"From today onward, I will formally teach you the way of the sword."
In the courtyard before the Grand Hall, Sword Demon stood with his hands behind his back and spoke calmly.
"My way of the sword comes down to one word: Fight!"
"I once traveled the Nine Heavens alone with my sword, defeating every swordsman under heaven."
"I know many sword arts, but I will teach you only one."
He slowly raised his right hand, condensing a blood-red longsword in his palm.
As Fang Ling gazed at the Blood Sword, he felt as though he stood amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood, and terror gripped him.
His body involuntarily retreated, and he nearly fell.
"This sword art is called Blood Sword-forge the sword with blood!" Sword Demon said calmly.
"Cultivating this sword art is simple. All you need to do is kill."
"Use your enemies' blood to refine your own life-bound blood sword."
"The stronger the person sacrificed to the sword, the greater the improvement. That is why I only killed experts back then."
"The sword before you now was condensed with just one ten-thousandth of my power."
"If you faced my life-bound blood sword as you are now, the killing aura spilling from it would shred you on the spot!"
"The first step is always the hardest. Cultivating Blood Sword is simple, but getting started is not easy."
"Many people cannot get past the stage of condensing a life-bound blood sword."
"It does not require extraordinary talent or a powerful physique, but pure killing intent!"
"Give your killing intent solid form and fuse it with your own vital blood, and the blood sword will take shape."
"Haven't you always wanted to leave Cold Mountain Temple?"
"Once you condense your life-bound blood sword, I will let you go down the mountain!"
"Really?" Fang Ling was overjoyed.
He had spent all these years in this tiny temple and had long wanted to go down the mountain and see the world.
"Of course." Sword Demon nodded.
Then he raised his hand and pointed a finger at Fang Ling, imparting the sword art to him.
Brimming with motivation, Fang Ling devoted himself wholeheartedly to the sword art after receiving it that morning.
That evening, on the mountain behind the temple.
Sword Demon and Zhao Manzi stood atop a cliff, gazing at the sunset clouds in the distance.
Fang Ling was not the only one who yearned for freedom. They had endured that torment for three hundred thousand years.
The sun sank westward and would soon disappear behind the mountains.
The two turned, preparing to return to their respective rooms to cultivate.
Just then, Fang Ling came scampering over, full of joy.
"Sword Master, I've condensed my life-bound blood sword!" he shouted.
Sword Demon's brow furrowed.
Zhao Manzi, standing beside him, also looked his way and asked, "When did you teach him?"
"At noon today..." Sword Demon muttered.
He looked at Fang Ling and said, "Since you've succeeded, show it to me."
"Okay!" Fang Ling nodded, then raised his right hand with a convincing air.
The seemingly innocent, carefree little boy's demeanor changed in an instant.
Savage, brutal killing aura surged from him, and an evil, dark-red blood sword appeared in his hand.
Though this killing aura was not powerful, it was extraordinarily violent, as though it sought to destroy everything.
The old monk and the other two, who were cultivating elsewhere in the temple, sensed that evil presence and immediately came to the back mountain.
"Master, this is the life-bound blood sword I condensed!" Fang Ling said. "This should count as a success, right?"
"Passable." Sword Demon gave a slight nod.
"Then can I go down the mountain?" Fang Ling asked excitedly.
Sword Demon smiled. "Yes. You have my permission."
"But... that is only my permission. As for whether your other masters agree, I cannot say."
Though Fang Ling was young, he was sharp and immediately realized he had been tricked.
"Sword Master, you're cheating!"
"I don't care! I want to go down the mountain!"
"Sword Master, didn't you say you were the strongest of all my masters?"
"If the other masters won't let me go, just beat them up until they agree."
Like a little cannon, he rattled it all off in one rapid burst.
"Sword Demon, that's rather arrogant of you." Flower Thief chuckled.
"I admit your sword is powerful, but you cannot defeat me!"
"First of all, I never said that. Don't let this little rascal fool you," Sword Demon said calmly.
"Second, if you have the guts, fight me head-on without using Divine Movement Art. I'd like to see how many strikes you can withstand."
Flower Thief said, "If I can't use Divine Movement Art, what the hell is the point of fighting?"
Zhao Manzi also glanced over, sounding rather displeased. "Sword Demon, our battle back then never had a winner, did it?"
"Yet you dare claim you're the strongest of the five of us."
"Why don't we try again now? Let's see whether your sword can cut through my flesh."
"Enough. Don't be so childish," the old monk said.
"Little Fang Ling, we will let you go down the mountain when you are older. Forget about it for now."
"Be good and go back to cultivating. The sooner you learn all our skills, the sooner you can go down the mountain."
"Oh..." Fang Ling listened to the old monk most of all, so he could only return to his room dejectedly.
Once he left, the four turned to Sword Demon in unison.
Sword Demon quietly drew a heavy breath and said, "Really, I only taught him Blood Sword today."
Cultivating Blood Sword required constantly stirring up killing intent, which could easily affect one's disposition.
That was why they had previously agreed not to let Fang Ling cultivate it yet.
They feared that the Devil Heart would influence Fang Ling during cultivation and turn him into a monster that knew nothing but slaughter.
"Though the consciousness within the Devil Ancestor's Heart has been erased, it is still a devil's heart."
"Under its influence, his nature was bound to... That must be why he could condense such an extremely evil blood sword!" Sword Demon conjectured.
"Perhaps!" The old monk nodded. "Fortunately, I have given him plenty of guidance over the years."
"That is what allowed him to suppress the madness within and kept him from becoming a demonic beast."
"You old monk, you certainly know how to gild your own face. We've taught him far better than you have!" Flower Thief snorted.
That night, Fang Ling tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep.
He sat up and hammered his chest several times.
"It's so itchy! It's itching me to death!"
The two bones near his chest had suddenly begun to itch, keeping him awake.
These were the very two bones that had regrown after someone dug them out when he was little.
He could sense strange runes stirring upon them, but could not make any sense of them.
Suddenly, he raised his head and looked ahead. He sensed someone approaching!
The visitor entered the room without a sound, and by the moonlight, Fang Ling made out his face.
"Master Manzi!" He was puzzled at first, then delighted.
"You came just in time. I feel..."
Halfway through his sentence, he realized something was wrong.
Normally, Master Manzi gave the impression of being simple and honest.
Now, however, he looked like a monster, his eyes utterly terrifying.
His mouth hung open, exposing sharp fangs that looked nothing like human teeth.
"Little Fang Ling... you smell so delicious!"
"Will you let your master take a few bites?"
"I really can't hold back any longer!"
Drip, drip. Saliva streamed ceaselessly from the corners of Zhao Manzi's mouth and fell to the floor.
Terrified, Fang Ling screamed and hurriedly fled.
Zhao Manzi immediately chased him down and pinned him to the floor.
"Just one bite. I'll only take one bite!" Zhao Manzi stuck out his tongue and spoke crazedly.
"But if I accidentally swallow you whole in one bite, you can't blame me!"
"Help!" Pinned to the floor, Fang Ling had no strength to resist and could only scream at the top of his lungs.
Zhao Manzi grabbed Fang Ling and was about to shove him into his mouth.
At that critical moment, the old monk and the others arrived.
"He's having another episode..."
Flower Thief glanced helplessly at Zhao Manzi's hideous face and hurriedly rescued Fang Ling from his grasp.
"Quick! Join forces and subdue him first!" the old monk urged, Buddhist light shining radiantly behind him.
Only after considerable effort did they manage to subdue Zhao Manzi.
Hiding off to the side, Fang Ling was scared witless.
He had always thought his other masters were joking when they said Master Manzi liked eating people. He had never imagined it was true!
Before you continue