"Who was the previous master of this sword?"
Meng Fan felt somewhat helpless; how could he possibly know the answer to that question?
"I do not know, Master, but you must be quite familiar with this sword, right?" Meng Fan ventured.
Elder Lin sighed deeply, his eyes filled with reminiscence.
"I have told you before, over eight years ago, I took on a direct disciple. He was your Senior Brother, but alas, he died young!"
At this point, Meng Fan understood that the sword belonged to his never-met Senior Brother.
"Master, rest assured, I will not disgrace this Red Sheep Sword. I will make it shine!" Meng Fan declared earnestly.
Elder Lin patted Meng Fan's shoulder and handed him the Red Sheep Sword.
"Of that, I have no doubt whatsoever."
In Meng Fan's hands, there was no question that the Red Sheep Sword would be greatly honored.
After all, Elder Lin had witnessed Meng Fan's monstrous talents more than once!
"Now go back to your cultivation. Once you step into the Condensation Pill Realm, you'll be able to subdue the Law Sword with your own strength." After saying this, Elder Lin led Meng Fan down from the third floor of the Sword Pavilion.
Meng Fan couldn't help but glance back at the stairs leading to the fourth floor of the Sword Pavilion.
He was curious about what kind of sword weapons were on the fourth and fifth floors.
But as curious as he was, Meng Fan was very self-aware and wouldn't court death.
The sword weapons on the fourth floor of the Sword Pavilion were undoubtedly beyond the Law Sword, including some that were Dao Swords.
Law Swords referred to sword weapons of the magical treasure level.
Dao Swords were those that reached the level of the Dao.
When a sword weapon attained the Dao, it became incredibly formidable!
If Meng Fan, ignorant of his limits, ventured into the fourth floor of the Sword Pavilion, he might die without understanding how.
Elder Lin returned to the second floor of the Sword Pavilion, while Meng Fan went back to the first floor.
Meng Fan had always been curious why Elder Lin chose to live on the second floor.
Logically, with Elder Lin's status, it would make more sense for him to reside on the fifth floor.
Meng Fan had asked Elder Lin about this before, but Elder Lin just smiled without answering.
Then, Meng Fan left the Sword Pavilion and headed to the Scripture Pavilion.
He planned to ask Senior Disciple Jin for news about Elder Wang and then return to the Sword Pavilion to continue deciphering the restrictions on the jade bracelet.
Elder Wang had left the Shu Mountain Sword Sect more than ten days ago; there should be some news by now!
***
Scripture Pavilion.
When Senior Disciple Jin saw Meng Fan, there was a faintly special emotion in his eyes.
Meng Fan, with his keen mind, noticed this anomaly and immediately asked, "Senior Brother Jin, is there news about Elder Wang?"
Although Elder Wang had said he was going to the Blood Blade Sect to investigate, Meng Fan was well aware of the reality, so Elder Wang's visit to the Blood Blade Sect was not for investigation, but destined for a vengeful slaughter!
However, he believed that with Elder Wang's strength, killing a few enemies should be no problem.
Confidence was one thing, but he still worried about Elder Wang's safety.
Senior Disciple Jin looked at Meng Fan with a complex tone and said, "There is indeed news of Elder Wang, and he has even sent me a message."
Meng Fan had always admired Senior Disciple Jin.
Despite always being in the Scripture Pavilion of the Shu Mountain Sword Sect and never leaving the mountain, Senior Disciple Jin was incredibly well-informed, almost like an omniscient informant.
Meng Fan even wondered if the Shu Mountain Sword Sect had a special intelligence organization, and if Senior Disciple Jin was part of it!
"It's good that Elder Wang is fine." Meng Fan breathed a sigh of relief.
If something had happened to Elder Wang, he would have been truly distressed.
After all, it was after hearing the news from him that Elder Wang had left Shu Mountain to seek revenge.
Success in revenge was certainly good!
But if it failed, then in a sense, Meng Fan would have been responsible for Elder Wang's death.
Fortunately, the outcome was satisfactory!
Revenge was successful, and Elder Wang's burden was lifted.
That was good!
A smile appeared on Meng Fan's face as he asked Senior Disciple Jin, "When will Elder Wang be able to return?"
Senior Disciple Jin sighed and was silent for a moment.
After a while, he said to Meng Fan, "Elder Wang will not return to Shu Mountain, not in this lifetime."
Hearing Senior Disciple Jin's words, Meng Fan's expression remained unchanged, but he had an ominous premonition.
"Senior Brother Jin, didn't you say Elder Wang was alright?"
"Elder Wang is physically unharmed; he has simply decided not to return to Shu Mountain," Senior Disciple Jin explained.
"Why?" Meng Fan frowned, finding Senior Disciple Jin's words cryptic and frustrating.
"Elder Wang has decided to leave the Shu Mountain Sword Sect. From the day he left Shu Mountain, he was no longer one of us!" Senior Disciple Jin continued.
"Senior Brother Jin, can you just get to the point? Finish what you're saying in one go?" Meng Fan was getting impatient.
Indeed, he was anxious because he cared about Elder Wang.
"Elder Wang has done something that violates the rules of the Shu Mountain Sword Sect," said Senior Disciple Jin with a grim look.
"What did he do?"
"Elder Wang… he annihilated the Blood Blade Sect! Not a single survivor was left in the entire sect. The Blood Blade Sect was turned into a river of blood, with corpses strewn everywhere!"
Meng Fan's face turned pale with shock upon hearing Senior Disciple Jin's words.
He thought Elder Wang had gone for revenge, just to kill the original murderers.
But it turned out Elder Wang did seek revenge, yet he wiped out the entire Blood Blade Sect!
Meng Fan had guessed the beginning but not this ending.
"Elder Wang… sigh…" Meng Fan wanted to say something but couldn't find the words.
Without experiencing another's suffering, one should not urge them towards goodness!
Without a doubt, what Elder Wang did was—[wrong].
Exterminating an entire sect was problematic no matter how one looked at it.
Even among the demon sects, there would surely be innocents!
But sometimes, even knowing something is wrong, you still do it because you can't control yourself.
After all, hatred is indeed the most terrifying poison in the world!
Moreover, everyone has the right to say Elder Wang was wrong, except for Meng Fan.
In a sense, he was the instigator behind this affair…
With this in mind, Meng Fan sighed helplessly.
Senior Disciple Jin looked at Meng Fan and said, "Although I don't know what happened between you and Elder Wang, he asked me to thank you on his behalf."
Thank you?
Did he really deserve this gratitude?
At this moment, Meng Fan was unsure whether he had helped or harmed Elder Wang.
If given another chance…
Meng Fan thought carefully; if given another chance, he would still tell Elder Wang the truth, not keeping him in the dark.
The only difference might be that he would try to counsel Elder Wang more, to persuade him.
So even now, Meng Fan didn't feel he had done wrong.
If he were Elder Wang, he too would want to know the truth!
Proofreader & Editor: Peter Pan