Honestly, I didn't know if it was because Xiao Han had been hunting and killing demons and vengeful ghosts lately, but now, whenever he entered a new town, the monsters and demons fled at the first sign of him.
This was ridiculous!
There was no way word could travel that fast in ancient times, was there?
It had only been a little over two months. How had the monsters already learned his name?
Xiao Han glanced at his mission panel, puzzled. The progress bar had been stuck for quite some time.
Earlier, he'd slaughtered demons and vengeful ghosts at a furious pace. Wherever he went, he swept through the area, hunting them down until they howled in terror.
And besides advancing his mission, killing those evil creatures also provided a substantial amount of Energy Value!
Thanks to the Energy Value he'd accumulated from killing demons, Xiao Han had already upgraded several spells.
Summoning Thunder Technique was the spell the Tiger Demon had used to strike Xiao Han with lightning. After using Energy Value to raise it to the pinnacle, Xiao Han discovered its power was far greater than it had seemed.
With Xiao Han's cultivation, he could use the spell to utterly overpower the Tiger Demon.
Backed by his abundant Zhenyuan, Xiao Han's Summoning Thunder Technique was countless times stronger than the Tiger Demon's.
Just one lightning dragon could blast an unprepared Da Dou Shi to smithereens!
Then there was Divided Spirit Technique. After mastering the spell, Xiao Han discovered that it could be attached to all kinds of animals, insects, and inanimate objects. He could then control them to scout the area.
Whatever else one might say, this spell was tremendously useful for reconnaissance!
Heaven and Earth Have No Limits: Tracking for Thousands of Miles could spy on people from a distance, but without the target's aura, the technique was only half as useful. Besides, keeping the tracking spell active all day was exhausting. No one could stand it.
Divided Spirit Technique was different. Once he attached a sliver of his Spiritual Sense to something, he could leave it alone. The animals under his control could act as his spies. If anything went wrong, he'd know right away.
The third spell was Healing Spring Technique.
Healing Spring—just as the name suggested, it healed injuries.
At first, it could only treat external wounds. But after Xiao Han used Energy Value to raise it to the pinnacle, it could also treat internal injuries.
As for the other minor spells, he hadn't mastered them yet, so he'd leave them aside for now.
"A Han, get up and practice your sword!"
Just as Xiao Han was lowering his head in thought, the bearded man beside him bellowed, pulling him back to reality.
"Coming, Master Yan, coming."
Xiao Han flicked a finger, and a crimson longsword appeared in his hand.
Yan Chixia looked envious. "No matter how many times I see it, that treasure of yours for storing things still makes me jealous. I've inherited the legacy of an Ancient Sword Cultivator, but all I have is a Sword Case that can store countless flying swords. I know nothing about the methods for refining space Magic Artifacts."
Xiao Han chuckled. "You may not know this, Master Yan, but this is called a Storage Ring. It's a Magic Artifact passed down from ancient cultivators. The methods for refining space Magic Artifacts have been lost, so even this little ring is priceless."
"Storage Ring... Does that name come from the idea of containing a whole world in a mustard seed?"
"Exactly."
Yan Chixia stared greedily at the Storage Ring on Xiao Han's finger. A treasure that could produce an item with a single thought would give its owner a huge advantage on the battlefield.
Imagine two people fighting hand to hand. Halfway through, you suddenly summon a sword and slash at your opponent. Caught off guard, they'd be badly injured at the very least.
Seeing Yan Chixia's expression, Xiao Han smiled.
The fish had taken the bait. All he had to do now was gradually earn Yan Chixia's trust, then offer him the Low-grade Storage Ring he had as a gift in exchange for Yan Chixia's Sword Flying Technique, Myriad Swords Technique, and other Magic Formulas. That would accomplish his goal.
But they'd only been traveling together for a few days. Yan Chixia had believed the little story Xiao Han had made up, but he still didn't fully trust him.
Over the past few days, Xiao Han had been learning swordsmanship from Yan Chixia. To show his gratitude and improve Yan Chixia's opinion of him, he'd used spiritual transmission to teach him Cloud Crushing Swordplay, a technique he knew well.
Swordsmanship from a high-martial world naturally had its own advantages over that of a low-martial world. At the very least, a technique like Cloud Crushing Swordplay, which allowed one to unleash sword qi and sword light at will, was an exceptionally rare martial skill in a low-martial world.
At first, Xiao Han hadn't understood why Yan Chixia had said his swordsmanship was terrible. Then, after Yan Chixia received Cloud Crushing Swordplay, he suddenly entered a state of enlightenment right where he stood.
Xiao Han didn't dare disturb him. Instead, he quietly moved aside to stand guard.
Twenty breaths later, Yan Chixia suddenly opened his eyes wide!
"Ha!"
With a low shout, a powerful sword intent laced with sword qi swept in every direction! Feeling the sword intent erupt from Yan Chixia, Xiao Han finally understood that the months he'd spent practicing swordsmanship had all been wasted.
The sword qi shook the tree, sending its leaves fluttering down. But as soon as they drifted through the air, the sword qi Yan Chixia unleashed shredded them into tiny fragments.
Then Yan Chixia performed every move of Cloud Crushing Swordplay, from beginning to end!
It was the same Cloud Crushing Swordplay, but in Yan Chixia's hands, its power had increased more than tenfold!
If Xiao Han hadn't known that Cloud Crushing Swordplay was only a worthless Yellow Rank High Dou Technique, he would have thought he'd given Yan Chixia a Heaven Stage High sword technique to practice!
"Hahahaha! Hahahahahaha! Wonderful! I've practiced the sword for decades, but I've never felt so exhilarated as I do today!"
After finishing the demonstration, Yan Chixia threw his head back and laughed. A bold, unrestrained aura radiated from him. He looked like a peerless divine sword, sharp and brilliant.
Yan Chixia turned to Xiao Han and patted him on the shoulder. "You little rascal. I only taught you a few basics, and you've already passed on such a precious sword technique to me."
(?′ω`?)...
Xiao Han looked a little awkward. "Master Yan, is my sword technique really that powerful? I thought it was just so-so."
"That's because you haven't laid a foundation of sword intent, you little rascal. In your hands, the same technique is a pale imitation—a waste of a treasure!" Yan Chixia said, glaring at Xiao Han.
"Can't be helped." Xiao Han shrugged. "I've been figuring things out on my own these past few months. I've never had any systematic sword training, and no one has taught me. I've just been practicing blindly from the manual."
"That's why I said you haven't developed your sword intent."
Yan Chixia shook his head. "Since you've shown such sincerity, I won't hold anything back. I'll teach you everything I've learned about swordsmanship over the years. How much you manage to learn is up to you!"
Xiao Han's face lit up. "Thank you, Master Yan."
Yan Chixia took the wine gourd from his waist and drank. Then he shook his head. "A Han, don't call me Master Yan anymore. I don't like the title.
"Truth be told, I never intended to take on a disciple. If I hadn't thought you had potential, I wouldn't have bothered teaching you.
"Besides, you've given me such a precious sword technique. We can treat each other as equals."
"Then I'll do as Hero Yan wishes."
Xiao Han cupped his hands.
"Oh, there's one more thing."
Maybe it was because he'd had a little wine, but Yan Chixia's face, framed by his thick beard, was a little red. "I know you want to rid the world of every Evil Spirit, but the two of us have killed so many demons that our Killing Qi is too strong. The moment we enter a town, all those ghosts and goblins will be too scared to show themselves.
"Do you know any way to conceal our auras?"
"Conceal our auras?"
Xiao Han's thoughts stirred. He searched his mind and actually found a spell he'd overlooked before.
"Concealment Technique. Once used, it can hide every trace of your presence, including your Spiritual Sense, scent, Killing Qi, and killing intent. If there's a great disparity between the caster's strength and their opponent's, however, the technique may be seen through."
Xiao Han used Energy Value to instantly raise Concealment Technique to the pinnacle. The moment he activated it, Yan Chixia was stunned.
"Excellent! What a spell! If I hadn't seen you standing right here with my own eyes, I'd have thought you'd vanished like a ghost! Your technique can erase every trace of your presence in an instant. It's as if you don't exist at all!"
Yan Chixia clicked his tongue in amazement. "If you had a spell like this, why didn't you use it sooner? If you'd used it when we first met a few days ago, I wouldn't have mistaken you for an evil cultivator from the Demon Sect!"
"Uh, maybe I forgot."
With an awkward laugh, Xiao Han used spiritual transmission to impart Concealment Technique to Yan Chixia. Having gained a new spell, Yan Chixia happily began trying it out.
"I've been keeping an eye on a group of Demonic Path cultivators for a long time. Once you've mastered the basics of swordsmanship, I'll take you with me to wipe out those demonic scum!"
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