Soul Reaper

"I don't need to go. I'm fine!" Chen Fan tried to pull his hand back. Qin Ziyan also realized she had been somewhat improper and loosened her grip slightly. Then she suddenly noticed the horrifying scar on Chen Fan's wrist.

"Did they do this too?!" The emotions Qin Ziyan had only just managed to calm flared up again.

Chen Fan drew his hand back into his sleeve and said nothing, neither confirming nor denying it.

Qin Ziyan looked at Chen Fan, not knowing what she should do. For a moment, she fell silent.

"Ziyan, can you take me to the Sword-forging Room?" Chen Fan lifted his bundle toward her. He knew that with her personality, she definitely wanted to do something for him, perhaps mixed with certain feelings too vague to name or explain, unable to be expressed for the moment. Better to give her something else to focus on.

Sure enough, Qin Ziyan immediately turned her attention back to sword forging. "You want to forge a sword? That's great! I'll take you there right away. What materials do you have? Let me see!"

"They're all here. We can look as we walk." This Little Witch was actually rather cute. Chen Fan stuffed the bundle into Qin Ziyan's hands and headed toward the inner courtyard, with Qin Ziyan following behind him.

Before long, the two arrived at the inner courtyard. Just like before, they passed through without obstruction. Ordinarily, if Chen Fan wanted to use the Sword-forging Room today, he would have needed to make an appointment in advance and then endure layer upon layer of inspections to verify his identity before reaching it. Now, it was no different from returning to his own Household. If he came here with Qin Ziyan a few more times, perhaps he could get in simply by showing his face.

As he walked through the inner courtyard, he suddenly worried about what he would do if Ye Wan appeared. So what if she saw them? I haven't done anything. Forget it. Better not run into her. Chen Fan shuddered all over.

Fortunately, the journey remained "calm and peaceful," and the two finally reached the Sword-forging Room. It was a large chamber carved into a mountain cave. It was called a sealed chamber because aside from the massive iron gate at its entrance, there were no other windows or exits.

After entering the cave, they saw several small rooms within, which were presumably the Sword-forging Rooms. At the moment, every room was empty. It seemed that even inner courtyard disciples did not come here often.

At that moment, an elderly man walked out. Seeing Qin Ziyan, he looked startled. "Junior Sister Ziyan, why have you come here? Didn't the Pavilion Master grant you the Moon God Sword? Could it be that you still want to forge a sword yourself?"

"Not me. Him." Qin Ziyan pointed beside her, then said to Chen Fan, "This is Senior Brother Hu Lanqiao. He's one of the strongest among our generation, and he has already reached the sixth level."

Chen Fan looked at Hu Lanqiao and respectfully said, "Greetings, Martial Uncle Hu. This junior is outer sect disciple Chen Fan. I previously reserved the Sword-forging Room for today."

"Oh? From the outer sect?" Hu Lanqiao glanced at Qin Ziyan again. Rumors had been circulating this past year that Qin Ziyan seemed unusually close to an outer sect disciple. So this was him. He had no idea what was so attractive about Chen Fan. His appearance was ordinary, and after sensing his cultivation just now, it seemed exceedingly mediocre as well. Still, Hu Lanqiao could not be bothered with such matters. Over the years, there had been no shortage of male disciples "ruined" by the Little Witch.

"Yes, there is indeed a reservation record, and the name matches. Did you bring all your materials?"

Chen Fan nodded.

"Then according to the rules, pay five Spirit Stones and follow me inside." The old man was clearly only following procedure. This was already the price after being halved for outer sect disciples.

"Pay what?" Qin Ziyan raised an eyebrow. "You dare charge someone I brought?"

The old man was immediately startled and looked troubled. "This... those are the sect's rules, I'm afraid..." Clearly, he did not dare say anything harsh. The Little Witch had always been arrogant because of the favor she enjoyed, and now that she had broken through to the fourth level, she could be considered a future core figure of the sect. Who would dare provoke her?

"If you insist on charging him, then after we're done, come with me to the Elders' Hall and I'll give it to you." Once she said that, the old man had no response. It did not matter anyway; the sect was not lacking a few Spirit Stones. He could just treat it as having forged a sword for Qin Ziyan.

"Then follow me in first." The old man gestured for Chen Fan and Qin Ziyan to enter. Chen Fan naturally followed with a grin. He did not care about all that. As he always said, who would turn down a free bargain?

Only after entering the Sword-forging Room did Chen Fan learn that Hu Lanqiao was the instructor assigned to help him forge his sword today. Hu Lanqiao would handle the smelting and forging himself. Put simply, Chen Fan had originally been paying him to do the work. Outer sect disciples generally lacked the ability to forge swords on their own, which was why there was a fee in the first place. It was actually quite reasonable.

Hu Lanqiao did not waste words. He took out Chen Fan's sword and a large pile of materials. When he saw the two pieces of Wind-Veined Jade, he nodded slightly. "Not bad. With these two things, my intervention this time will not have been wasted." Clearly, he was trying to find himself a way to save face.

"What nonsense are you spouting? Hurry up. We still have things to do later." Qin Ziyan called from the side. In Chen Fan's eyes, she was now practically a great demon king. It seemed that after entering the fourth level, her arrogant swagger had become even more astonishing.

Hu Lanqiao did not dare ramble any further. He heated the various materials, the sword blade, and the hilt in the furnace while swinging his hammer against them. Soon, the cave containing the Sword-forging Room echoed with repeated clangs.

Hu Lanqiao, don't you dare hammer this into rubbish. I sacrificed an entire level of cultivation for these materials. Chen Fan watched Hu Lanqiao's movements without blinking. Yet this Martial Uncle Hu really did have some skill. The incomparably heavy forging hammer moved through his hands like drifting clouds and flowing water. The force and position of every strike were incomparably precise. That required an absolute level of Internal Qi, at least the fifth level. He also needed long-term practice in forging arts, something similar to External Force techniques, except that the forging hammer served as the medium through which its power was unleashed.

Two hours later, Hu Lanqiao withdrew his technique, and the sword was complete. He glanced at Qin Ziyan, then nodded. "I have not failed my mission. The treasured sword has been forged. I shall take my leave now." Clearly, he did not want Qin Ziyan pointing fingers at him any longer, much less dare accompany her to collect Spirit Stones. Was that not courting death?

Chen Fan stepped forward, took the treasured sword, and inspected it carefully. Hu Lanqiao truly had not hammered it into rubbish. His experience in forging swords was likely quite extensive. A sword of this grade posed no difficulty for him, but with the Little Witch present today, he had been especially meticulous.

The originally wooden hilt had been replaced with metal and was exceptionally sturdy. Clearly, it had fused the metal materials Chen Fan brought earlier with several other ores. The blade had also been completely reforged. Though its length had not increased at Chen Fan's request, its surface had undergone a complete transformation, becoming smooth with silver light flowing over it. It was also considerably thicker than before. The formerly jagged edge had been repaired as well. Now it was not only even, but its sharpness had increased by an unknown number of times, carrying the sensation of slicing iron like mud. Clearly, every scrap of those materials had been used to the utmost. More importantly, one large and one small jade stone had been embedded in the middle and lower portions of the blade. They were precisely the Wind-Veined Jade. With this sword, even if Chen Fan possessed only second-level Internal Qi, as long as he perfectly executed the External Force of those sword techniques, he could barely reach the power of third-level External Force.

Chen Fan was overjoyed and was about to thank Hu Lanqiao when he saw the man leave directly. Chen Fan secretly found it amusing. Bringing Qin Ziyan along this time had truly been a wise decision.

Afterward, the two left the cave containing the Sword-forging Room.

"Today's forging went so smoothly. It was truly thanks to you!" Chen Fan thanked Qin Ziyan.

"Stop being so polite all the time. It makes us seem like strangers." Qin Ziyan sounded slightly displeased. At the same time, she suddenly drew her sword and slashed at Chen Fan. With only a light flick of her wrist, she sent out a streak of sword light. That sword light curved like a crescent moon and shot straight at Chen Fan.

Chen Fan was startled. He immediately drew his newly forged sword and condensed his qi to block it. With a sharp clang, there was none of the fierce collision he had expected. The Sword Qi scattered, and Qin Ziyan sheathed her sword.

"Mm, your sword isn't bad. That guy knew what was good for him." Qin Ziyan nodded.

"The Moon God Sword truly lived up to its reputation. If I hadn't had my new sword protecting me, I might have been seriously injured again." Chen Fan was utterly speechless. This girl truly was a little demoness, acting without any thought for the consequences.

"Cut it out. I only used twenty or thirty percent of my Internal Qi just now, and it was only an ordinary streak of sword light. If you can't even block that, then you may as well die." Qin Ziyan spoke as if it were nothing.

"That was still too ruthless. I'm someone who was injured, and my cultivation dropped drastically. You know that."

"Hmph, others may not understand you, but don't I? Back then, when you were only at the second level, you could fight me at full strength for several moves without falling behind. At worst, you're only as strong as you were then, and now you have a new sword in hand. How could you possibly fail to block a casual strike from me?" Qin Ziyan wore an expression that said she had everything under control.

This Little Witch really did have a sharp mind. He had thought she was simply acting recklessly.

"By the way, you reforged a new sword, but you haven't named it yet."

"Oh?" Chen Fan thought about it and realized that was true. Though this sword was not of particularly high quality, it was at least presentable now. "Then let's call it Soul Reaper!" Chen Fan did not know where the inspiration came from. He slid the sword into its sheath. The sheath was still the same battered wooden thing from before, utterly unremarkable on the outside. But Chen Fan liked being low-key, and there was no need to waste materials forging a sheath. Such things were merely empty appearances.

"That name is so strange, but it sounds incredibly imposing. I like it. Soul Reaper? Is there someone you want to kill?" Qin Ziyan stared at Chen Fan curiously.

"I'm not used to using a sword, and I don't draw it lightly. But once this sword leaves its sheath, someone must die." Chen Fan gritted his teeth, his face twisted with fury as the figure of that man in black surfaced in his mind.

Not used to using a sword? What did that mean? On Swordcry Mountain, what would you use if not a sword? You don't draw your sword lightly? Did he have to be this cool? Qin Ziyan was actually a little entranced by his words.

Little did she know, Chen Fan truly had no great preference for swords. Back then, he had only joined the sect in order to seek refuge. Moreover, he had always believed that as long as he comprehended that Treasure Record, he could kill invisibly and would have no need for any weapon at all. And the one who poisoned Wan'er was someone he would definitely kill.

"Oh, right. Where did you say you were taking me earlier?" Chen Fan remembered why Qin Ziyan had come looking for him.

"Haha, luckily that old Hu worked quickly. If we go now, the timing will be perfect!" Qin Ziyan unconsciously took Chen Fan's hand again and headed toward another mountain peak.

Chen Fan did not pay attention to it this time. After taking a few steps, he asked, "Where are we going?"

"Swordcry Mountain's Main Peak." Qin Ziyan smiled radiantly. "Well? Surprised?"

Damn, this girl really knew how to stir up trouble. That place was where the Sect Master and elders lived. Ordinary people were not permitted to enter. It could be called the most forbidden place among forbidden places, let alone for an outer sect disciple like him.

"Let's not, big sister." Chen Fan truly did not dare go.

"What did you call me? I'll give you one more chance to call me that again." Qin Ziyan dragged Chen Fan toward the main peak without stopping, clearly with no intention of letting him off.

"Grandma, is that good enough?" Chen Fan said he did not want to go, but deep in his heart, there was still a faint streak of rebelliousness. What exactly was the main peak like? He was filled with curiosity. If anything really happened, he could just say Qin Ziyan had forced him to come. Besides, Wan'er was also in the sect, so nothing should happen, right? Sigh, he had never expected that he would think of relying on two women to run wild and cause trouble.

Once the two had aligned their thoughts, they quickly arrived beneath Swordcry Mountain's Main Peak. By then, the sky had darkened. Chen Fan's heart immediately clenched. It was nighttime again. Please don't let anything happen again.

For the moment, no one was guarding the foot of the main peak. The two entered smoothly. The deeper they went, the faster Chen Fan's heart beat. This was indeed a little thrilling. Qin Ziyan did not seem much calmer than him either.

"What? Is this your first time here too?" Chen Fan asked curiously.

"Not my first time here, but it is indeed my first time sneaking in." Qin Ziyan spoke in a low voice, clearly not daring to make too much noise.

Damn it, big sister, you really are something. You're playing a dare game and dragging yourself into it too. Chen Fan suddenly regretted this deeply. He had thought the Little Witch had already made a plan, but now it seemed that was not the case.

"Strange. Why isn't there a single guard here tonight?" Qin Ziyan asked in confusion.

"What do you mean? Didn't you come because you knew no one would be here?" Chen Fan immediately became alert.

"That's not it. This morning, I did speak with a senior brother assigned to the night watch. I told him to secretly let me in, then I would leave before dawn when the guards changed shifts, so no one would know." Qin Ziyan also sensed that something was strange. There were usually at least four or five senior brothers and sisters guarding this place, yet now not one was in sight. Thinking of this, she stopped and looked at Chen Fan.