“Your arrival has given me hope.”

“To be honest, when you first entered the Sword Pavilion, I didn’t take you seriously because you only had a Mixed Spiritual Root.”

“I even thought you wouldn’t survive here for a month!”

“But you’ve surprised me greatly.”

“Although the grade of your Spiritual Root is indeed low, the worst kind, a Mixed Spiritual Root, your enlightenment, especially your natural talent in the Sword Technique, is something I’ve rarely seen in my life!”

“It’s no exaggeration to say that within the entire Shu Mountain Sword Sect, no one else’s swordsmanship talent can compare to yours.”

“A poor Spiritual Root can be remedied, but if one lacks enlightenment and swordsmanship talent, then there’s truly no hope!”

Elder Lin spoke at length, his words filled with praise for Meng Fan.

This couldn’t help but make Senior Disciple Luo extremely envious, as he had always been criticized by Elder Lin and never praised.

Meng Fan, however, hesitated before asking Elder Lin, “Even if my enlightenment is decent, advancing to the Heavenly Origin Realm in two years is nearly impossible for me, right?”

“Moreover, even someone with an Excellent Spiritual Root would find it difficult to break through from the third level of Qi Refining to the Heavenly Origin Realm within two years, let alone me with just a Mixed Spiritual Root!”

Meng Fan wasn’t being modest. Even if he could absorb the Essence of the Sword to boost his cultivation speed, it would be very difficult for him to break through to the Heavenly Origin Realm within two years.

After all, that’s a gap of seventeen realms.

You can’t possibly break through one realm per month, can you?

In the early stages of the Qi Cultivation Realm, there might be hope to advance one minor realm per month, but it becomes more difficult later on.

Especially when reaching the True Martial Realm, breaking through one realm per month would be nothing short of a fantasy!

But these were just Meng Fan’s own perceptions.

Elder Lin calmly said, “For you, it’s indeed impossible, but for me, it might not be!”

Meng Fan then calmed down, realizing his own vision was too limited.

At Elder Lin’s level, there must be ways to rapidly increase one’s cultivation level.

“Increasing cultivation level isn’t difficult, but that doesn’t necessarily mean an increase in strength.”

“Take Junior Luo, for example. If I wanted to elevate him to the Heavenly Origin Realm, it would be a piece of cake!”

“But having the realm without sufficient swordsmanship foundation means he could still be defeated by others, even at the Heavenly Origin Realm. That would be counterproductive.”

Elder Lin looked at Meng Fan with fervent eyes and said, “But you are different. Your extraordinary enlightenment makes accumulating swordsmanship foundation even easier than increasing cultivation level.”

“So I have confidence that in two years, you will surpass Ye Qinxin!”

Ye Qinxin must be the disciple of Elder Lin’s old rival.

But judging by the name, it seems to be a woman.

Having to fight a woman?

This…

Well…

That seems rather exciting!

After thinking it over, Meng Fan said to Elder Lin, “I’m confident I can defeat Ye Qinxin in two years, but I need your help with something.”

“What do you need?” Elder Lin smiled, amused that the young man was bargaining with him.

Meng Fan said earnestly, “This favor is like fulfilling the wish you promised me in advance. I want to study in the Scripture Pavilion for ten days and nights and comprehend the Sword God Stele for ten days and nights. Only then can I be confident of defeating Ye Qinxin two years from now!”

Elder Lin frowned at first upon hearing Meng Fan’s request, but then his expression softened.

“You’ve thought this through? If I help you with this, even if you defeat Ye Qinxin later, I won’t fulfill another wish for you!” Elder Lin said with a smile.

“I’ve said before that as long as it’s within my power, I can grant your wish.”

“Your request is far from reaching my limit; in fact, it’s quite simple for me!”

Meng Fan replied with gravity, “It may seem simple to you, Elder Lin, but it’s of utmost importance to me.”

“Alright, I agree!” Elder Lin said with a laugh.

This kid seemed shrewd, but he was also a bit naive.

Elder Lin had already promised to cultivate him and would certainly find ways to enhance his cultivation level and strength.

The scriptures in the Scripture Pavilion and the insights from the Sword God Stele were one of the ways to improve strength.

Even if Meng Fan hadn’t mentioned it, Elder Lin would have found ways to give him these opportunities.

But ten days and nights, that was a bit much!

Normally, like comprehending the Sword God Stele, he would create opportunities for Meng Fan based on hours.

Even for him, allowing Meng Fan to comprehend the Sword God Stele would cost Spirit Stones, at most a discount!

Ten days and nights, one hundred and twenty hours, over ten thousand Spirit Stones.

Even with a discount, it would still cost thousands of Spirit Stones!

As for the Scripture Pavilion, that was easier since he had a good relationship with Old Wang from the Pavilion.

Elder Lin looked at Meng Fan curiously and asked, “Are you sure about ten days and nights of comprehending the Sword God Stele? Won’t such a long time be wasted?”

To be honest, although he recognized Meng Fan’s swordsmanship talent and extraordinary enlightenment, ten days and nights of comprehending the Sword God Stele seemed a bit exaggerated.

Most importantly, although he could afford to spend thousands of Spirit Stones, it would still be painful!

So if Meng Fan were to waste the opportunity, he definitely wouldn’t agree.

Meng Fan, however, confidently said, “Elder Lin, as long as you allow me to study in the Scripture Pavilion and the Sword God Temple for ten days and nights, I will surely defeat Ye Qinxin two years from now. If I lose, I’ll present my head to you!”

Meng Fan wasn’t boasting; the Scripture Pavilion was just a way to perfect his “Myriad Swords Returning to Me” technique.

The Sword God Stele could truly transform him.

Previously, just one hour of comprehending the Sword God Stele had brought about earth-shattering changes for Meng Fan.

If he could really comprehend it for ten days and nights, Meng Fan was confident he could fully absorb the Primordial Dao within the Sword God Stele!

Elder Lin thought for a moment and then said, “I can arrange for you to study in the Scripture Pavilion for ten days and nights. As for comprehending the Sword God Stele for ten days and nights, the cost is significant. I can agree, but you must prove yourself first!”

“How should I prove myself?” Meng Fan asked eagerly.

“If you can defeat Junior Luo a year from now, I’ll give you the opportunity to comprehend the Sword God Stele for ten days and nights!” Elder Lin said seriously.

After all, Elder Lin wouldn’t just hand over such a large sum of Spirit Stones to Meng Fan without proof of his worth.

If Meng Fan couldn’t defeat Junior Luo in a year, then it was even less likely he could defeat Ye Qinxin in two years.

This was Elder Lin’s test for Meng Fan!

Senior Disciple Luo, hearing this, cheerfully said to Meng Fan, “Junior Brother, don’t worry, I’ll try to suppress my cultivation and strive not to advance in realm for a year.”

Even if Senior Disciple Luo didn’t break through within a year, he would still be at the eighth level of the True Martial Realm.

What if Luo had a breakthrough within the year and reached the Heavenly Origin Realm? How would that play out?

Meng Fan’s expression turned troubled, as this was indeed difficult.

His confidence in defeating Ye Qinxin relied on the Sword God Stele.

Although the Stele couldn’t improve his True Qi Realm, it could drastically enhance his swordsmanship, turning the tide.

Just give him ten days and nights to comprehend the Sword God Stele, and even at the third level of Qi Refining, he would be confident in fighting someone at the third level of the True Martial Realm.

By then, he would be completely overpowering others in swordsmanship.

Take Elder Lin, for example; even using only the True Qi of the Qi Refining third level, he could easily defeat a master of the Heavenly Origin Realm.

He might not even need to use True Qi.

That’s the suppression of swordsmanship cultivation!

“What, no confidence?”

Elder Lin noticed Meng Fan’s troubled expression and frowned.

Meng Fan said somewhat helplessly, “Elder Lin, I’ve previously comprehended the Sword God Stele once, and it was a great help to me.

I’m confident in defeating Ye Qinxin because of the tremendous help the Sword God Stele has given me.

If I can’t comprehend the Sword God Stele, it will be hard for me to make significant improvements in a short time!”

Hearing Meng Fan’s words, Elder Lin pondered for a while.

After a moment, he said, “In that case, if your performance satisfies me in half a year, I’ll reward you with a day and night of comprehending the Sword God Stele.

Then, if you can defeat Junior Luo a year from now, I’ll reward you with ten days and nights of comprehending the Sword God Stele!

With that, do you have confidence?”

To be honest, Elder Lin was already making concessions for Meng Fan.

This was because he truly valued Meng Fan and had the intention to cultivate him.

Meng Fan didn’t hesitate any longer and replied, “Rest assured, Elder Lin, I will defeat Senior Brother Luo in a year.”

Senior Disciple Luo immediately protested, “Hey, hey, hey, I’m still here. Can you not be so arrogant in front of me?”

Meng Fan gave Senior Disciple Luo an awkward smile.

He had accidentally spoken the truth, which was indeed a bit demoralizing.

Elder Lin waved his hand and said to Meng Fan, “You can go back now. Starting tomorrow, come to me for an hour at the Dragon Hour every day, and I will personally teach you!”

Tonight, he also needed to think carefully about how to instruct Meng Fan.

Meng Fan and Senior Disciple Luo bowed to Elder Lin and then returned to the first floor of the Sword Pavilion.

At the door of his room, Senior Disciple Luo earnestly said to Meng Fan, “Junior Disciple Meng, work hard and do your best. I’ve already disappointed Elder Lin once; don’t let him down again!”

Clearly, Senior Disciple Luo was still troubled by having previously disappointed Elder Lin.

But there was nothing that could be done about it; a person’s talent and enlightenment are determined at birth and can’t be changed by mere effort.

Such is fate!

“Don’t worry, Senior Brother Luo, I will not disappoint you or Elder Lin,” Meng Fan said with a solemn face.

“Good, I’ll be waiting for you to defeat me in a year. I believe you can do it!” Senior Disciple Luo patted Meng Fan’s shoulder.