Senior Disciple Luo truly believed that Meng Fan could defeat him.

During his time in the Sword Pavilion, Meng Fan had refreshed his understanding time and again.

To be honest, he was somewhat in awe of Meng Fan.

“Haha, just don’t lose too miserably, Senior Brother Luo, or you’ll be crying,” Meng Fan said with a laugh.

…

…

Meng Fan spent a sleepless night immersed in cultivation.

“I knew I wasn’t wrong about you. Gold will shine sooner or later. I didn’t expect the big shots of the Shu Mountain Sword Sect to take notice of you so quickly,” Hong Qi’s voice echoed in Meng Fan’s mind.

Meng Fan replied with a smile, “If you think about it, you and Elder Lin recognized my potential earlier than anyone else. You have better foresight than Elder Lin!”

“Elder Lin is very powerful. I feel a shiver in his presence, naturally suppressed by him,” Hong Qi said with a complex tone.

Meng Fan grinned.

“That’s because Elder Lin has reached the realm of unity between man and sword; he is the sword, and the sword is him!”

“In a sense, he is a sword, and so are you, akin to the same kind.”

“His sword is much stronger than you, so it’s normal for you to feel suppressed.”

Hearing Meng Fan’s words, Hong Qi was shocked.

“Unity between man and sword? What kind of realm is that? I’ve never heard of it. How do you know so much?”

Logically, Meng Fan was just a Menial Disciple before, and even after arriving at the Sword Pavilion, no one had guided him.

Although Elder Lin took an interest in Meng Fan, he had not formally taught him.

So how did Meng Fan come to know such profound knowledge?

Meng Fan sighed, a bit helplessly, “Why do you think I was so eager to comprehend the Sword God Stele? All this information, I’ve gleaned from the Sword God Stele!”

Hong Qi fell silent. This was the difference between individuals.

Although she was no longer human, she still felt a bit defeated by Meng Fan.

This guy, he’s a true Monstrosity!

Probably only Meng Fan in the entire Shu Mountain Sword Sect could comprehend so much from the Sword God Stele.

To be fair, the Sword God Stele seemed tailor-made for Meng Fan.

Hong Qi couldn’t help but wonder, if the rumors were true and there was a divine sword within the Sword God Stele, would it eventually recognize Meng Fan as its master and become his saber?

What would she do then?

If Meng Fan obtained such a powerful divine sword, he would surely abandon her, right?

With this thought, Hong Qi couldn’t help but feel anxious.

The next day, at the Dragon Hour.

After washing up and eating, Meng Fan didn’t even wipe his sword before heading straight to the second floor of the Sword Pavilion.

With Elder Lin’s instructions from the day before, he didn’t need Senior Disciple Luo to lead him and went directly to the second floor of the Sword Pavilion.

“You’re here.”

Elder Lin glanced at Meng Fan.

“Elder Lin!”

Meng Fan bowed to Elder Lin.

Elder Lin nodded at Meng Fan and then stood up.

“Attack me with your best Sword Technique,” Elder Lin said directly.

He wanted to teach Meng Fan, but first, he needed to thoroughly understand him.

And the only way to truly understand Meng Fan’s swordsmanship was to experience his attack firsthand.

His best Sword Technique?

Meng Fan pondered, what counted as his best Sword Technique?

It was hard to choose.

It seemed that any Sword Technique he touched, he could master.

Any Sword Technique in Meng Fan’s hands could be said to be his forte!

However, the one Meng Fan practiced the most was the Emerald Sea Tide Rises Sword Technique, especially since he had spent some effort teaching Liu Yanping.

So after a moment of thought, Meng Fan drew the Hong Qi Sword and executed the Emerald Sea Tide Rises Sword Technique towards Elder Lin.

He didn’t use his True Qi, but a burst of Sword Qi shot out from the Hong Qi Sword.

Facing Elder Lin, he did not hold back.

Moreover, displaying such excellence could make Elder Lin appreciate him more and nurture him with greater dedication.

Elder Lin stood still, and Meng Fan’s Emerald Sea Tide Rises Sword Qi dissipated into nothingness a zhang away from Elder Lin.

Meng Fan’s expression remained unchanged; he knew his Sword Qi couldn’t possibly harm Elder Lin.

But while Meng Fan’s expression was unchanged, Elder Lin’s was one of utter astonishment.

“I knew you had an exceptional Enlightenment for swordsmanship and top-notch Talent, but I didn’t expect you to bring a Sword Technique to its pinnacle and comprehend its Sword Rhyme at this Realm.”

Sword Rhyme is the foundation for cultivating Sword Intent and can be considered the cornerstone.

Once a Sword Technique is cultivated to the point of Sword Rhyme, given time, it’s possible to cultivate Sword Intent.

Many sword cultivators in the True Martial Realm find it hard to cultivate a Sword Technique to the point of Sword Rhyme.

Just as many in the Heavenly Origin Realm struggle to comprehend Sword Intent.

This is the disparity in Enlightenment!

“However, this Emerald Sea Tide Rises Sword, although not weak, is not worthy of my disciple. It’s a pity, if you had met me earlier, you wouldn’t have wasted time on such a mediocre Sword Art!” Elder Lin said somewhat helplessly.

If Liu Yanping heard this, she would definitely be indignant.

The Emerald Sea Tide Rises Sword was already a very strong Sword Technique, yet Elder Lin dismissed it as worthless.

But to Meng Fan, Elder Lin’s words resonated.

In his view, the Emerald Sea Tide Rises Sword indeed wasn’t anything special.

Whether it was the Extreme Path Sword Drawing Technique, the Supreme Heartless Sword, or the Splitting Sword Technique he had encountered, all were far superior to the Emerald Sea Tide Rises Sword.

And the Seven Absolute Demon Swords were even less comparable!

“How long did you practice this Emerald Sea Tide Rises Sword to reach this level?” Elder Lin asked curiously.

The question was necessary because it would allow him to understand Meng Fan’s Enlightenment and swordsmanship aptitude more directly.

Although he knew Meng Fan had strong Enlightenment and astonishing swordsmanship Talent, he lacked a clear concept.

“Uh, about, a little over a month,” Meng Fan thought and tried to overstate.

In fact, it was probably less than a month.

Well, about a month!

Elder Lin’s gaze became somewhat vacant upon hearing this.

To maintain his own image, he tried to keep his facial expression unchanged, but his eyes betrayed him.

A little over a month to cultivate a Sword Technique to the point of Sword Rhyme?

What kind of Monstrosity was this?

Did such an abnormal person really exist in the world?

Elder Lin was skeptical.

He had been regretting that Meng Fan had wasted time cultivating the Emerald Sea Tide Rises Sword.

If he had met him earlier and passed on a more profound and powerful Sword Technique…

But one month? That was just too preposterous.

Forget a month, even a year or two would be a waste!

“You’re not joking with me, are you?” Elder Lin took a deep breath, somewhat incredulously asking Meng Fan.

Meng Fan quickly said with a serious face, “Of course not. Before, I was a Menial Disciple and had no access to these Sword Techniques.

After joining the Sword Pavilion, I encountered Senior Sister Liu Yanping in the Training Hall a month ago, and I learned the Emerald Sea Tide Rises Sword from her.

If Master doesn’t believe me, you can ask Senior Sister Liu!”

Afraid that Elder Lin would doubt him, Meng Fan brought up Liu Yanping.

Elder Lin shook his head and smiled bitterly, “Why would I ask her? If what you say is true, it proves your swordsmanship Talent and Enlightenment are even higher than I imagined. Perhaps you really can defeat Ye Qinxin in two years!”

“However, first you must prove you’re telling the truth, and that’s simple enough, no need to ask little Liu.”

“Your master will now pass on a Sword Technique to you. If you can cultivate its Sword Rhyme within three months, it will prove you haven’t lied.”

Elder Lin had unconsciously started to refer to himself as “your master,” a subconscious acknowledgment of Meng Fan.

Meng Fan nodded. Three months to cultivate a Sword Technique to its pinnacle and bring out its Sword Rhyme?

It wasn’t a matter of whether there was a challenge or not.

To put it in perspective…

It’s like asking a high school student to recite the multiplication table, with three days to prepare.

Isn’t that underestimating someone?

Moments later, Elder Lin handed over a sword manual to Meng Fan.

“You have an hour to memorize the manual, and then your master will personally teach you this Sword Art.”

Meng Fan took the manual, sat cross-legged on the ground, and began to read.

Elder Lin tossed a cushion over, casually saying, “The ground is cold.”

“Thank you, Master!”

Meng Fan sat on the cushion and started to seriously read the sword manual.

“Thunderous Sword Technique”

The name contained the word “thunder,” and Meng Fan was inwardly moved.

Generally, the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth were common in cultivation techniques.

Wind and cloud attributes were also fairly common.

But “thunder” was quite special!

Most techniques with the word “thunder” were strong.

Considering this was a Sword Technique given by Elder Lin, Meng Fan instinctively sensed that it must be formidable!

Indeed, after reading the manual, Meng Fan was astonished.

This Thunderous Sword Technique surpassed all Sword Techniques he had seen before.

Even compared to the Seven Absolute Demon Swords, the Thunderous Sword Technique seemed to have an edge.

Perhaps the Seven Absolute Demon Swords were more powerful, but they had significant drawbacks; using them risked falling into demonic ways, with uncontrollable killing intent.

“Master, I’ve finished reading,” Meng Fan said after half an incense stick’s time.

Elder Lin spoke irritably, “Keep reading, memorize it well!”

Meng Fan replied helplessly, “I’ve already memorized it.”

If it were any other technique or book, Meng Fan couldn’t possibly memorize it in such a short time.

But with Sword Techniques, with his Talent of Sword Dao Transcendence, he remembered everything after one read.

Anything related to “sword” was like cheating for Meng Fan.

Elder Lin glared at Meng Fan, feeling the young man was getting “carried away” and not grounded.

He didn’t believe Meng Fan could memorize such a long sword manual in such a short time.

“Alright, then recite it to me!”