Chu Fan was the first to arrive at the Tianxuan Sect.
By this time, the disciples behind him had been left far in the distance, but he had no intention of waiting for them.
The scene that followed might be a bit bloody, and he did not want the aftermath to affect them.
Boom!
The main hall’s doors were shattered by a massive shockwave, and the broken remains flew into the hall.
“Presumptuous! Who dares to trespass in my Tianxuan Sect!” one of the old men sitting in an elder’s seat shouted.
He leaped down from his seat, drawing his sword to block Chu Fan.
In the next moment, a clean cut appeared on his neck.
Blood sprayed from the white bone.
As the head of a former elder hit the ground, Jun Lin, who sat high upon the Sect Master’s throne, furrowed her brow slightly.
“Chu Fan? What is the meaning of this?”
Chu Fan remained silent, pointing his sword diagonally upward at Jun Lin.
“Jun Lin, you have insulted me too much.”
“Insulted you? Where is this coming from?”
“I had no intention of leaving the Tianxuan Sect, yet you sent people to track me and my disciples. What was the meaning of that!”
Chu Fan was currently furious to the extreme.
He truly just wanted to enjoy some leisure time with his disciples, but none of them had been able to eat the table of good food.
Throughout the meal, they had been on guard against those “others.”
“Tracking? I did no such thing,” Jun Lin said with a calm smile.
“They probably acted on their own. I knew nothing about it.”
“But forget it. Consider it my apology. When they return, I will punish them. Don’t be so angry.”
“I have already killed them.”
“What!?”
Jun Lin’s expression changed drastically.
“Those three at the late stage of Core Formation and the two in the mid-stage of Nascent Soul… you killed them all?”
“Yes.”
“Do you have any idea how short-staffed my sect is right now! You just killed them like that!? You owe me!”
Seeing Jun Lin’s childish attitude, Chu Fan finally couldn’t hold back and let out a roar.
“Even now, you maintain this attitude. Since that is the case, I shall destroy your Tianxuan Sect today!”
Hearing those words, Jun Lin finally turned serious.
She stood up instantly, her eyes wide with rage.
“You dare!”
“Why wouldn’t I dare?”
Chu Fan’s aura exploded.
Inside the main hall, everything from the doors and windows to the decorations and the pill furnaces was blown into a mess.
At that moment, the remaining elders formed a formation, blocking the path to Jun Lin.
“We shall protect the Sect Master and the Tianxuan Sect to the death!”
“Get out!”
Several people were instantly turned into a mist of blood.
No one saw what happened.
Even those people had not realized what occurred before they died, let alone Jun Lin.
“Chu Fan! You dare to kill my elders!” Jun Lin roared.
“I killed them. If you have the guts, then avenge them.”
Jun Lin fell silent, then let out a cold snort and leaped into the air.
She drew a spiritual sword from her waist and pointed it down at Chu Fan.
The two were locked in a standoff as the disciples outside began to arrive.
“Will… will Master lose?”
“He will win,” Shen Yuying said with a calm smile.
Then, they saw a silver-white light slowly emanate from Jun Lin’s sword.
It gradually gathered behind her, forming a massive divine image.
“That is…” Lin Anlan pushed her glasses up in confusion.
“It is a Sword Spirit.”
“A Sword Spirit that only appears in one-in-ten-thousand treasures? Then wouldn’t Master be…”
“Junior Sister, don’t be anxious. Look.”
Lin Anlan turned her head.
Aside from that massive silver-white divine image, she also saw Chu Fan’s calm, smiling face.
As the saying goes, a person who wants to win has no smile on their face.
But a person who is certain of victory cannot help but smile.
Gradually, a dark green mist began to emanate from Chu Fan’s sword, a complete contrast to the holy silver-white light.
“Such a cold feeling… What is that…” Lin Anlan hugged her body, shivering.
She watched as the dark green mist gradually condensed into a shadow wearing a hood and a cloak.
The damp, cold aura grew even stronger.
The mist held a scythe, looking thin and weak, as if it had no offensive power at all.
It seemed to be on a completely different level compared to the massive divine image behind Jun Lin.
“It is the Death God, Master’s Sword Spirit.”
“A Sword Spirit… has a name?”
Hearing this, Su Xiaotang finally found a chance to answer.
“It’s a Titular Sword Spirit. Junior Sister, how could you not know this?”
“A Titular… Sword Spirit?”
“It’s a super Sword Spirit with its own name, far stronger than ordinary ones.”
“A super… Sword Spirit…”
Lin Anlan looked up.
Although Chu Fan was standing on the ground, his posture looked more like he was the one looking down from above.
Finally, he gestured with his finger like a sword and slashed through the air.
“Death God — Slash.”
In the next instant, that mass of dark green mist easily cut the divine image behind Jun Lin in half.
“Do you want to continue?” Chu Fan laughed.
“Hmph, a mere Sword Spirit.”
In the next moment, Jun Lin’s hand seals changed.
Countless bloodless corpses rose from the ground like the walking dead.
Among them were the elders whose heads Chu Fan had just severed.
“Heh, Corpse Puppets?” Chu Fan sneered.
“Corpse Puppets? What are those?”
Lin Anlan asked from the side.
“It is a forbidden technique that refines human corpses into soldiers. It’s normal that you don’t know about it; it has been lost for a long time. I didn’t expect Jun Lin to know how to use it.”
“What is the use… of this forbidden technique?”
“These Corpse Puppets cannot be harmed by any attacks other than physical ones.”
“In other words… they won’t be harmed by the Sword Spirit?”
“Yes, exactly.”
“Then Master is in…”
Looking at Lin Anlan’s worried gaze and then at the overwhelming number of Corpse Puppets, Shen Yuying smiled.
“Heh, using Corpse Puppets against Master?”
Chu Fan’s hand seals changed.
The first half was exactly the same as Jun Lin’s, but the second half was different.
Then, light emanated from the ground, and a vast army of soldiers slowly rose.
Unlike Jun Lin’s Corpse Puppets, Chu Fan’s were less like the walking dead and more like a well-trained army.
They were more orderly and their equipment was more luxurious.
Each one was encased in armor and held various weapons.
They stood perfectly straight, nothing like zombies.
“What… is that…?”
Lin Anlan was stunned, only able to ask out of instinct.
“Majestic Marching. It is Master’s Weapon Puppet army. I roughly estimated once that there are about 500,000 of them.”
“Weapon… Puppets?”
“Haha, it’s normal for Junior Sister not to know. This is a technique that only Master can master.”
“Only Master knows it?”
“Yes.”
At this point, Su Xiaotang said calmly, “Master once obtained half of the manual for refining Corpse Puppets, but he couldn’t find the other half no matter how hard he looked. So, he tried to refine them using only that half.”
“And the result?”
“The result was a success, but those Corpse Puppets couldn’t even stand steadily. They would trip over themselves after a few steps. Their attack and defense were also pathetic, so…”
“So?”
“So Master thought of a unique method, a method… that only he could achieve.”
“What method?”
Su Xiaotang pointed toward the armor on one of the puppets.
“Master forged five different artifacts of at least Earth-grade for each puppet. They support their attack power, defense, endurance, stability, and unity.”
Hearing this, Lin Anlan scanned the countless puppets in the hall.
A terrifying thought arose.
“Each… each puppet has five artifacts of Earth-grade or higher!? Then wouldn’t that be…”
“Yes. So what is lined up here is not just 500,000 Corpse Puppets that follow Master’s every command, but… 2.5 million Earth-grade artifacts.”
“So this army of 500,000…”
“Is more terrifying than an army of ten million in the mortal world.”
On the ground, Chu Fan raised his hand and shouted, “Soldiers, advance!”
“Hah!”
The puppet army crushed the disorganized Corpse Puppets like dry weeds.
In less than the time it takes to burn half a stick of incense, the Corpse Puppets were wiped out.
But in the next moment…
Hum —
A sharp sound accompanied by a blinding light annihilated all the puppets illuminated by it.
Chu Fan looked up and saw a bronze mirror reflecting golden light.
It must have had the power to dispel evil; otherwise, it would have been impossible to eliminate such a large area of puppets instantly.
“Surprised, Elder Chu? Although I am a sword cultivator, I am actually a weapon refiner as well. And…”
As she spoke, various artifacts began to appear around Jun Lin, lining up behind her.
She could drive them at will with a single thought.
“Natal Artifacts?” Chu Fan asked.
“Of course. And all of them are.”
“Natal Artifacts? What are those?”
Su Xiaotang asked in confusion.
“They are artifacts that can be controlled with pure thought, requiring no spiritual energy. They are one with the user,” Lin Anlan said seriously.
She knew how powerful Natal Artifacts were.
To possess even one was the lifelong dream of a weapon refiner, yet Jun Lin had nearly ten.
Such talent was likely only recorded in ancient times.
“Then aren’t they very strong?” Su Xiaotang asked.
“Ah, how boring. I’m going back to sleep.”
Chen Qianchi crossed her hands behind her head and walked away leisurely, seemingly indifferent to the upcoming events.
“Senior Sister?” Lin Anlan was puzzled.
“Wait for me, Senior Sister! I’m going back to eat too!”
Su Xiaotang and Chen Qianchi left one after another.
“Why… why?”
Lin Anlan questioned.
“Don’t worry, Junior Sister. Look.”
Lin Anlan turned her head only to see Chu Fan standing still and laughing loudly.
“Hahahaha! Hahahahahaha!”
Seeing this, Jun Lin raised an eyebrow in confusion.
What was this man laughing at?
Suddenly, Chu Fan leaped up, ascending higher into the air than Jun Lin.
“Junior Sister, what do you think is the strongest type of cultivator?”
“That… it’s naturally a sword cultivator.”
“Mhm.”
Shen Yuying nodded slightly.
“Indeed. Sword cultivators are the foremost among the thousand paths, being one with offense and defense, invincible in every endeavor.”
“But do you know why the value of a weapon refiner is often greater than that of a sword cultivator?”
“Because of the numbers.”
“Correct. Because weapon refiners are rare. That is the first point. But there is a second point: difficulty.”
“Difficulty?”
“Weapon refiners are more likely to encounter bottlenecks in their cultivation, and their own combat power is insufficient, making them easy prey for others.”
“That’s why they need to forge high-grade or even Natal Artifacts, so they can stand a chance against anyone.”
“But that is not enough. A true sword genius cannot be defeated by just a few Natal Artifacts.”
“So, weapon refiners must work harder. They must work so hard that people think what they have done is impossible.”
“Impossible things?”
“This… this is impossible!!!”
Jun Lin suddenly screamed, catching Lin Anlan’s attention.
Countless artifacts were appearing out of thin air behind Chu Fan.
Those artifacts were agile and moved freely at his command.
They included, but were not limited to, sabers, spears, swords, halberds, bows, hammers, axes, chains, whips, maces, stingers, claws, hooks, pagodas, furnaces, mirrors, bells, compasses, maps, scrolls, beads, banners, flags, cauldrons, lamps, brushes, umbrellas, fans, and flutes.
And the number of artifacts was still increasing.
Ten, twenty, thirty.
Fifty…
“What is… that…”
Lin Anlan’s mouth was wide open.
She collapsed to her knees, forgetting to breathe.
She knew Chu Fan was strong, but this was simply not something a human could achieve.
To her, the current Chu Fan was no different from a god.
“Hundred Weapon Performance. As the name suggests, it is one of Master’s ultimate killing moves, composed of over a hundred Natal Artifacts.”
“A hundred… Natal Artifacts… But that is theoretically impossible. Natal Artifacts are supposed to absorb the host’s life force. How could Master endure the life absorption of over a hundred high-grade artifacts? That’s… impossible…”
“I cannot explain it to you either, but Master… he did it.”
Shen Yuying looked up at the figure floating in the sky with eyes full of pride and adoration.
On the other side, Jun Lin looked up at Chu Fan in shock, her eyes full of disbelief.
“You… who exactly are you?”
“Just a weapon refiner. Do you have any last words?”
“Wait… Wait a minute, Chu Fan. Oh no, Big Brother Chu, Big Brother Chu! Can’t we sit down and talk this through?”
“Talk? It’s too late.”
As he spoke, Chu Fan was about to slash down with a sword, but then a sharp cry for help like that of a young girl rang out, causing Chu Fan to frown deeply.
“Help!!! He’s assaulting a helpless girl!!!! Help!!!”
Chu Fan was shocked by the thickness of her skin.
She had the talent to refine ten Natal Artifacts at such a young age, yet she was not proud.
Instead, she was utterly shameless.
“Hey! All the elders in the sect are dead. Who are you calling for?”
“Me? My name is Jun Lin, young master. Why don’t we get to know each other?”
Jun Lin retracted all her Natal Artifacts and shamelessly approached Chu Fan, hooking her arms around his neck and winking at him.
Seeing this scene, even the naturally jealous Shen Yuying lost her strength.
“This… this kind of person can be a Sect Master?”
“…”
Lin Anlan fell silent.