,/.

Su Fan frantically burned his lifespan, and within his consciousness, a heavenly ladder appeared.

The first step steadily solidified.

He only needed to climb this ladder, step onto its stairs, and his strength would break through.

The more steps he climbed, the more his strength would rise.

However, Su Fan did not hurry to climb the heavenly ladder. Instead, he began preparing to condense a Mystic Sword.

His lifespan burned away.

Within his body, a black sword emerged.

The Heaven-Shattering Sword!

Using his lifespan as material, Su Fan condensed a Mystic Sword that belonged to him.

This Mystic Sword was founded upon the Heaven-Shattering Sword and the Forbidden Art: Life-Sacrificing Sword!

Boom!

His lifespan burned ever faster. Su Fan lifted his foot and stepped onto the heavenly ladder.

The instant he stepped onto its stair, Su Fan felt his entire body shudder as a powerful force surged forth.

His strength had increased!

Then he stepped onto the second stair.

Boom!

His entire being was undergoing sublimation.

It was as though the gate to a new world had been thrown open.

A wave of bliss washed over him.

Within his dantian, a sword appeared.

A black sword carrying sword intent that could annihilate all things.

Rumble!

His lifespan continued to burn as the Mystic Sword within his body continuously condensed.

It grew ever stronger.

The Mystic Sword founded upon the Heaven-Shattering Sword inherently possessed Heaven-Shattering Sword Intent.

Unmatched in slaughter!

Before him, the Fate-Defying Heavenly Ladder steadily solidified. The third stair had already formed.

Su Fan stepped onto it.

His strength soared once more.

Then came the fourth stair, the fifth stair!

Upon reaching the fifth stair, the sixth stair of the Fate-Defying Heavenly Ladder could not solidify no matter what.

Moreover, Su Fan felt a pressure descend upon him.

He had reached his limit.

Exhaling, the Fate-Defying Heavenly Ladder vanished.

He had broken through!

He had leaped directly from the late Mortal Sword Realm to the late Mystic Sword Realm, crossing an entire major realm in one go!

Using the Fate-Defying Heavenly Ladder had consumed over three hundred years of his lifespan.

Condensing the Mystic Sword, meanwhile, had consumed nearly a thousand years of lifespan!

"Unprecedented strength!"

Feeling the immense power within himself, Su Fan was beside himself with excitement. This was the first step on the road to invincibility!

In one month, the second use of the Fate-Defying Heavenly Ladder would certainly allow him to break through to the Spirit Sword Realm!

In two months, he should be able to break through to the Void Sword Realm!

The Void Sword Realm already qualified one as an expert.

Besides, Su Fan cultivated forbidden arts. His strength often far exceeded his own realm.

"In two months, I won't be weaker than Senior Sister Ling Rushuang!"

Su Fan was filled with anticipation.

Only by raising his strength could he feel secure.

He was very curious why Ling Rushuang had specifically come to visit him and brought him food.

Once his strength rose, he could ask her outright.

"Next, it's time to improve my forbidden arts. Now that my realm has broken through, I can burn my lifespan faster, and the forbidden arts I unleash will be more powerful!"

"The Spirit Sword Realm is no longer enough to threaten me."

"It's just that I still know too few forbidden arts. If I want to be invincible, I must strengthen myself in every aspect."

Su Fan already had a plan in mind.

For offensive forbidden arts, he had the powerful Heaven-Shattering Sword.

For bizarre and unpredictable forbidden arts that could be used for sneak attacks, he had the Forbidden Art: Life-Sacrificing Sword.

For concealing his aura and hiding himself, he had the forbidden art known as the Silent Breath Technique.

What he still lacked were defensive and movement-type forbidden arts.

He would arm himself in every aspect!

At the thought of an enemy gathering power for a great move, only for him to blast them with a forbidden art, Su Fan became exhilarated.

"If you cultivate, cultivate forbidden arts. Only forbidden arts are the road to invincibility!"

Su Fan clasped his hands behind his back, feeling that he had acquired the bearing of an expert.

"Continue improving the Heaven-Shattering Sword!"

Su Fan used the Heavenly Enlightenment Technique, entering a state of enlightenment to improve his mastery of the forbidden art Heaven-Shattering Sword.

He increased the speed at which he burned his lifespan.

While Su Fan lay low at the Cliff of Reflection and improved his strength, the uproar over his broken engagement and expulsion from the Gan Royal Estate had long since subsided.

After a few laughs and conversations, everyone had cast that trash to the back of their minds.

He was not even worthy of being gossip.

No one cared about Tang Duan's disappearance either. At Sword God Mountain, he had merely been an ordinary disciple.

Taking someone's money to kill Su Fan was not something that could see the light of day. Tang Duan had slipped into the Cliff of Reflection in secret.

No one knew that he had died at the Cliff of Reflection.

Outside Sword God Mountain, in the only tavern of the small town, a man wrapped head to toe in a black robe gazed coldly in the direction of Sword God Mountain.

Several days had passed since he had hired Tang Duan to kill Su Fan.

Yet no news had arrived.

"Could Sword God Mountain's higher-ups have discovered him, causing him to fail?"

The black-robed man thought that unlikely. Su Fan was trash—why would Sword God Mountain have anyone guarding him?

He was more inclined to believe that Tang Duan had taken his treasure and refused to do the job!

The moment that possibility crossed his mind, fury surged sky-high within the black-robed man. A tiny disciple of the declining Sword God Mountain actually dared toy with him.

He did not know whether he was dead or alive!

Thud, thud...

Footsteps sounded on the stairs as a somewhat downcast middle-aged man with a longsword on his back walked upstairs.

The black-robed man had his back to him.

"Have you thought it through?"

Zhou Feng's gaze was complicated. He took a breath and said, "I have. I can go kill him."

With a casual flick, the black-robed man tossed over a bag.

"Half the payment is inside. Once it is done, come collect the other half."

"No problem!"

Zhou Feng caught the bag, opened it for a glance, and nodded.

Just as he was about to turn and leave—

The black-robed man's voice came again. "There is a disciple at Sword God Mountain named Tang Duan. Do you know where he is?"

Zhou Feng froze. After thinking carefully, Sword God Mountain did indeed have a disciple named Tang Duan, but his talent was nothing outstanding.

He did not know him well.

Shaking his head, he said, "I don't know."

"If you see him, tell him this: some people's things are not so easily taken."

The black-robed man spoke coldly.

Zhou Feng's heart tightened. This man had approached Tang Duan before, but Tang Duan had taken his things and failed to do the job?

Tang Duan was courting death.

Sword God Mountain was no longer what it had once been. Its deterrence had greatly diminished. No one would show restraint simply because someone was a disciple of Sword God Mountain.

The black-robed man was extremely powerful.

He was likely a King Realm expert.

That was an existence comparable to Sword God Mountain's Void Sword Realm.

A flicker of wariness crossed Zhou Feng's eyes as he said, "If I encounter him, I will pass the message along."

With that, he turned and left.

After returning to Sword God Mountain, Zhou Feng stared at the treasures in the bag and sank into prolonged silence.

He had reached the Spirit Sword Realm a hundred years ago.

Yet he had never been able to advance another step.

The black-robed man had found him and offered treasures that would help him advance further, in exchange for killing someone.

Su Fan!

The former young master of the Gan Royal Estate, the disciple with the worst talent at Sword God Mountain.

Not long ago, he had been thrown into the Cliff of Reflection.

Zhou Feng's expression gradually turned cold. "Although he was not expelled from Sword God Mountain, he was thrown into the Cliff of Reflection. Besides, he is a worthless piece of trash with garbage talent. No one will care if he dies."

"He is no longer the young master of the Gan Royal Estate."

"He no longer has a fiancée with monstrous talent, either."

"He is trash with no backing whatsoever. As long as I leave no traces, I need not worry about violating the rule against slaughtering fellow disciples."

Since he had already accepted the black-robed man's commission—

And taken half the payment—

There was no way back.

Should he break the agreement, he would certainly die.

With that in mind, he left his residence, intending to find an opportunity to go to the Cliff of Reflection and silently dispose of the man!

For someone who was only in the Mortal Sword Realm, barely stronger than an ordinary person, suffering an accident in a place like the Cliff of Reflection was perfectly normal.