.
"A year has passed."
"It's about time I went to check on that little fellow, Zhang Xiaofan." Zhang Yuan muttered to himself with the corner of his mouth curving upward, then briskly headed toward Dazhu Peak.
Meanwhile, just as Zhang Yuan departed, Master Shuiyue, who had been meditating in her grotto-heaven, opened her eyes and cast her gaze toward the direction of Lu Xueqi's courtyard.
This Sword Intent...
Did that girl Lu Xueqi cultivate Sword Intent? That means the True Formula of Divine Sword Deflecting Thunder must have reached Great Accomplishment as well.
Only, the murderous intent within this Sword Intent is a bit strong... It seems somewhat different from the True Formula of Divine Sword Deflecting Thunder.
However, it shouldn't be a problem.
With Lu Xueqi's swordsmanship advancing so rapidly, it seems the championship of the Seven Meridians Martial Gathering four years from now will undoubtedly belong to Xiaozhu Peak.
...
Up on Dazhu Peak.
Ever since joining Dazhu Peak, Zhang Xiaofan had always possessed mediocre talent with nothing exceptional about him. At this moment, he was continuously chopping bamboo in the bamboo forest!
Just as Zhang Yuan walked in, his Mind's Eye spotted Zhang Xiaofan chopping away. Yet he gave no sign of it, simply asking mildly, "Who is over there chopping bamboo?"
Zhang Yuan was still blind, after all!
It was normal for a blind person to grope their way along, and quite normal to identify positions by sound. But being able to figure out *who* was chopping bamboo based solely on the sound of the blows crossed into the realm of the unscientific.
Hearing this, Zhang Xiaofan raised his head and wiped away his sweat. Upon seeing the newcomer, a faint smile touched the corners of his lips.
"Oh, it's you, Blind Zhang!" Seeing Zhang Yuan's appearance, Zhang Xiaofan felt a sense of shared misfortune. Lin Jingyu had joined Longshou Peak and already stood out, rumored to be on the verge of becoming an inner disciple.
Only he and Zhang Yuan shared the same pathetic plight.
One was chopping bamboo.
The other was blind.
They were truly pitiful.
At this, the corner of Zhang Yuan's mouth twitched. *If you don't know how to talk, could you please just keep quiet? Sure, I'm blind, but you don't have to keep throwing the word 'blind' in my face!*
"Are you Zhang Xiaofan?" Zhang Yuan asked with a smile, pretending he couldn't see.
"That's right."
"We're both from Caomiao Village. What made you think of coming to see me today?" Zhang Xiaofan asked.
"We both share the surname Zhang, and we're from the same village. Why shouldn't I come see you?" Zhang Yuan asked back with a smile. At the same time, his Mind's Eye swept a perspective scan across Zhang Xiaofan's body, finally spotting that demonic object, the Blood-Drinking Bead, resting right against his chest.
Sure enough, just like in the original text, after escaping from Caomiao Village, Zhang Xiaofan hadn't thrown this thing away.
Instead, he kept it on his person, hidden away safely.
It was precisely by relying on this bead that Zhang Xiaofan would merge it with the Soul-Catcher staff to obtain his destined weapon, the Soul-Devouring Staff.
Zhang Yuan had come precisely for this.
*Zhang Xiaofan—your very name means ordinary, too ordinary to handle this. I'll gladly take the Soul-Devouring Staff off your hands.*
"No, no..."
"Of course Senior Brother Zhang can come see me anytime. I've long since regarded you as a brother." At this moment, Zhang Xiaofan was still somewhat shy. Teased by Zhang Yuan, his face instantly flushed red.
*Haha...*
Zhang Yuan chuckled.
"Zhang Yuan, is your eyesight still gone?" Zhang Xiaofan laid down his blade, walked up to Zhang Yuan, and reached out to steady him as they prepared to head into Dazhu Peak.
"I still can't see a thing," Zhang Yuan nodded.
"It really has been hard on you. The entire Jade Essence Sect is whispering that you are the biggest good-for-nothing in the history of the sect—not only of mediocre talent, but also born blind." Zhang Xiaofan hesitated for a moment, but ultimately spoke the truth. Originally, he hadn't planned to say it, because it was far too cruel to say to a blind person. But then he figured that even if he didn't mention it, as long as Zhang Yuan remained in the Jade Essence Sect, he was bound to hear those gossiping rumors anyway, so he might as well just lay it out.
Having it spoken directly to his face by his sworn brother...
was still better than being openly mocked by strangers.