The foundation of the Shu Mountain Sword Pavilion was far stronger than Meng Fan had imagined.
As for the responsibilities and pressures Elder Lin mentioned, Meng Fan couldn't feel them for now.
Because it wasn't yet time for him to shoulder those responsibilities, and he didn't have the capability either.
If the sky fell, Elder Lin would hold it up!
However, Meng Fan was confident that when the time came for him to take on those responsibilities, he would have the ability to do so.
After all, he was a cheat!
He had that much confidence.
At this moment, knowing that the Sword Pavilion housed so many divine and immortal swords, Meng Fan felt nothing but joy.
The Essence of the Sword he needed in the future was now within reach!
The Essence of the Sword from a single divine sword was worth a thousand spiritual swords.
As for immortal swords, they were even more extraordinary.
Meng Fan had once absorbed the Essence of the Sword from the Demon Locking Sword, but that was a sealed sword. Compared to a true immortal sword, it was worlds apart.
If one day Meng Fan could come into contact with a true immortal sword, the Essence of the Sword he would obtain would be equivalent to at least ten thousand spiritual swords.
But that was too far off!
To draw an immortal sword, he would need at least the strength of the Sect Master, if not Elder Lin's strength.
When Meng Fan returned to the first floor of the Sword Pavilion, his mind was still on those divine and immortal swords on the fifth floor.
He hadn't even touched those swords.
It wasn't that Elder Lin wouldn't let him; he simply didn't dare.
Touching them would most likely result in death!
Even with Elder Lin's protection, there was still a risk of death.
"I need to work hard on my cultivation, strive to be able to handle those divine and immortal swords as soon as possible. No, I don't need to handle them, just being able to touch them would be enough!" Meng Fan muttered to himself in his room.
Full of motivation, he began his cultivation.
He was currently at the fifth level of the Heavenly Origin Realm, which was roughly equivalent to the Condensation Pill Realm.
"I need to reach the Condensation Pill Realm as soon as possible!"
Meng Fan set a goal for himself.
In fact, Meng Fan was too greedy. Otherwise, he might already be at the seventh or eighth level of the Heavenly Origin Realm.
Because he was simultaneously cultivating the Spirit Wind Profound Art, the Pure Yang Thunder Cultivation Scripture, and the True Scripture of Scarlet Blood.
If he focused on cultivating just one technique, like the Pure Yang Thunder Cultivation Scripture, he would be far beyond the fifth level of the Heavenly Origin Realm by now.
After all, cultivating three techniques meant splitting his resources into three parts, naturally slowing down his progress.
Not to mention, he had been using the Essence of the Sword for the True Scripture of Scarlet Blood, leaving none for the Pure Yang Thunder Cultivation Scripture.
"Should I pause the cultivation of the Spirit Wind Profound Art and the True Scripture of Scarlet Blood, and focus all my efforts on the Pure Yang Thunder Cultivation Scripture until I reach the Condensation Pill Realm? After condensing the Pure Yang Thunder True Essence, I can then continue with the other techniques?"
Sitting cross-legged on his bed, Meng Fan muttered to himself.
This was the most suitable method to reach the Condensation Pill Realm as soon as possible.
After all, theoretically, both the Spirit Wind Profound Art and the True Scripture of Scarlet Blood were not as important as the Pure Yang Thunder Cultivation Scripture!
"Let's do it." Meng Fan made up his mind.
Reaching the Condensation Pill Realm as soon as possible would also help in cultivating his Divine Soul.
Originally, Elder Lin believed that Meng Fan had a chance to cultivate his Divine Soul before reaching the Condensation Pill Realm.
Well, Meng Fan thought so too.
But now it seemed that this method was too inefficient. Reaching the Condensation Pill Realm sooner would allow him to cultivate his Divine Soul sooner.
"There's no need to pursue cultivating the Divine Soul in the Heavenly Origin Realm; efficiency is key."
Meng Fan was always someone who acted on his thoughts.
That very night, he stopped cultivating the Spirit Wind Profound Art and the True Scripture of Scarlet Blood, and used the Essence of the Sword for the Pure Yang Thunder Cultivation Scripture.
His cultivation speed skyrocketed!
Then the consumption was too intense, and by the second half of the night, the Essence of the Sword was exhausted.
Meng Fan didn't choose to rest. Instead, he went to the first floor of the Sword Pavilion to continue absorbing the Essence of the Sword.
The ordinary swords on the first floor had already been almost completely wiped clean by him.
There were about a hundred spiritual swords left.
"At this rate, in a few days, I'll have to go to the second floor of the Sword Pavilion to wipe the long swords." Meng Fan frowned.
Elder Lin was stationed on the second floor. If he went there to wipe the long swords, would Elder Lin notice something unusual?
"Heh!" Meng Fan laughed self-deprecatingly.
So what if he noticed?
Besides, even though Elder Lin was on the second floor, wouldn't he notice something unusual if Meng Fan was wiping the long swords on the first floor?
He must have noticed long ago!
But Elder Lin had never probed into his "secrets."
Thinking of this, Meng Fan felt at ease.
When Meng Fan was wiping the seventh long sword, a Sword Wraith Memory made his heart skip a beat.
This was another special sword!
Meng Fan had seen too many famous swords in the Shu Mountain Sword Pavilion.
Even the most powerful warriors of the current era had once used spiritual swords, or even ordinary swords.
The Shu Mountain Sword Pavilion collected famous swords from all over the world, so encountering these swords was not surprising. In fact, Meng Fan had come to see it as quite normal.
***
The Sword Wraith Memory showed a young boy practicing swordsmanship day after day.
The boy had excellent aptitude, entering the Qi Cultivation Realm at thirteen, the True Martial Realm at eighteen, and the Heavenly Origin Realm at twenty-five.
He was a disciple of the Shu Mountain Sword Sect, named Lin Tianxing.
From childhood to adulthood, he had practiced swordsmanship within Shu Mountain and had never left.
When he had just reached the Heavenly Origin Realm at the age of twenty-five, his father called him over.
***
When Meng Fan saw Lin Tianxing's father, his heart pounded, and he was shocked.
Because he recognized Lin Tianxing's father.
Not only that, but he was also extremely familiar with him!
Lin Tianxing's father was named Lin Bianyun.
Elder Lin!!!!
"Elder Lin actually has a son, why has he never mentioned it?" Meng Fan was shocked and a bit dumbfounded.
Since Elder Lin had a son, where was he now?
Why had Meng Fan never seen him?
Moreover, if Elder Lin had a child, what about his wife?
Meng Fan had never seen any of Elder Lin's relatives and had always thought Elder Lin was a solitary old man.
Given Elder Lin's age, if he had a wife and child, he should be enjoying family life with them.
Meng Fan continued to watch the Sword Wraith Memory, feeling a vague sense of foreboding.
The Sword Wraith Memory was fragmented, only showing some scattered memories of sword practice, not a person's entire life.
So it wasn't until Lin Tianxing was twenty-five that Meng Fan "coincidentally" saw Elder Lin in the memory.
***
"Father, did you call for me?" Lin Tianxing asked Elder Lin in the memory.
Elder Lin looked at Lin Tianxing with a complex expression and asked, "Xiaoxing, are you hiding something from me?"
"Father, you know?" Lin Tianxing's expression changed, showing some nervousness, but it quickly turned into determination.
"Of course, I know. Are you crazy? You want to sneak into the Fengyun Demon Sect?" Elder Lin's tone was filled with anger and shock.
Lin Tianxing looked at his father, his expression calm, especially his eyes filled with determination and resolve.
"Father, you've never told me how Mother died, but do you think that just because you don't say, I wouldn't know?"
Proofreader & Editor: Peter Pan