Chapter 3: Let me do it, you little brat!

After the relevant content of the Divine Weapon Trial was conveyed to the new disciples, Chén Sānyǎng and the other Tianfeng Sect higher-ups waved them away, not forgetting to remind them to prepare well for the next seven days to achieve their desired ranking.

Xiù Qīngchéng saw that the fellow who had insulted Mèng Yìngxīng in the ranks earlier seemed to want to further provoke Mèng Yìngxīng after the meeting, but probably due to a sect elder lingering around, he didn’t dare to act rashly and simply snorted before leaving.
Mèng Yìngxīng still walked with Liǔ Chénxīn, who had accompanied him earlier.
“Only seven days left…”
Xiù Qīngchéng could hear Mèng Yìngxīng muttering to himself.
In that soft whisper, Xiù Qīngchéng could feel the immense unease in Mèng Yìngxīng’s heart.
After all, such a rule, where one’s stay or departure was determined by strength, would make anyone with insufficient power frown.
Now, not to mention Mèng Yìngxīng, even Xiù Qīngchéng was worried about his bleak future.
After all, the Ting Tian Sword was in Mèng Yìngxīng’s hands, and if Xiù Qīngchéng didn’t want to be sent back to prison, he and Mèng Yìngxīng were already in the same boat.
Xiù Qīngchéng only regretted that he couldn’t speak or grow hands and feet.
Otherwise, he would personally teach Mèng Yìngxīng all the powerful sword moves he had summarized from his previous Sword Masters.
Even if Mèng Yìngxīng wasn’t the Third Young Master of a certain Wutan City, he would still turn him into the Third Young Master of a certain Wutan City!

“Junior Brother Yìngxīng, I know you’re worried about the Divine Weapon Trial in seven days.”
Liǔ Chénxīn, who had followed Mèng Yìngxīng the whole way without speaking, now patted Mèng Yìngxīng’s slender shoulder.
“Why don’t you come to Senior Sister’s place tonight?
I can help you cultivate.
You’ve been stuck at the Upper Stage of Stargazer for so long; I think with just a little more effort, you can break through to the Star-Like realm.”
Mèng Yìngxīng stopped and met Liǔ Chénxīn’s gaze, seeing the concern in her clear eyes.
But he still shook his head.
“No need to trouble Senior Sister Liǔ, I can manage on my own.”
Hearing that Mèng Yìngxīng actually refused Liǔ Chénxīn’s invitation, Xiù Qīngchéng was incredulous.
How could a man refuse the invitation of such a beautiful girl!?
And it was for the evening!
If it were him, he would definitely ask Senior Sister to help him cultivate every single day!
Perhaps it was Xiù Qīngchéng’s imagination, but although Mèng Yìngxīng never refused Liǔ Chénxīn’s company, there was always a faint, subtle sense of distance in his attitude towards her.
“Is that so?”
Hearing her rejection, Liǔ Chénxīn withdrew her hand, making no particular movement, but a fleeting, obscure light flickered in her eyes for a moment.
“Then, Junior Brother, I’ll see you off here.
Be sure to work hard these next seven days.
Senior Sister really, really hopes to see you in Tianfeng Sect in the future.”
As Liǔ Chénxīn finished speaking, she waved goodbye to Mèng Yìngxīng and departed in the opposite direction, her graceful silhouette remarkably charming.

After parting ways with Liǔ Chénxīn, Mèng Yìngxīng returned to his residence in Tianfeng Sect with the Ting Tian Sword.
Tianfeng Sect consisted of five peaks, each overseen by an elder, and further subdivided into thirteen courtyards.
Basically, when Tianfeng Sect accepted disciples, it was already decided which peak and which courtyard a person would cultivate in.
However, Mèng Yìngxīng belonged to no courtyard and no peak.
The sect elders had told Mèng Yìngxīng that he was born in Tianfeng Sect when a pair of refugee parents sought refuge there.
His parents had passed away one after another shortly after his birth.
Out of humanitarian spirit, Tianfeng Sect had taken in the newborn Mèng Yìngxīng, giving him food and allowing him to survive to the present.
Although Mèng Yìngxīng’s cultivation talent didn’t meet the minimum standards for Tianfeng Sect’s disciples, the sect still decided to give him a chance, which was this Divine Weapon Trial.
As long as he could achieve a ranking in the Divine Weapon Trial, he could legitimately continue to stay in Tianfeng Sect.
Conversely, if Mèng Yìngxīng lost, he would be equally dismissed from Tianfeng Sect, with no further ties from then on.

Mèng Yìngxīng’s residence in Tianfeng Sect was a humble small courtyard on the Welcoming Peak.
Xiù Qīngchéng had been scrutinizing his surroundings ever since Mèng Yìngxīng returned home.
The courtyard walls were mottled like shifting light and shadow, not a single complete patch of paint could be found.
The house could be described as bare, with nothing inside.
‘So miserable, just as miserable as I was, imprisoned in the Divine Armory Pavilion for who knows how long.’
Xiù Qīngchéng thought silently.

When Mèng Yìngxīng returned to his small house, the sun had already begun to set, but he didn’t immediately prepare dinner.
Instead, he first drew the Ting Tian Sword from its sheath and practiced various moves in the courtyard until the sunlight was completely swallowed by night, only then stopping, drenched in sweat.
He was unwilling to waste too much time on anything other than cultivation.
Xiù Qīngchéng saw a piece of wood in the small courtyard that resembled a sword but wasn’t, guessing that Mèng Yìngxīng didn’t have a proper sword weapon when he used to cultivate.
Moreover, Mèng Yìngxīng’s sword moves… could be described as a complete mess.
His set of sword techniques was without any structure, and he didn’t know where he had secretly learned it from.
It was practically a jumble of several sword techniques mixed together.
“It’s over, it’s really over now.”
Xiù Qīngchéng, who had held a sliver of hope for Mèng Yìngxīng’s swordsmanship earlier, could only now tremble while ‘holding his brain’.
It seemed he couldn’t escape the fate of being locked back in the Divine Armory Pavilion this time.
After finishing his sword practice, Mèng Yìngxīng casually cooked some vegetable porridge to fill his stomach; dinner for the day was dealt with.

In the dead of night, the sky was crowded with brilliant stardust, comparable to the bright moon, dazzling and captivating.
“I’m about to become friends with a former Sword Master, and he really works hard at cultivating.”
Xiù Qīngchéng, without any sleepiness, looked at Mèng Yìngxīng, who had placed him aside and was sitting cross-legged on the bed, cultivating instead of sleeping, and couldn’t help but sigh with emotion.
How did that saying go?
All roads lead to Rome, but some people are born in Rome.
The path of cultivation is not like studying; in studying, diligence can compensate for dullness, but in cultivation, diligent people can never compare to those with natural talent.
This might be cruel, but this was the reality of the Jintian Nine Provinces.
Just as Xiù Qīngchéng was busy with his thoughts, he suddenly felt an aura, completely out of place with the dilapidated and quiet small courtyard, burst in from outside.
Moreover, its target was very clear: it was coming for the person inside the house!
That aura was undoubtedly murderous intent!
Xiù Qīngchéng was startled and immediately vibrated his blade, trying to wake Mèng Yìngxīng.
Although he didn’t know who the opponent was, that murderous intent was absolutely not fake.
Xiù Qīngchéng didn’t want his Sword Master to die here now!
Perhaps it was some strange dignity of Xiù Qīngchéng’s; he would not allow his Sword Master to meet such a tragic end!
Probably Xiù Qīngchéng’s warning worked.
Mèng Yìngxīng, feeling a strange noise, suddenly opened his eyes.
By then, those killing intents were already very close, and Mèng Yìngxīng also sensed that pure murderous intent.
He agilely rolled off the bed and, with a flick of his wrist, drew the Ting Tian Sword from its sheath!
The next moment, a figure incredibly familiar to Mèng Yìngxīng burst in from outside.
He shattered the fragile wooden window, and a weapon gleaming with the cold light of the moon swung amidst the scattering shards of the wooden window, directly slashing towards Mèng Yìngxīng.
Xiù Qīngchéng still hoped that Mèng Yìngxīng would somehow be able to counterattack in this instant, but to his surprise, in the blink of an eye, Mèng Yìngxīng was pinned to the ground by this uninvited guest.
If Mèng Yìngxīng hadn’t blocked with the Ting Tian Sword, the uninvited guest’s blade would have squarely struck his neck.
“Lù… Lù Sānwàn…”
Mèng Yìngxīng struggled to block the opponent’s relentless attack, painstakingly uttering a name.
Only then did Xiù Qīngchéng realize that the assassin attacking Mèng Yìngxīng was actually the person who had mocked him earlier today!
Lù Sānwàn’s face was expressionless, but his wide eyes were filled with terrifying bloodshot veins; he didn’t look to be in a normal state at all.
As Lù Sānwàn gradually applied pressure, Mèng Yìngxīng became increasingly powerless.
Lù Sānwàn’s blade slowly closed in on Mèng Yìngxīng’s neck, drawing a trace of blood.
“Mèng Yìngxīng!
You wretched brat, resist!”
Xiù Qīngchéng was terribly anxious.
He had been a sword for hundreds, thousands of years, and never had a Sword Master fallen to such a state!
Xiù Qīngchéng wished he could personally enter the fray right now.
With his strength, dealing with a junior at the Middle Stage of Star-Like wouldn’t be easy?!
He would have killed them all!
But a Middle Stage Star-Like assassin was clearly not something Mèng Yìngxīng could contend with.
Driven by the desire to survive, Mèng Yìngxīng suddenly erupted with a burst of astonishing strength for an instant.
He kicked away Lù Sānwàn, who was pressing down on him, stood up, and slashed at Lù Sānwàn with the Ting Tian Sword.
But how could Lù Sānwàn, a Middle Stage Star-Like, be so easily counter-killed by Mèng Yìngxīng, an Upper Stage Stargazer?
Lù Sānwàn reached out and instantly grabbed Mèng Yìngxīng’s sword-wielding hand, then, with all his strength, twisted Mèng Yìngxīng’s hand, causing Mèng Yìngxīng to stab the Ting Tian Sword into his own shoulder!
Mèng Yìngxīng was thus pinned to the ground by Lù Sānwàn with the Ting Tian Sword!
“Wretched brat!” Xiù Qīngchéng exclaimed, the Ting Tian Sword trembling slightly.
Crimson blood slowly welled up, instantly staining the Ting Tian Sword’s blade and Mèng Yìngxīng’s shoulder clothing.
Intense pain radiated from his shoulder throughout Mèng Yìngxīng’s limbs and bones, causing his consciousness to blur, and cold sweat to trickle down uncontrollably.
In his blurred state, Mèng Yìngxīng suddenly heard a clear, young girl’s voice—
“Wretched brat, let me do it!!”
At this moment, the entire blade of the Ting Tian Sword was covered in a network of shimmering, iridescent patterns, like veins.