Sword Pool

Time flowed on, and another two years passed.

Over those two years, Li Chenfeng focused wholeheartedly on tempering his Sword Qi, even setting aside the cultivation of his true qi.

After two years, Li Chenfeng had finally finished tempering the Sword Qi within his body. Although his Meridian-Severing Sword Qi had yet to reach great mastery, it had already attained seventy or eighty percent of its potential.

The reason he had progressed so quickly was also because he had consumed so many Blood Bodhi when he broke through to the Xiantian Realm. That immense true qi had forged him a set of extraordinarily resilient meridians, far beyond those of ordinary people. Thus, when tempering his Sword Qi, he did not need to worry too much about the damage it would inflict upon his meridians, allowing him to advance at such speed.

"Huff!"

Sitting cross-legged on his bed, Li Chenfeng exhaled a breath of turbid air. Seeing the pale light of dawn already rising outside, he got out of bed and slowly walked to the center of the courtyard.

Watching the glimmer of light in the east break through the darkness, the corners of Li Chenfeng's lips unconsciously curved upward.

With a light flick of his right hand, the Changli Sword instantly flew from its sheath. Li Chenfeng leaped into the center of the courtyard, transforming into a mass of sword light.

Ao Family Swordsmanship... Severing Sword Art... Sun-Eroding Sword Technique!

Li Chenfeng unleashed the three supreme sword techniques he had mastered one after another. Sword light flashed throughout the courtyard, while sharp Sword Qi filled the air, making it impossible for anyone to approach.

After he completed the final move of the Sun-Eroding Sword Art, the Changli Sword in Li Chenfeng's hand suddenly changed. His movements became broad and forceful, every strike seeming to contain the weight of a thousand jin.

The air, originally scorching from the Sun-Eroding Sword Art, suddenly turned clear and cold. As Li Chenfeng continued changing his moves, the sword light in the courtyard seemed to grow even more biting.

Whoosh!

Li Chenfeng swept his sword horizontally, instantly releasing a Sword Qi several meters long. As his body spun, the Sword Qi swept across the entire courtyard.

Clang!

The sword returned to its sheath, and Li Chenfeng's figure gradually became clear once more.

Rumble!

A bluestone slab at the edge of the courtyard suddenly split in two, crashing to the ground and kicking up a cloud of dust.

"Young Master, you're practicing swordsmanship in the courtyard again!"

A soft, slightly complaining voice rang out, pulling Li Chenfeng back from his previous strike.

"How many times has this been now? Didn't you promise to practice at the training grounds from now on? You've ruined all the flowers I planted!" Liu Caifeng complained softly as she wiped Li Chenfeng's sweat.

"Haha, I think the courtyard is simply too small. Have them expand it for me!" Li Chenfeng placed his sword on the stone table that had survived at one side, laughing heartily.

Li Chenfeng was in an excellent mood right now, because just moments ago, he had finally completely developed the Nie Clan's Six Frosty Techniques into a sword art.

Though entirely different from ordinary sword techniques, its power was no weaker than that of the original Six Frosty Techniques.

Li Chenfeng had even given this new sword art a highly poetic name: the Frost-Lingering Sword Art!

"Feng'er, why are you the only one here?" Li Chenfeng asked curiously as he drank the clear tea Liu Caifeng had brought him.

"Mother and Sister Liu'er are preparing a meal for you, Young Master. Luan'er went to the training grounds to practice swordsmanship. I heard movement in the courtyard and knew that you were practicing martial arts in our own courtyard again, so I came over."

"As expected, my Feng'er is still the one who knows best how to care for others!" Li Chenfeng said with a smile, pinching Liu Caifeng's pretty cheek.

"Hmph, you're awful. Don't pinch my face!" Liu Caifeng scrunched up her delicate nose and huffed.

After breakfast, Li Chenfeng headed straight for the rear mountain of the villa.

Sword Worship Villa's rear mountain looked like nothing more than an ordinary barren mountain, with nothing remarkable about it. Yet within its belly lay Sword Worship Villa's most important place: the Sword Pool!

When he reached a stone door halfway up the mountain, Li Chenfeng felt around on it a few times. Amid a rumbling vibration, the stone door opened.

After walking roughly a hundred meters down the passage, an expansive space suddenly opened up before him.

Inside the Sword Pool, tens of thousands of sharp swords were planted everywhere.

All of those countless sharp swords bore the same appearance as the Peerless Good Sword. Upon entering the Sword Pool and sensing the icy aura permeating the space, one felt as though they had entered an infernal realm of swords.

At the very center of the Sword Pool, a Peerless Good Sword forged from black stone and standing dozens of meters tall was bound by countless iron chains within the Sword-Melting Pool. Blazing heat surged upward in waves, making it impossible to look at directly.

Just as Li Chenfeng entered the Sword Pool, two figures suddenly appeared before him.

"Greetings, Young Master!" *2

Li Chenfeng looked closely. The man on the left was a burly fellow standing seven chi tall, around thirty years old. He was Wennu, one of the two Sword Slaves.

As for the other cold and beautiful woman, she was naturally Leng Zhi, the other Sword Slave. The two Sword Slaves guarded the Peerless Good Sword. Like the swordsmith Zhong Mei, their positions had been passed down through the generations, and they had never taken a single step beyond the Sword Pool.

"Mm. Where is Master Zhong?" Li Chenfeng asked after nodding to the two.

"Lord Zhong Mei is at the Sword-Forging Platform. Young Master, please follow me." Wennu bowed, then led the way with Leng Zhi ahead of Li Chenfeng.

Li Chenfeng glanced at the dozens-of-meters-tall black greatsword wrapped in flames within the Sword-Melting Pool. There were still several years before the Peerless Good Sword was born.

Drawing back his gaze, he stepped forward and followed the two toward the Sword-Forging Platform deeper within the Sword Pool.

Clang... clang... clang!

A series of strikes carrying a peculiar rhythm rang out without pause.

This was followed by the rattling of iron chains.

Before the Sword-Forging Platform, a bald old man held an iron hammer and struck a Peerless Good Sword. Every swing of his hammer seemed to contain the force of a thousand jin.

Li Chenfeng's arrival did not cause the old man to stop. Instead, he said, "Young Master has arrived, yet Zhong Mei cannot personally welcome you. I hope Young Master will forgive my offense!"

Li Chenfeng smiled. "Master Zhong, you're being too formal."

For some time afterward, no one spoke again. They quietly watched Zhong Mei swing his iron hammer, the only sound in the entire Sword Pool being the hammer's strikes.

Clang!

No one knew how much time had passed. When Zhong Mei's hammer fell for the final time, the Peerless Good Sword on the forging platform had taken shape. Without pausing, Zhong Mei immediately plunged the sword body into cold spring water to temper it. When it appeared before them again, it was already identical to every completed Peerless Good Sword within the Sword Pool.

After tossing the newly forged sword body into the Sword Pool, Zhong Mei finally let out a breath. Turning to Li Chenfeng, who stood quietly beside the two Sword Slaves, he hurried forward two steps and bowed. "Zhong Mei greets Young Master. Please forgive me for my earlier discourtesy!"

Li Chenfeng reached out and supported Zhong Mei by the arms, smiling. "Master Zhong, why concern ourselves with such empty formalities?"

During this time, Li Chenfeng had often found time to visit the Sword Pool and seek Zhong Mei's guidance on sword-forging. Zhong Mei had held nothing back, imparting all he knew to Li Chenfeng. Thus, though they had no master-disciple title, they shared the substance of a master-disciple relationship.

As the eldest young master of Sword Worship Villa, even though he was not of the Ao Family bloodline, Li Chenfeng was highly gifted in sword-forging. After all, from the time of their ancestors, the Ao Family had produced exceptional master swordsmiths, and the sword-forging knowledge they left behind was unmatched. Moreover, according to Zhong Mei, the adoptive father Li Chenfeng had never met also seemed to have been a formidable swordsmith.

"Hehe, propriety must not be neglected!"

Zhong Mei's old face bloomed into a smile. He was greatly pleased by Li Chenfeng's attitude.

However, their statuses were different, and there was a distinction between master and servant. Thus, no matter how Li Chenfeng requested it, Zhong Mei remained meticulous about the proper etiquette.