After Liu Yanping left, Meng Fan wouldn’t be bothered by her for a short while.

For the past twenty or so days, Meng Fan had spent almost every day teaching Liu Yanping the Emerald Sea Tide Rises Sword Intent, which had affected his own cultivation.

Although he had advanced to the third level of the True Martial Realm during this time, progress in other areas was minimal.

Especially the goal of finishing all the sword scriptures on the first floor of the Scripture Pavilion had been completely delayed.

In the following days, Meng Fan planned to focus solely on studying the scriptures, aiming to finish all the sword scriptures on the first floor as soon as possible.

As for the two hundred Spirit Stones he earned from Liu Yanping, Meng Fan wasn’t in a hurry to spend them.

Two hundred Spirit Stones could buy two hours of enlightenment at the Sword God Stele, but Meng Fan was no longer so eager to seek enlightenment there.

Elder Lin had already rewarded Meng Fan with a day and a night of enlightenment at the Sword God Stele.

But Meng Fan chose not to go immediately; he decided to finish the sword scriptures on the first floor of the Scripture Pavilion before seeking enlightenment at the Sword God Stele.

This way, he could maximize his gains!

Thus, Meng Fan still spent his days immersed in the Scripture Pavilion.

In the blink of an eye, it was already the sixth month since Meng Fan had become Elder Lin’s disciple.

Half a year, truly gone in the blink of an eye.

Now, Meng Fan had reached the fifth level of the True Martial Realm.

Senior Disciple Luo watched Meng Fan’s daily progress and had completely given up on their “one-year agreement.”

Half a year ago, Meng Fan was at the third level of Qi Refining, while he himself was at the eighth level of the True Martial Realm.

Half a year later, Meng Fan had reached the fifth level of the True Martial Realm, while he was still at the eighth level.

By the time the one-year period was up, Senior Disciple Luo felt he would at most reach the ninth level of the True Martial Realm, probably not advancing to the Heavenly Origin Realm.

By then, Meng Fan’s realm might have caught up with his own, or he might even surpass him and reach the Heavenly Origin Realm.

Moreover, with Junior Disciple Meng’s effortless ability to fight above his level, what could he use to compete?

“Junior Disciple Meng, you’ve been soaking in the Scripture Pavilion every day for months, when do you plan to stop?” Senior Disciple Luo asked somewhat helplessly.

Meng Fan spent his days in the Scripture Pavilion, only returning to the Sword Pavilion at night, making it seem like he wasn’t a disciple of the Sword Pavilion, but of the Scripture Pavilion.

“Senior Brother Luo, in about a week, I will have finished all the sword scriptures on the first floor of the Scripture Pavilion, and then I’ll reduce my visits,” Meng Fan said with a smile.

Hearing this, Senior Disciple Luo was utterly astonished by Meng Fan.

Such a vast Scripture Pavilion, filled with so many sword scriptures, and Meng Fan actually planned to read them all.

Not only did he plan to do so, but he was also about to achieve it, which was simply inhuman!

“Having you as a junior disciple is probably enough for me to boast for the rest of my life,” Senior Disciple Luo said with a look of amazement.

“Senior Brother Luo, please don’t flatter me too much!” Meng Fan said with a wry smile and a shake of his head.

One day, when Meng Fan arrived at the Scripture Pavilion, he found it unusually empty.

“Senior Disciple Jin, why is the Scripture Pavilion so empty today?” Meng Fan asked curiously.

On normal days, the Scripture Pavilion was crowded.

Senior Disciple Jin, initially a man of few words, was only so towards those he wasn’t familiar with.

After getting to know him better, Meng Fan found that he actually had a lot to say.

It was just that he seemed to have a bit of social anxiety and disliked dealing with strangers.

“Today is the day of the Shu Mountain Swordsmanship Competition, everyone has gone to watch the excitement,” Senior Disciple Jin told Meng Fan.

Shu Mountain Swordsmanship Competition?

Meng Fan’s eyebrows raised; he had heard of it but never experienced it.

The competition took place every three years, and three years ago, when he had just joined the Shu Mountain Sword Sect, he was just a menial disciple, too busy with chores to have the privilege to watch.

The Shu Mountain Swordsmanship Competition was not an internal competition of the Shu Mountain Sword Sect.

Instead, it was an exchange between the Kunlun Sword Sect, the Limitless Sword Sect, and the Shu Mountain Sword Sect.

The sect that won would host the next competition. For instance, if the Kunlun Sword Sect won this time, the next competition would not be the Shu Mountain Swordsmanship Competition but the Kunlun Swordsmanship Competition!

“Last time, the Shu Mountain Sword Sect won. I wonder what the outcome will be this time,” Meng Fan muttered to himself.

“This time, our Shu Mountain Sword Sect is unlikely to win!” Senior Disciple Jin said.

“Why?” Meng Fan looked at Senior Disciple Jin in surprise, not understanding why he was dampening their own spirits.

“Because in the last competition, we had Kuang Tianyou. This time, Shu Mountain is without Kuang Tianyou, and the Kunlun Sword Sect has a rising star, Jiang Poyue, who is unmatched among the younger generation!” Senior Disciple Jin said with a hint of helplessness.

Hearing Senior Disciple Jin’s tone, it seemed he favored the Kunlun Sword Sect to win this time.

But… Kuang Tianyou?

When Meng Fan had just joined the Shu Mountain Sword Sect three years ago, he had heard of the great name of Kuang Tianyou.

At that time, Kuang Tianyou was the brightest sun of the Shu Mountain Sword Sect.

However, not long after, Kuang Tianyou disappeared as if he had fallen.

“Senior Brother Kuang? I heard that Senior Brother Kuang met with an accident while out on an experience and perished. It’s truly regrettable!”

“Heh, he’s not dead. He’s living a life of luxury.”

Hearing Senior Disciple Jin’s words, especially the special emotion in his tone, Meng Fan was somewhat surprised.

“Senior Brother Jin, Senior Brother Kuang is still alive? Then why hasn’t he returned to the Shu Mountain Sword Sect?”

As he asked this question, Meng Fan already sensed a strong whiff of gossip.

“Because he’s too happy to think of Shu!” Senior Disciple Jin said with a mocking tone.

You know, the phrase ‘too happy to think of Shu’ fits quite well.

Shu of the Shu Mountain Sword Sect!

At the same time, Meng Fan sensed even more gossip in Senior Disciple Jin’s tone.

“Could Senior Brother Jin enlighten me?” Meng Fan asked with some curiosity.

“Kuang Tianyou fell in love with a female disciple of the Wind Cloud Demon Cult. He was so bewitched by her that he followed her back to the Wind Cloud Demon Cult!”

“Our pride of the Shu Mountain Sword Sect actually ‘married into’ a demon cult. What a disgrace!”

As he spoke, Senior Disciple Jin’s face was full of disdain and mockery, his lips quivering slightly with anger.

Seeing Senior Disciple Jin’s reaction, Meng Fan had some guesses and sighed, “Senior Brother Jin, were you and this Senior Brother Kuang very close?”

If they weren’t very close, he wouldn’t be so “indignant” after so many years.

“He’s not worthy!” Senior Disciple Jin scoffed.

Meng Fan said no more, as prying further would be inappropriate.

“Senior Brother Jin, shall we go watch the Shu Mountain Swordsmanship Competition?” he said, changing the subject.

“I don’t like crowds. You go ahead,” Senior Disciple Jin replied casually.

Still as socially anxious as ever.

Meng Fan decisively gave up on inviting Senior Disciple Jin to watch the Shu Mountain Swordsmanship Competition and left the Scripture Pavilion on his own.

This time, like always, the competition was only for core disciples of the three sects.

Limited to core disciples, outer and inner sect disciples were not qualified to participate, nor were the managing elders.

“Li Xuerou seemed to have been promoted to core disciple a few days ago. I wonder if she’s participating in this Shu Mountain Swordsmanship Competition,” Meng Fan muttered to himself, then headed towards the summit of Shu Mountain.

Previously, Li Xuerou had vowed to break through to the Heavenly Origin Realm within two months, and she did indeed succeed, also being promoted to core disciple.

Meng Fan wondered if, as a newly promoted core disciple, she needed to participate in this competition.

In fact, even if Li Xuerou didn’t participate, Meng Fan would definitely not miss this Shu Mountain Swordsmanship Competition.

This time, not only could he witness the sword techniques of the Shu Mountain Sword Sect’s core disciples, but he could also see the sword techniques of the core disciples from the Kunlun Sword Sect and the Limitless Sword Sect.

Such an opportunity was far more valuable than reading in the Scripture Pavilion.

The location of the Shu Mountain Swordsmanship Competition was at the Heaven-Connecting Platform on the summit of Shu Mountain.

Soon, Meng Fan arrived at the summit, approaching the vicinity of the Heaven-Connecting Platform.

The Heaven-Connecting Platform, though named a platform, was actually quite spacious and could be described as a square!

At this moment, the summit of Shu Mountain was surrounded by countless disciples, packed like sardines.

Meng Fan finally squeezed into a spot close to the Heaven-Connecting Platform, ready to watch the sword techniques of the competitors.

The platform was clearly divided into three areas for the Shu Mountain Sword Sect, the Limitless Sword Sect, and the Kunlun Sword Sect.

Core disciples from the three sects gathered on one platform, representing the cream of the crop of the younger generation.

In the area of the Shu Mountain Sword Sect, Meng Fan saw Li Xuerou.

The young lady looked excited and seemed to be full of fighting spirit.

Clearly, she was also participating in this competition.

However, with her status and strength as a newly promoted core disciple, she was essentially cannon fodder.

Honestly, it would be better not to participate!

But gaining some experience seemed like a decent choice too.

Meng Fan learned from the surrounding crowd that disciples in white belonged to the Kunlun Sword Sect, and those in black were from the Limitless Sword Sect.

As for their Shu Mountain Sword Sect, they traditionally wore green.

Currently, on the Heaven-Connecting Platform, a core disciple from the Shu Mountain Sword Sect was competing against a core disciple from the Kunlun Sword Sect.

The Shu Mountain disciple was using the “Wind and Thunder One-Word Sword” technique.

Meng Fan had seen this sword technique before in the Sword Pavilion’s Scripture Pavilion and knew a bit about it.

Watching a core disciple use this technique, he gained a deeper understanding of it.

This was also why Meng Fan previously liked to watch others practice sword techniques in the Training Hall.

As for the sword technique used by the Kunlun Sword Sect’s core disciple, Meng Fan didn’t recognize it.

But while watching this person wield the sword, Meng Fan quickly identified the strengths and weaknesses in their technique.

Strengths and weaknesses, Meng Fan could easily discern them.

Someone like Meng Fan, who could spot the flaws in another’s sword technique after just one viewing, was probably unique in the world.

Moments later, the Shu Mountain Sword Sect disciple won, and the Kunlun Sword Sect was defeated.

Immediately after, a disciple from the Limitless Sword Sect took the stage to compete with the Shu Mountain disciple who remained.

This was a kind of king-of-the-hill battle, which wasn’t entirely fair.

The later one took the stage, the more advantage they had.

Those who went up early would eventually become exhausted.

Therefore, each sect likely saved their best disciples for last.

There was nothing wrong with that; the strongest were meant to be the finale!

“Meng Fan, I thought I saw someone like you from afar. When I came closer, it really was you.”

A crisp voice sounded beside Meng Fan.