When Lu Changfeng woke from a deep sleep.
He felt refreshed and invigorated.
He stretched, rose to his feet, then suddenly sprang backward onto the roof beam!
There was someone else in the room!
"Is there really any need to be so nervous? Do you think my master would become sworn friends with someone like you?"
The person sitting at the table, pouring himself tea and drinking it at leisure, was none other than Zhao Xingtian, the Young Sect Master of the Xuanyuan Sword Sect!
"Don't you know how rude it is to enter someone else's room without saying a word?" Lu Changfeng cursed inwardly.
"Hey, this is the Wang Family Hall of Worship. Do you really think the Wang Family is yours to toy with?"
Zhao Xingtian replied, "I already informed the Wang Family Head. After learning that I was my master's disciple, he permitted me to stay with the Wang Family."
Lu Changfeng recovered his composure and leaped down from the roof beam.
Zhao Xingtian's cultivation seemed even more unfathomable than before, and he gave Lu Changfeng a peculiar feeling.
This fellow had very likely entered the Bone Refining Realm.
From between Zhao Xingtian's brows, Lu Changfeng vaguely saw traces of deep sorrow.
After considering it for a moment, he asked, "What about Old Luo?"
"He's dead." Zhao Xingtian calmly spat out those two words.
Several inexplicable threads of anger rose in Lu Changfeng's heart.
"Are you crazy?" Lu Changfeng said.
Zhao Xingtian suddenly raised his head and looked at Lu Changfeng, killing intent shooting from his eyes. A few moments later, Zhao Xingtian withdrew his gaze, and the killing intent vanished without a trace.
"So the sword seed had already fused into Master's body."
"The inheritance of the sword seed requires the price of a life."
"They all kept it from me."
"In the final moment before his death, Master personally passed the sword seed on to me."
"He had made preparations for the inheritance long ago."
After Zhao Xingtian finished speaking, his expression turned somewhat blank.
He had always believed that Old Luo had acted out of selfish motives, which was why he had taken away the Moon Chasing Sword Seed.
The Sect Master had also guided him toward that conclusion.
If that was truly the case, then why had his master returned again?
The Sect Master had used him.
As for his master—
"How long are you planning to stay here?" Lu Changfeng interrupted Zhao Xingtian's sorrowful thoughts.
Zhao Xingtian glanced at Lu Changfeng. "I'm not sure either."
This fellow had simply left home out of the confusion in his heart. No—he had left the sect.
"Then where will you stay before you figure things out? Want me to take you to Old Luo's courtyard?"
"No need. I'll stay here with you."
"I see quite a lot of rooms in your courtyard."
Lu Changfeng rolled his eyes. There was nothing he could do about this fellow.
This fellow's Martial Arts were formidable. Lu Changfeng could neither beat him nor fight back, and he even had Wang Shou's permission. He could only resign himself to it.
However, Lu Changfeng did not particularly dislike it.
This fellow had a Grade A Upper Bone Structure. If he could keep him by his side and copy his bone structure, the speed at which he fused them into a Heroic Bone Structure would become even faster.
"Suit yourself. I'm going to cultivate."
Lu Changfeng put on his training clothes, picked up his two-hundred-jin saber, and left the bedroom.
He first went to find Wang Jin, the steward of the Hall of Worship, to confirm Zhao Xingtian's situation.
The result naturally showed that everything Zhao Xingtian had said was true.
He had indeed obtained the right to reside in the Wang Family Hall of Worship. In fact—
Lu Changfeng returned to his own courtyard and began cultivating.
After hearing the commotion, Zhao Xingtian actually followed him outside as well.
"Hey, don't you know it's rude to follow me around like this?" Lu Changfeng turned his head and said.
Zhao Xingtian replied, "I grew up at the Sword Sect mountain gate. Whenever we practiced, we could all see and comment on one another."
Fine. So he was still a blank sheet of paper untouched by worldly affairs. No wonder a few words of deception had been enough to make him kill his master.
In fact—
After learning the truth, Zhao Xingtian had gone to confront the Sect Master.
Who would have thought that the Sect Master would openly admit to his scheme? He simply had not wanted the Moon Chasing Sword Seed to be left wandering outside.
In a fit of rage, Zhao Xingtian had wanted to leave the sect.
But he had been an orphan and had grown up in the Xuanyuan Sword Sect. He had nowhere to go outside.
When the Wang Family of Fengcheng flashed through his mind, Zhao Xingtian had followed his instincts. He had slapped his own backside and hurried straight to Fengcheng.
The next day, he had found his way into Lu Changfeng's room.
Since he was his master's sworn friend across generations.
That made him half a... senior? No, a friend, perhaps.
Lu Changfeng no longer paid attention to Zhao Xingtian and began cultivating the second layer of [Fengcheng Body-Tempering Saber Art].
After switching to the two-hundred-jin saber and enduring the torment of the second layer of the body-tempering saber art, the number of times Lu Changfeng could cultivate each day dropped to two.
After those two sessions, his body reached its limit.
He had to rest for a night before beginning the next day's cultivation.
Lu Changfeng estimated that it would take half a year before he could cultivate the third layer.
After finishing a round of cultivation.
Lu Changfeng casually left the two-hundred-jin iron saber on the ground, then lay there himself, gasping heavily.
"Your cultivation method is rather interesting."
Zhao Xingtian strode forward without ceremony, crouched down, and tried to pick up the large saber Lu Changfeng had discarded.
"Hm?"
Zhao Xingtian applied more force before finally lifting the large saber.
"This weight..."
"No wonder Master chose you as a sworn friend across generations. You actually possess such spirit."
Although Zhao Xingtian was a blank sheet of paper when it came to human relationships and worldly dealings, there was no denying his attainments in Martial Arts.
With one glance, he saw that Lu Changfeng was attempting to break through the sixth level of Blood Tempering.
"A person has to do something meaningful while alive." Exhausted, Lu Changfeng rolled his eyes and casually gave him an answer to brush him off.
Zhao Xingtian lowered the large saber, looking thoughtful.
"Have you entered the Bone Refining Realm?" Lu Changfeng recovered his breath somewhat before asking Zhao Xingtian.
With an expert two major realms above him present—and one who did not seem particularly intelligent at that—not asking for free guidance would have been a waste.
Zhao Xingtian nodded. "Yes."
"You just entered the Bone Refining Realm. Don't you need to consolidate your cultivation?"
Zhao Xingtian replied, "The best way to consolidate the Bone Refining Realm is to let time pass steadily. Under the nourishment of Internal Energy, the bones in your body will transform into Jade Bone."
"How many stages are there in the Bone Refining Realm?" Lu Changfeng asked again.
Zhao Xingtian returned to his senses. "Are you treating me like an encyclopedia?"
"Stingy. I'm still your master's sworn friend across generations." Lu Changfeng curled his lips.
Zhao Xingtian's breathing caught. After calming himself, he said, "There's no harm in telling you. The Bone Refining Realm is divided into five stages: Jade Bone, Iron Bone, Silver Bone, Golden Bone, and Spirit Bone."
"The most astonishing increase in the Bone Refining Realm is strength. Breaking through each minor realm can multiply your strength several times over."
"Martial Artists in the Bone Refining Realm can also be called Martial Sects."
"I'm currently at the Jade Bone Martial Sect stage. Of course, my bones haven't completely finished transforming yet."
"At this stage, I only need to circulate my Internal Energy. It will stimulate the evolution of my bones, naturally strengthening my power."
"At this stage, it is best not to fight. Fighting will interrupt the process of bone evolution, making the loss outweigh the gain."
"Once the bones have completely transformed into Spirit Bone, the Internal Energy in the body will turn into true qi. Only then can one enter the Fetal Transformation Realm."
"Muscle-Tendon Transformation Martial Artists can live for at most one hundred and twenty years. Bone Refining Martial Artists can live for at most one hundred and fifty years. Martial Artists in the Fetal Transformation Realm can live for two or three hundred years!"
Before you continue