Chapter 40: I'm a Senior Now

The Sword Dao sacred land, the Exquisite Sword Pavilion, stood among the northern mountains. Countless people wished to enter the Exquisite Sword Pavilion, but because its location was so perilous, only those with great perseverance and fortune could reach it.

“Dong dong dong…”

A dull bell tolled within the Exquisite Sword Pavilion. Countless disciples looked up in surprise, not knowing what had happened.

“Master, come out quickly! Senior Sister is dying.” At that moment, a group of disciples landed in the courtyard in panic, shouting toward the main hall.

As a strict sect, the Exquisite Sword Pavilion naturally did not allow disciples to barge into the main hall so rashly, but the situation was dire, and the disciples could not care about that now.

For the past two days, they had traveled day and night without daring to pause, just to get back faster. Senior Sister Ni’s breath grew weaker and weaker; if not for the medicinal pills sustaining her, she would have already passed away.

Just then, the space within the hall trembled slightly, and a figure appeared.

If not for the clothing, it would be hard to tell if the person was male or female, for the space around their face was murky and unclear, like a pool of muddy water.

“Master, Senior Sister Ni…”

“A supreme sword intent… What exactly happened? Go summon the elders of each peak.” The Pavilion Lord of Exquisite Sword said nothing more, but his expression changed, clearly finding the matter troublesome. Then he pulled Ni Mantian into the void and left.

The disciples exchanged glances, not daring to linger, and immediately went to notify the elders of each peak.

…

At this moment, Lin Fan was still unaware that he had caused trouble. Every day, he cheerfully continued northward as if on vacation.

Along the way, Lin Fan witnessed the wonders of nature and saw many strange plants.

But what left the deepest impression on Lin Fan was that there were quite a few fierce beasts here.

Eh!

There are people ahead.

Lin Fan’s expression changed, and he stopped. He had just heard voices ahead. On the way here, he had noticed many footprints resembling those of humans, so the Great Yan Imperial Court must be near.

Lin Fan hid in the shadows and saw a group of people ahead working together to kill a fierce beast. Lin Fan had dealt with one of those beasts before; its strength was decent. But even so, this beast was killed by these people, who seemed somewhat formidable in Lin Fan’s eyes.

Five men and three women, all at the second level of the Innate Realm. If they fought one-on-one, this second-level Innate Golden-Horned Beast could easily slaughter them.

Then the group rested on the spot, gutted the Golden-Horned Beast, cut off its horn and put it in a bag, set up camp, lit a fire, and began roasting meat. It seemed they intended to eat the beast.

“Hey, everyone, how are you?” Seeing that they were all at the second level of the Innate Realm, Lin Fan felt no fear. Besides, he was a bit hungry, so he came out to get some food. He also wanted to leave with them. Their uniforms were uniform, so they were probably from the same place. Blending in with them would make him less conspicuous.

Getting food and going where he wanted—it was a perfect two-birds-with-one-stone plan, definitely feasible.

“Who goes there?” The eight had just sat down to rest when they heard someone approaching. Startled, they quickly drew their weapons and warily looked ahead.

When they saw it was only one person, they breathed a sigh of relief. But even so, they did not let down their guard. In the Sunset Forest, all kinds of people roamed, and there were far too many ill-intentioned individuals out in the world.

Seeing how tense they were, Lin Fan smiled. “Don’t be nervous, everyone. I’m not a bad person.”

“Hmph, a bad person naturally wouldn’t say they’re a bad person,” said a girl in a red long dress, holding her sword warily.

“Brother, we don’t welcome you here. Please leave,” said a man.

Lin Fan looked at this man, then at the other seven who remained silent. Clearly, this man held considerable authority among them.

A smile curled at the corner of Lin Fan’s mouth. “May I ask if the Great Yan Imperial Court is ahead?”

“Thirty li ahead is the Great Yan Imperial Court.” Zang Tianhao was very wary of Lin Fan, who had appeared out of nowhere in the Sunset Forest. Without any weapons, yet able to appear here calmly, he was clearly no ordinary person.

They had formed a team to come here and hunt the Blazing Flame Beast. They had planned to leave after killing it, but the Blazing Flame Beast’s meat was delicious, so they decided to have a feast before departing.

“Thank you. But I’m hungry, and it looks like you’re making something good. I won’t stand on ceremony—let’s eat together.” Lin Fan walked forward without any hesitation.

“Stop, or don’t blame me for being rude!” Zang Tianhao saw that the man refused to leave and spoke sternly.

“Why are you so selfish? When we’re out in the world, we should help each other,” Lin Fan said.

“Brother Zang, why waste words on him? He looks shifty-eyed and clearly not a good person. Let’s capture him first.” As soon as Han Mengmeng, dressed in a red long dress, finished speaking, her long sword danced in the air like rippling waves, then thrust toward Lin Fan’s arm.

“One Sword Topples the City.”

Han Mengmeng, at the second level of the Innate Realm, had decent swordsmanship. True essence covered her sword, emitting a red glow, and her momentum was fierce.

Lin Fan was displeased now. What did she mean by “shifty-eyed”? His face was so pure and kind, yet she called him shifty-eyed!

“Clang…”

“A young lady, attacking at the drop of a word—that’s not right.” Lin Fan stood still, holding the true-essence-covered blade of Han Mengmeng’s sword with his left hand, and said helplessly.

“This…”

Zang Tianhao stared in disbelief at the scene before him. This man could actually grasp Han Mengmeng’s sword blade with just his bare flesh? This… this…

“Senior, please show mercy!” Zang Tianhao was startled and immediately shouted.

“Nine Turns of the Path.”

Seeing that her sword was caught, Han Mengmeng grew angry. Her body suddenly spun rapidly, intending to twist Lin Fan’s hand off.

Lin Fan shook his head slightly.

Well, since that’s the case, let me try the ‘Plucking Flowers and Stroking Chrysanthemum Finger’.

At that moment, Lin Fan released the sword blade. His fingers gently turned, stroking Han Mengmeng’s sword like plucking a flower.

“Ting…”

With a crisp sound, the long sword in Han Mengmeng’s hand shattered inch by inch and fell to the ground.

“Ding, congratulations, ‘Plucking Flowers and Stroking Chrysanthemum Finger’ experience +10.”

“My Floating Duckweed Sword!” Han Mengmeng looked at the fragments on the ground, her expression changing. Her eyes reddened slightly, as if she were very sad.

“Senior, calm your anger! We failed to recognize your greatness. Please don’t take offense,” Zang Tianhao said hastily.

When out in the world, if you encounter someone stronger than you, you must never clash head-on. Sometimes you have to back down.

“Hurry up and apologize to the senior!” Zang Tianhao urged. Being able to grasp the Floating Duckweed Sword with bare hands clearly indicated a very high level of body refinement—definitely not someone they could afford to provoke.

Han Mengmeng glanced at Lin Fan, then at her Floating Duckweed Sword, and finally said reluctantly, “I’m sorry.”

…

…

“It’s fine. Meeting is fate. Now, get on with roasting the meat. After we eat, we’ll travel together.” Lin Fan sat down unceremoniously on a stone on the ground and gestured for the others to start roasting the meat.

Lin Fan was quite pleased inside. He hadn’t expected that right after leaving the sect, he would not only rob two experts at the Divine Incarnation Realm but also play the role of a senior in front of a group.

Sure enough, once you get out, there are plenty of joyful things.

Zang Tianhao breathed a sigh of relief and sat down beside Han Mengmeng. Although this person had not done anything excessive for now, Zang Tianhao was still worried inside.

“Eh, why are you traveling with a horse?” Lin Fan noticed a horse tied under a tree, grazing on grass, and asked curiously.

“Senior, this is a Lustrous Fragrance Horse, an oddity among horses. It can use its unique scent to lure lone male beasts. If the beast attracted is too powerful, we hide in the shadows and don’t come out,” Zang Tianhao answered truthfully.

“Oh, so it’s a horse that easily cheats?” Lin Fan thought it was a strange animal.

“Yes, that’s why this kind of Lustrous Fragrance Horse is very common and not a valuable beast,” Zang Tianhao said.

“What a peculiar beast. If there’s no food, you could chop it up and eat it,” Lin Fan said, having never encountered such a horse before.

“Senior, this horse cannot be eaten. Because it is naturally lustrous and fragrant, even beasts find its meat hard to swallow.”

“Oh, I see. Even beasts disdain it.”

“Senior, the meat is ready.”

…