Singing with a Sword

The following is the main text of the novel "{?$article_title?}" ({?$jieqi_title?}) provided by {?$jieqi_sitename?}. Please enjoy! The sect is located in Qingzhou of the Sheng Tang Kingdom, with its main hall situated in the Wushen Palace atop Shengwang Mountain. Its nine branch halls are scattered throughout various cities of Qingzhou, generally one branch hall per city. The only exception is the Shenfeng Hall, which is located in Jianling City, along with the Xianfeng Hall.

These two sects are practically brothers in misfortune, one ranking last and the other second to last. However, the Vanguard Hall, ranking second to last, is much stronger than the Divine Wind Hall! In the eyes of outsiders, the Divine Wind Hall has always been a trash hall, a hall of exile. Especially in recent years, Xu Jingyi has been ostracized by Shen Fanba and others, and the status of the Divine Wind Hall has been declining. Whenever a disciple in the sect makes a mistake, he is exiled to the Divine Wind Hall as punishment.

Xu Jingyi also wanted to change this situation, revitalize Shenfeng Hall, and rid it of its bottom-ranking fate. However, Shen Fanba and his ilk were always making things difficult for him, so he couldn't focus his energy on managing the branch hall. Therefore, Zhong Bugui took on the heavy responsibility, because he was Xu Jingyi's eldest disciple!

After Zhong Bugui's continuous cultivation yielded certain results, he challenged the Vanguard Hall. According to sect rules, to improve a branch's ranking, one must challenge a branch ranked higher. Therefore, the Divine Wind Hall had to challenge the Vanguard Hall first, but ultimately failed. Zhong Bugui was even defeated by a member of the Vanguard Hall named Xu An.

Xu An had always looked down on the Divine Wind Hall, thinking that these people were all trash, so he went too far and severely injured Zhong Bugui, even causing Zhong Bugui to drop from the early stage of the fifth level of the Transcendent Realm, with his strength fluctuating between the Qi Condensation Realm and the Transcendent Realm.

Even if someone kills their opponent in a duel, as long as it wasn't intentional, the other party won't be held responsible. So Zhong Bugui could only suffer in silence. However, after much reflection, he realized that his defeat was entirely due to the inferiority of his martial arts techniques. Therefore, he conceived the idea of ​​secretly learning the sect leader's swordsmanship.

Later, he put his plan into action and succeeded. However, his actions were eventually discovered, so he immediately fled the sect, whitened his hair to look like an old man, and evaded the sect's pursuit.

At that time, the sect sent Shen Fanba and his disciple Wen Erya, along with the gray-clad man—this gray-clad man was the one who injured Zhong Bugui, namely Xu An of the Vanguard Hall. The reason for bringing Xu An along was twofold: firstly, Xu An had fought with Zhong Bugui before and was quite familiar with him; secondly, Xu An was skilled in searching.

Later, the three successfully found Zhong Bugui, but to their surprise, he committed suicide to avoid implicating his master and sworn brother. The three were somewhat astonished and also held Zhong Bugui in a little respect, so they did not continue to make trouble for Xu Jingyi and Yi Ranxiao, allowing Xu Jingyi to take Zhong Bugui's body back to Qingzhou.

Xu Jingyi wanted to bury his beloved disciple's body near Shenfeng Hall, which is the principle of returning to one's roots.

Although Shenfeng Hall was located in Jianling City, Zhong Bugui preferred to wander around, so his favorite place was Xiaoyeshan outside Jianling City. Xu Jingyi decided to bury him in Xiaoyeshan.

Shen Fanba, Wen Erya, and the others also had to pass through Jianling City to return to the main hall. Xu An, needless to say, was from the Vanguard Hall, which was located in Jianling City, so the group traveled together.

Yi Ranxiao naturally followed, firstly to see Zhong Bugui off, and secondly because Zhong Bugui had asked Xu Jingyi to accept him as a disciple, and Xu Jingyi had already agreed, so how could he not come? More importantly, Zhong Bugui had entrusted his dream to him, and he had an unshirkable responsibility to help his elder brother fulfill his last wish! To lead Shenfeng Hall to become the number one branch of the sect!

After that, Yi Ranxiao will move into Shenfeng Hall and join the sect. Besides that, as long as Xu Jingyi agrees to take her as a disciple and then teaches her magic, the system task will be completed!

In a short period of time, Yi Ranxiao not only joined a sect but also completed a system task, which sounded incredibly exciting. However, the process was filled with sorrow! It was all bought with her elder brother's life! No matter how optimistic Yi Ranxiao was, she was still deeply saddened and, moreover, filled with anger!

This anger was naturally directed at Shen Fanba, Wen Erya, and Xu An. Having spent these past few days with Xu Jingyi and his son, he had learned a great deal. Shen Fanba had been constantly picking on Xu Jingyi's faction; even if Zhong Bugui hadn't made a mistake, he would create one and set traps for him! And when Zhong Bugui did make a mistake, he naturally showed no mercy and dealt with it severely!

In the end, Zhong Bugui committed suicide, and it can be said that the murderer was Shen Fanba! It was Shen Fanba who drove Zhong Bugui to his death! Therefore, Yi Ranxiao wants to kill him to avenge her brother! Of course, she can only do this when she is strong enough.

As for Xu An, he repeatedly assaulted Zhong Bugui while he was guarding him, even slapping him in public! For anyone, this would be an act that destroys their dignity! Adding to this, Xu An deliberately went too far during the battle, severely injuring his elder brother! All of this made Yi Ranxiao's hatred for Xu An no less than her hatred for Shen Fanba!

As for Wen Erya, Xiao still despises him! This man appears gentle and refined on the surface, but he is actually extremely domineering and hateful. Not only does he collude with Shen Fanba, but he also repeatedly looks down on him! One day, Xiao will defeat him with his strength!

Besides Yi Ranxiao, Xu Jingyi and his son also hated those three people to the core, so the group naturally split into two groups along the way. It is worth mentioning that before setting off, Yi Ranxiao searched all over Su Shui City but could not find any trace of Xiao Fan. He could only spend some money to pay the permanent residents of Su Shui City to inform Shenfeng Hall in Jianling City, Qingzhou if they found any trace of Xiao Fan.

……

……

That day, upon arriving at Xiaoye Mountain, Xu Jingyi, Xu Zhongwen, and Yi Ranxiao buried Zhong Bugui's remains. Afterward, Xu Jingyi solemnly looked at Yi Ranxiao: "Yanxiao, Bugui asked me to take you as his disciple before he died, and I agreed. Now, perform the ceremony of becoming his disciple!"

Within the sect, Xu Jingyi was, after all, the head of the Divine Wind Hall, a person of status, and therefore had the right to privately accept disciples. Zhong Bugui, however, was merely a younger disciple of low status, so he had no right to accept disciples, much less to impart the sect's techniques to them. Xu Jingyi, on the other hand, did have that right.

Yi Ranxiao immediately knelt down and bowed to Xu Jingyi. Xu Jingyi helped him up and looked at him, saying, "Xiao'er, from now on you are my disciple, Xu Jingyi! Zhongwen, from now on you have another master..." He originally wanted to say another junior brother, but he seemed to see the shadow of Zhong Bugui in Yi Ranxiao. In the past few days, he had had many interactions with Yi Ranxiao and learned that this boy's personality was similar to Zhong Bugui's—equally unrestrained, carefree, and optimistic!

Remembering Zhong Bugui's dying words to Yi Ranxiao, "You are me," Xu Jingyi wondered, "Why must I make him my junior brother if I'm taking him as my disciple? Why not let him directly replace Bugui as the senior brother?" He then looked at Xu Zhongwen to ask for his opinion.

In fact, the scene of Yi Ranxiao drinking and eating heartily while being surrounded and attacked by Luo Rong's group had already deeply shocked Xu Zhongwen! He even regarded Yi Ranxiao as an idol! Therefore, subconsciously, he always regarded Yi Ranxiao as an elder brother figure! Even though Yi Ranxiao's strength is not as good as his now!

So when his father accepted Yi Ranxiao as his disciple, when his father said, "From now on, you'll have another master..." he took the initiative to say, "Father, from now on, Zhongwen will have another senior brother!" Xu Zhongwen looked at Yi Ranxiao with great respect and called out, "Senior Brother!"

Yi Ranxiao was taken aback. After all, he was the last to join the sect, yet he had become the senior disciple. Wasn't that a bit...?

Xu Zhongwen noticed his hesitation and said, "Senior Brother, before he died, Senior Brother Bugui instructed you to completely replace him. So, don't refuse. From now on, you will be our Senior Brother!"

Yi Ranxiao looked at Zhong Bugui's tomb, recalling Zhong Bugui's voice and smile in life, and the scene when he asked her to help him fulfill his dream. Suddenly, Yi Ranxiao's heart warmed, and she said, "Alright, then I will be your senior brother from now on!" She then knelt before Zhong Bugui's tomb and swore an oath to the heavens:

"Brother, I, Yiran Xiao, swear to the heavens that I will fulfill your dream, and I will lead Shenfeng Hall to become the number one branch of the sect!"

These words were extremely grating to the ears of Shen Fanba, Wen Erya, and Xu An.

Wen Erya is the senior disciple of Hengshan Hall, the number one branch of the sect. Shen Fanba is his master and also the head of Hengshan Hall. When Yi Ranxiao said this, he was clearly saying that he would one day pull Hengshan Hall down from its number one position!

This is absolutely a blatant provocation! And it's a provocation coming from the mouth of the weak, which makes these strong people very unhappy!

Xu An shared the same idea. He was from the Vanguard Hall, and if the Divine Wind Hall wanted to successfully turn its fortunes around, the first thing they had to eliminate was the Vanguard Hall! By saying that, he was actually provoking the Vanguard Hall!

Shen Fanba and Wen Erya gave Xu An a look, and Xu An understood immediately. He couldn't let the noble Shen Fanba and Wen Erya do the dirty work of teaching a nobody like Yi Ranxiao a lesson, so he immediately said loudly, "Yan Ranxiao, you're really arrogant. You defeated Hengshan Hall to become the sect's number one branch? Haha, your Shenfeng Hall can't even hold your head up in front of our Vanguard Hall, yet you dare to covet the number one throne? You're like a toad trying to eat swan meat!"

Ridicule, blatant rigging!

Yiran Xiao's face darkened.

Xu An continued to mock, "Zhong Bugui was at least at the fifth level of the Transcendent Realm back then, which was quite a bit of strength, but he was still easily defeated by me, wasn't he? And you, you're only at the eighth level of the Qi Condensation Realm. In front of us, you don't even have the qualifications to be cannon fodder! With your strength, you call yourself the number one branch of the sect? Hahaha, hahaha, that's hilarious!"

Yi Ranxiao clenched her fists tightly, recalling the scene of Xu An slapping Zhong Bugui that day, and an inexplicable anger surged into her heart!

"Xu An," Yi Ranxiao suddenly stood up and pointed at Xu An, "My current strength is indeed inferior to yours, but with my efforts, one day I will personally defeat you and crush you under my feet!"

Xu An was taken aback. This kind of scum dared to spout such nonsense to his face? "Kid, aren't you a bit too arrogant? You want to surpass me? No way! You're just cannon fodder, not worth a second!"

The term "cannon fodder" is Yi Ranxiao's Achilles' heel!

"If you're so capable, suppress your Yuan Power level to the eighth level of the Qi Condensation Realm and fight me!" Yi Ranxiao pointed at Xu An and challenged, "Let's see if I can beat you!"

Yi Ranxiao had already thought it through. The sect's sword technique was the Gui Shi sword technique, and he had already reached the realm of harmony between heaven and man. In addition, with the Misty Shadow Step, as long as Xu An's Yuan Power level was on the same level as his own, he should be able to defeat him!

If I defeat him, and my Yuan Power level becomes the same as his, then I can truly defeat him!

Xu An understood this principle as well. For cultivators, comprehending the mysteries of spells and how to use them and devise tactics is far more difficult than increasing their Yuan Power level. Therefore, sometimes, the strength of cultivators is determined by their application of spells, provided their Yuan Power is not too different!

"Alright, I will suppress my Yuan Power level and fight you!" Xu An said proudly.