Upon hearing Elder Lin's words, Meng Fan nodded.
Since Elder Lin assured him there would be no life-threatening danger, he believed it completely.
Meng Fan had absolute trust in Elder Lin.
"By the way, Master, I haven't used the Sword Seal you gave me earlier." Meng Fan took out the Sword Seal and showed it to Elder Lin.
Elder Lin glanced at the Sword Seal and chuckled, "This thing might be useful against others, but against Li Sansi, it's like scratching an itch—completely useless!"
"Master, how powerful is the Sword Qi within this Sword Seal? What realm of cultivators can it handle? Knowing this will give me a better idea and prevent me from wasting it," Meng Fan asked Elder Lin.
When Elder Lin had given him the Sword Seal last time, he had only mentioned that it could deal with the Ye family, and that wiping them out wouldn't be difficult.
But Meng Fan was still unclear about its exact power.
He needed to understand it clearly to use the Sword Seal at the most opportune moment.
Since Meng Fan asked, Elder Lin didn't hide anything. There was nothing to conceal anyway.
"The Sword Qi within this Sword Seal, if activated, has a power comparable to a strike from a cultivator who has just entered the Primordial Spirit Realm. It's roughly that powerful, not much more."
Hearing Elder Lin's words, Meng Fan was shocked.
This was much stronger than he had imagined, far beyond his expectations.
The strongest elder of the Ye family, Ye Yuanfeng, who was also Ye Qingyu's grandfather, was only at the ninth level of the Condensing Elixir Realm.
If Elder Lin could produce a Sword Qi comparable to the Summoning God Realm, Meng Fan could walk through the Ye family without any fear.
But it turned out to be Sword Qi comparable to the Primordial Spirit Realm!
This was too extravagant.
Meng Fan felt a slight warmth in his heart. He understood that Elder Lin cared for him, which was why he had casually created such a powerful Sword Qi to ensure his safety.
However, thinking about it this way, Elder Lin was incredibly strong, wasn't he?
Casually sealing a Sword Qi that was comparable to a strike from the Primordial Spirit Realm.
"Master, if the Sword God within this Red Sheep Sword is activated, what level of power can it unleash?" Meng Fan continued to ask.
Elder Lin shook his head, "It's hard to say, it depends on the situation. But dealing with your uncle-master Li Sansi shouldn't be a problem."
Since Elder Lin was unwilling to elaborate, Meng Fan didn't press further.
***
Moments later, Meng Fan returned to the first floor of the Sword Pavilion to continue his cultivation.
Actually, Meng Fan could roughly guess that Elder Lin wanted him to retrieve the Wind and Thunder Sword from Li Sansi for his own use.
A Dao Sword that matched the Pure Yang Thunder Cultivation Scripture—once retrieved, Elder Lin would definitely pass it on to Meng Fan.
***
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
Liu Yanping arrived at the Sword Pavilion as scheduled and called for Meng Fan to set off.
Meng Fan didn't dawdle. He didn't need to pack much, just stuffed a few sets of clothes and left the Sword Pavilion.
"Senior Brother Meng, this is Yang Shishi, another disciple participating in this training mission," Liu Yanping introduced a young girl beside her, who looked around twenty years old, about the same age as Meng Fan.
However, her realm was much lower than Meng Fan's.
Meng Fan was at the sixth level of the Heavenly Origin Realm, while she was at the sixth level of the True Martial Realm.
In fact, Liu Yanping's cultivation level was even lower, only at the fifth level of the True Martial Realm!
Once upon a time, Liu Yanping's realm was much higher than Meng Fan's.
This was probably the unpredictability of life.
"Senior Brother Meng, hello, I'm Yang Shishi," Yang Shishi greeted Meng Fan.
"Hello," Meng Fan nodded at Yang Shishi.
Liu Yanping bringing along a "teammate" didn't surprise him much.
For such training missions, it would be unusual for Liu Yanping to go alone.
Bringing only one teammate was already considered few in Meng Fan's eyes.
Not bad!
With more people, even if he didn't say it, he would find it annoying.
"Let's go," Meng Fan said to Liu Yanping.
He then walked ahead of Liu Yanping and Yang Shishi, heading down the mountain.
Liu Yanping and Yang Shishi hurried to catch up, afraid of being left behind.
Yang Shishi whispered to Liu Yanping, "Pingping, you only told me you called a senior brother with strong cultivation, but why didn't you mention he's so handsome?"
Handsome?
Liu Yanping subconsciously glanced at Meng Fan's back.
He did seem quite handsome.
"What's there to say about that? So what if he's handsome?" Liu Yanping rolled her eyes at Yang Shishi.
Yang Shishi sighed, "If I had known Senior Brother Meng was so handsome, I would have dressed up more carefully. First impressions are important."
Liu Yanping rolled her eyes again.
She took a bronze mirror from her storage ring and handed it to Yang Shishi.
Yang Shishi smiled wryly and shook her head, "It's too late to dress up now."
Liu Yanping said irritably, "I meant for you to look in the mirror and have some self-awareness!"
Yang Shishi retorted angrily, "Am I that ugly?"
She believed that even if she wasn't a stunning beauty, she was definitely attractive.
Of course, in Liu Yanping's view, the words "believed" were quite telling…
Meng Fan, walking ahead, felt a bit helpless.
These two young ladies were whispering, but couldn't they move a bit further away from him?
Were they underestimating his hearing?
He quickened his pace slightly, intending to keep some distance from the two girls.
He wasn't trying to eavesdrop; his body was just too strong!
***
Soon, the three of them left the Shu Mountain Sword Sect and the Shu Mountain region.
Meng Fan rented a carriage and sat inside.
Previously, when he traveled with Ye Qingyu, they didn't bother driving the carriage themselves, and now he didn't feel like being a coachman either.
After all, this time, it was Liu Yanping who had invited him.
In the end, Liu Yanping drove the carriage, becoming the coachman.
Yang Shishi sat in the carriage with Meng Fan. She was clearly very nervous, a bit embarrassed, and shy.
Meng Fan had no interest in her, so he closed his eyes and began cultivating.
Yang Shishi felt a bit awkward seeing Meng Fan with his eyes closed. She wanted to strike up a conversation but didn't know what to say.
In the end, she gave up.
Because throughout the journey, Meng Fan gave her a sense of inexplicable pressure, making her lack the courage to talk to him.
Luckily, Meng Fan was meditating; otherwise, she would have felt even more awkward.
After a while, she lifted the curtain and decided to join Liu Yanping in driving the carriage.
Even though there was a handsome guy in the carriage, he was a bit too cold for her liking. She felt more comfortable with Liu Yanping.
"What's wrong? Sharing a carriage with the handsome Senior Brother Meng, shouldn't you be overjoyed? Why come out to find me?" Liu Yanping teased Yang Shishi.
Yang Shishi quickly put her finger to her lips, signaling Liu Yanping to keep quiet.
"Lower your voice, Senior Brother Meng can hear you," she whispered in Liu Yanping's ear, her voice as soft as a mosquito's hum.
Proofreader & Editor: Peter Pan