Nine Heavens Demon Subduing Sword

Meng Zhao was quite pleased to have such a little admirer, but he was not one to boast. He merely gave a brief account of what had happened that day. Zhang Dun, meanwhile, seized every opening to flatter him, occasionally tossing in a few compliments while placing himself as low as possible.

Before long, Madam Chen, dressed in plain white and looking delicate yet gaunt, slowly entered the room. With both hands, she held a blue-covered booklet and stepped forward to offer it to Meng Zhao.

Everyone in the room could clearly see the four words written on the blank space of the blue cover: Chen Family Sword Manual.

Neither Meng Zhao nor Wei Qi so much as blinked, clearly not taking the Chen Family Sword Manual seriously.

Zhang Dun and Chen Tai, however, reacted quite strongly.

Zhang Dun had lived in poverty for far too long. At the sight of the sword manual Chen Sheng had relied upon to make his name, greed surged within him. His blazing gaze seemed capable of setting the manual alight. He wished he could snatch it into his hands at once, read through it thirty or fifty times, master astonishing swordsmanship and martial arts, and from then on become one of those lofty figures of the martial world.

Still, it was nothing more than a thought. He would never dare put it into action. So long as Meng Zhao did not permit it, he would not dare entertain the slightest crooked notion.

Chen Tai's expression, by comparison, was exceedingly complicated. On his small, proper face was both the relief of having cast off a burden and the shame of an unfilial son selling off his family heirloom. Still, he remained fairly calm.

"Young Master Meng, this is the sword manual left behind by