Proofreader & Editor: Peter Pan
The moment Meng Fan's hand touched the long sword, information about it flooded his mind.
[Sword Name: Hong Qi.]
[Weight: Six jin and seven liang, blade length: one chi, nine cun, and nine fen.]
[Made from Dark Yin Iron, smelted with Extreme Yang Fire for ten days and nights, forged with a thousand hammer strikes using the Chaotic Wind Hammer Technique, and consecrated with Maiden's Heartblood, the sword is complete!]
Consecrated with Maiden's Heartblood?
Meng Fan's brows furrowed as he read the introduction of the Hong Qi sword.
This was Dark Arts!
Sacrificing a living person for a sword, taking a life, was utterly devoid of conscience.
Meng Fan had a vague feeling that the girl sacrificed for the sword might be the same one he had just seen in a red dress—Hong Qi.
No wonder she was called Hong Qi, and so was the sword.
Such a pitiable girl!
"Sigh…" Meng Fan let out a sigh.
He drew the Hong Qi sword, and just like before, a breath of air surged into his body, then traveled through his meridians before finally converging in his Dantian.
Three times in a row, each time he drew the sword, a special breath entered Meng Fan's Dantian.
He had no idea what this breath was!
The previous White Feather Wooden Sword had released a Malevolent Aura.
But this Hong Qi sword, which seemed to be brimming with evil, did not send any Malevolent Aura towards Meng Fan.
This surprised Meng Fan.
Could it be because he had just gotten familiar with Hong Qi, so she didn't trouble him?
The Malevolent Aura from the White Feather Sword had activated [Sword Dao Transcendence], transforming into a special memory that taught him the Flying Feather Sword Technique and Surprising Swan Steps.
Now, without the Malevolent Aura from the Hong Qi sword, he couldn't trigger [Sword Dao Transcendence], and thus he gained nothing!
However, this wasn't necessarily a bad thing, after all, the Hong Qi sword was a Spiritual Sword, far too terrifying.
Whether [Sword Dao Transcendence] could handle the Malevolent Aura of the Hong Qi sword was uncertain!
Although the talent was strong, Meng Fan himself was too weak.
Meng Fan returned the Hong Qi sword to the rack and began to clean the other long swords.
He planned to clean twenty swords before resting.
This was his assigned task!
He then cleaned seventeen more swords, none of which released any Malevolent Aura.
Most of the swords on the first floor of the Sword Pavilion were newly forged Sword Weapons.
Swords that had been bloodied and contained Malevolent Aura were, after all, in the minority!
Moreover, Meng Fan was careful and deliberately avoided the more dangerous Sword Weapons.
Although he didn't encounter any more Malevolent Auras, each of the twenty times he wiped a sword, a breath flowed into his body, and he didn't know what it was.
But it should be a blessing, not a curse!
After finishing, Meng Fan returned to his room to rest.
***
Early the next morning, he picked up the Flying Feather Sword from the first floor rack of the Sword Pavilion and began to practice swordplay.
[Flying Feather Sword Technique]
This was the only Sword Technique Meng Fan had learned, and he had just learned it yesterday.
It must be said that Meng Fan's original self was truly useless.
Having been in the Shu Mountain Sword Sect for so long, he hadn't mastered a single Sword Art!
A Mixed Spiritual Root was genuinely worthless.
The Flying Feather Sword Technique, sharing its name with the Flying Feather Sword, was indeed more suitable to be performed with it.
Yesterday, Meng Fan saw a memory of a woman sword dancing, clearly after obtaining the Flying Feather Sword, she created a Sword Technique to match it, naming it [Flying Feather Sword Technique].
This Sword Technique was not profound.
But Meng Fan's Cultivation Level was extremely low, making it perfect for him to practice this basic Sword Technique, a gateway to the art!
Senior Disciple Luo opened his door and came out, seeing Meng Fan practicing his swordplay.
"You lad, although your cultivation is weak, you perform that Sword Technique quite well; it looks like you've put in a lot of effort, practicing for many years, haven't you?" Senior Disciple Luo casually praised Meng Fan.
Meng Fan smiled shyly, neither confirming nor denying.
Of course, he wouldn't say that he had just learned this Sword Technique yesterday!
[Sword Dao Transcendence], this supreme talent, allowed him to master this Sword Technique upon first contact and even optimize it.
"Today I need to go out to buy some things, I'll leave you in charge of the first floor of the Sword Pavilion, I've explained all the rules and regulations to you yesterday," Senior Disciple Luo told Meng Fan.
"Understood, Senior Brother Luo," Meng Fan replied.
***
After Senior Disciple Luo left, the vast first floor of the Sword Pavilion was left with only Meng Fan.
To be honest, it felt a bit chilly.
He glanced at the stairs leading to the second floor of the Sword Pavilion and shook his head with a wry smile.
Although Senior Disciple Luo hadn't forbidden him from going to the second floor, reason told him it was better not to go.
The Sword Pavilion was fraught with danger; the first floor was already perilous enough for him, let alone the second floor!
He might become a corpse the moment he set foot on the second floor.
Meng Fan continued to clean the long swords, preparing to finish today's twenty as well.
When he touched the eighth sword, a Malevolent Aura rushed towards him.
[Sword Name: White Night.]
[Weight: Nine jin and three liang, blade length: two chi, three cun, and three fen.]
[Made from Mysterious Iron, forged with Ordinary Fire for ten days and nights, the hammer struck nine hundred times to complete the sword.]
[The sword is an Ordinary Sword, but having slain three thousand six hundred and fifteen people, it has the potential to become a Demon Sword.]
This was an ordinary Sword Weapon, yet it had killed over three thousand six hundred people!
This proved that although the sword was ordinary, its previous owner was definitely not a Mortal.
Having drunk so much blood, the Malevolent Aura contained within the sword was astonishing.
Meng Fan's expression changed, extremely solemn.
The Malevolent Aura surged into his body, turning his face pale instantly.
If another Menial Disciple came here, they would likely die on the spot from the impact of the Malevolent Aura.
Menial Disciples were too weak; coming to the Sword Pavilion was akin to courting death!
Even for an Outer Sect Disciple, becoming a Guarding Sword Disciple in the Sword Pavilion was a matter of life and death.
[Sword Dao Transcendence], activated!
Immediately, the Malevolent Aura that rushed into Meng Fan's body was refined.
At the same time, a scene appeared in Meng Fan's mind.
***
A ragged young beggar, leaning on a sword, looked coldly ahead at a group of beggars.
"Ni Feng, if you want to beg in this territory, you have to follow me. I'll give you a chance, crawl under my legs, and I'll allow you to beg here!" said a Beggar Leader to the young man.
The young man looked up, his expression cold.
The Beggar Leader angrily said, "What, you don't agree? Don't think that because you picked up some scrap metal, you can act tough in front of me. I'll kill you, believe it or not?"
"This is not scrap metal, it's a sword!" the young man said, his tone as cold as his face.
"A sword? Haha, can it kill?" The Beggar Leader walked up to the young man, slapped his face, humiliating him!
Clang—
A Sword Song rang out.
The sword in the young man's hand was drawn.
The next second, the Beggar Leader clutched his throat, his face full of disbelief as he stared at the young man, falling to the ground.
Dead!
One Sword Seals the Throat!
"A sword, naturally, can kill."
The young man re-sheathed the blood-stained sword without a glance at the corpse of the Beggar Leader on the ground.
His gaze, coldly turned to the group of beggars.
A group of beggars, scared witless, scattered like birds and beasts.
The scene flashed.
Meng Fan saw the young man appear in the County Government Office, drawing his sword expressionlessly, and then a line of blood appeared on the County Magistrate's neck.
The scene flashed again.
The young man drew his sword amidst an army, One Sword Seals the Throat, instantly killing a general.
All the scenes were simply repeating the action of drawing the sword.
***
Moments later, Meng Fan, who had his eyes closed, opened them.
Through this memory, he learned a Sword Technique.
[Extreme Path Sword Drawing Technique]
Meng Fan instinctively drew the White Night sword.
A flash of sword light bloomed on the first floor of the Sword Pavilion.
Although it was his first time using this drawing technique, it was already perfect.
"What a terrifying sword!" Meng Fan muttered to himself.
Sheathing the sword, Meng Fan was still immersed in the drawing technique he had just performed.
This sword was one that a young man had created from obscurity.
It seemed ordinary, but it hid many mysteries!
This young man was definitely a chosen one.
Meng Fan thought of the Beggar Leader in the memory who had called out the young man's name.
Ni Feng!
He seemed to have heard this name before.
Frowning, he suddenly remembered someone.
The Lord of Dragon Guardian Manor in the Great Dragon Empire—Lord Eternal Night!
This supreme lord of the empire, second only to one and above tens of thousands, seemed to be named Ni Feng.
Lord Eternal Night, too, wielded a sword!
Legend had it that this lord was a terrifying existence who had slain tens of thousands, his hands stained with blood.
The souls that died under his sword were countless.
He was a living Asura!
Could it be that this unremarkable White Night sword was once the saber of Lord Eternal Night?
Although it sounded like a fantasy, Meng Fan felt it might be true!
"But even so, the lord is the lord, and the White Night sword is the White Night sword. Even if the lord used the White Night sword, it remains an ordinary sword, no stronger than any other."
"After all, it's the lord who is strong, not the White Night sword!"
Meng Fan murmured to himself, returning the White Night sword to the rack.
If Lord Eternal Night had always used the White Night sword, then it might not just have the potential to become a [Demon Sword].
It would have truly transformed into a terrifying Demon Sword!
Unfortunately, it was clear that Lord Eternal Night had abandoned the White Night sword, or else it wouldn't have ended up in the Sword Pavilion.
After putting down the White Night sword, Meng Fan did not continue to clean the long swords.
Because he was tired!
[Sword Dao Transcendence] had refined the Malevolent Aura of the White Night sword, but Meng Fan was clearly affected.
Extremely exhausted, he felt as if his vitality had been greatly damaged.
The previous White Feather Sword also had Malevolent Aura, but its impact on Meng Fan was negligible.
The White Night sword was clearly much more terrifying than the White Feather Sword!
"It seems my previous caution was justified. Even the talent of [Sword Dao Transcendence] is not invincible. If I touch a too powerful Sword Weapon, I simply can't withstand the Malevolent Aura it emits!"
Meng Fan, sitting on the stool, showed a slight smile.
Although extremely weary and his spirit utterly drained.
But… worth it!
[Extreme Path Sword Drawing Technique] very strong.
If he were to take the Menial Disciple assessment again, with the [Extreme Path Sword Drawing Technique], he was confident he could go from last to first!
The Sword Pavilion, to others, was an Extreme Land.
But to Meng Fan, in a sense, it was a Fortunate Place.
***
Meng Fan sat on the stool to rest.
Only after a full two hours did he recover some vitality.
Moments later, someone walked into the Sword Pavilion from outside the door.
This person was quite familiar to Meng Fan.
Yang Fei!
Like Meng Fan, he was a Menial Disciple before, but Steward Wang had taken him as an apprentice.
Yesterday, this Yang Fei and Steward Wang had tricked Meng Fan into becoming a Guarding Sword Disciple in the Sword Pavilion.
At that time, Meng Fan didn't know what these two were plotting.
But after chatting with Senior Disciple Luo and experiencing a day and night, Meng Fan had completely understood.
These two…wanted to put him to death!