The First Venerable of All Paths

"Brother Fang, what do you think of this force?"

"Brother Fang, here, have a grape. It's freshly picked and very sweet."

"Brother Fang, have a cup of spiritual tea. It's from my father's study, picked from an old tea tree, and it smells wonderful."

At this moment, Fang Xuan was surrounded by He Yaoyao, who massaged his shoulders and legs, fed him fruit and offered him spiritual tea.

To be personally served by the eldest daughter of the prestigious He family is a privilege many people would dream of.

Fang Xuan was a little flustered.

Because two pairs of eyes were staring intently at him.

He Yun's eyes blazed with fury, while He Zhongtian gritted his teeth.

They looked as if they wanted to tear Fang Xuan to pieces.

Especially when he saw his beloved daughter, whom he had raised for several years, trying every trick in the book to please Fang Xuan, He Zhongtian clenched his fists and tried his best to restrain himself.

"that......"

Unable to bear their gazes any longer, Fang Xuan coughed lightly and said, "Miss Yao Yao, that's enough."

"What's wrong, Brother Fang? Are you feeling unwell?"

He Yaoyao looked innocent and bewildered, and said, "If there's anything you're not satisfied with, Yaoyao can change it."

When He Zhongtian and his son heard this, they felt as if the sky had fallen.

"Don't!"

Fang Xuan quickly replied, "I feel very comfortable and satisfied."

If you change it again, I'm afraid your dad and your brother will tear me apart.

"Brother Fang, do you agree?"

Hearing this, He Yaoyao was overjoyed and said excitedly, "I knew Brother Fang was the best."

"I promise, I promise you, okay?"

Fang Xuan said helplessly, "However, I must warn you, I cannot guarantee that it will definitely succeed."

"It's okay, it's okay."

He Yaoyao said happily, "Even if the refining fails, I won't blame Brother Fang."

Fang Xuan smiled helplessly and looked at He Zhongtian.

"Please help me find a quiet room, Patriarch He."

Fang Xuan said, "No one is allowed to enter without my permission."

"snort!"

He Zhongtian snorted coldly and said irritably, "Yun'er, go ahead."

"I'm not going!"

He Yun turned and left: "I need to go into seclusion to break through to the Divine Intent Realm. Let Uncle Yuan make the arrangements."

"Yes, young master."

Yuan Yan smiled and said to Fang Xuan, "Young Master Fang, please come with me."

"Thank you for your trouble, Uncle Yuan."

Fang Xuan forced a smile, then followed Yuan Yan away as if fleeing.

Seeing that He Yaoyao was about to follow, He Zhongtian grabbed his daughter's hand and scolded, "What are you going to do?"

"Brother Fang is forging weapons for me, of course I have to accompany him."

He Yaoyao spoke in a tone that seemed perfectly natural.

"Nonsense!"

He Zhongtian glared and said angrily, "The most important thing in forging a weapon is to avoid being disturbed. At best, it will fail; at worst, it will cause you to suffer a qi deviation. Do you want to harm Fang Xuan?"

Actually, what he was more worried about was that his daughter and Fang Xuan were getting too close.

It wasn't that he looked down on Fang Xuan.

On the contrary, Fang Xuan was simply too outstanding, so outstanding that even He Zhongtian was amazed by him.

Such a martial arts prodigy, his future achievements are beyond anyone's imagination.

If any normal person could curry favor with Fang Xuan, or even go so far as to make him one of their own, they would...

As Fang Xuan's cultivation level increases, the He family will also receive countless benefits.

However, it was precisely because of this that He Zhongtian was afraid.

The path to becoming a strongman is inevitably accompanied by endless slaughter and countless dangers.

Despite not having known each other for long, He Zhongtian saw through Fang Xuan's true nature from his actions.

This person may seem gentle and easy to talk to, but deep down he is ruthless and decisive, and has a clear sense of right and wrong.

Anyone who provokes him will surely die without a burial place.

Such as the Wen family and the Ming family.

Fang Xuan now has far too many enemies.

The Lu family, the Beast Taming Hall, the Dao Seeking Sect, and even the Tianbao Tower, whose influence spans the entire Nine Provinces.

Any one of these forces could easily wipe out the He family.

If his daughter is with him, she will inevitably be implicated.

He Zhongtian remembered everything Fang Xuan had done for the He family and was even willing to offer countless benefits to repay Fang Xuan.

But he couldn't gamble away everything the He family owned because of that.

He Zhongtian was well aware that if he told his daughter these things, she would not only not listen to them, but would also think that he, as her father, was too heartless and cold, and that he should deliberately sever ties with Fang Xuan.

As the head of the He family, He Zhongtian had to consider the interests of the entire family.

Therefore, He Zhongtian had to change his story.

"Father, you're right."

Sure enough, He Yaoyao immediately agreed when she heard He Zhongtian say that.

"I cannot disturb Brother Fang Xuan's forging of weapons."

Upon hearing this, He Zhongtian smiled with satisfaction.

"That's right."

However, the smile on He Zhongtian's face only lasted for a moment before it was completely shattered by a single sentence from his beloved daughter.

"Then I'll go to the treasure vault and select a few precious pills for Brother Fang to restore his strength and spirit."

Watching his daughter skip away, He Zhongtian felt as if his heart was being torn apart and he had been struck by lightning.

"What a tragedy!"

......

"I really don't know what sins I committed in my past life to have chosen you as my master."

The sword-wielding boy with his hair tied in a topknot muttered to himself as he flipped the grilled fish.

"Not only do I have to raise the sword, but I also have to do odd jobs and support you, my master."

The sword-wielding boy sighed, "Why is my life so miserable?"

At this moment, the sword-wielding boy seemed to have more liveliness and a more human touch than he did in front of outsiders.

However, his eye, which was injured when he drew his sword, has not yet recovered.

The boy's protruding, pale eyes made him look slightly frightening.

Rin ignored the boy's mutterings.

He bent over without any regard for his image, using a stick to tease a handful of ants under the tree roots.

If someone who knows this saw it, they would be absolutely shocked.

Rin, the swordsman known as the Iceberg of Cold Iron, was playing with ants like a child.

The disturbed ants scurried about in a panic.

Yet they couldn't leave the lines Rin had drawn with the stick.

These lines, though seemingly ordinary, actually each contain extremely profound sword intent.

Seemingly tired from playing, Rin threw down the stick and sat down next to the ant nest.

I'm hungry.

The boy rolled his eyes, looking even more terrifying.

"What's with the rush? Are you trying to kill me?"

With a muttered sound, the boy quickly grabbed the grilled fish and ran towards Lin, saying with a fawning expression, "Master, please try it. Be careful, it's a little hot."

Rin took the grilled fish and began to eat it slowly.

It looks elegant, but it's actually extremely fast.

In the blink of an eye, a large grilled fish weighing several kilograms was completely devoured by Rin.

The servant boy thoughtfully handed over a handkerchief, and after his master had wiped the area clean, he looked at Rin with a nervous expression.

"Sir, how does it taste?"

The boy said, "I added a few kinds of medicinal herbs for flavoring this time. Is it to your liking, sir?"

"There wasn't enough peppermint."

Rin tossed the handkerchief to the boy and said, "But overall it's not bad."

Upon hearing this, the boy immediately beamed with joy.

Grandpa said it was pretty good, he was very satisfied.

"I have remembered your words, sir."

The boy rubbed his hands together, his face full of anticipation.

Rin's lips twitched slightly, as if she were smiling.

Then, with a touch of his finger to the boy's brow, a chilling sword aura suddenly burst forth and surged into the boy's body.

Gradually, the boy's eyes returned to normal.

The strangest thing was that a sword shadow flashed across the destroyed eyeball.

His weakened aura has also recovered to its peak.

"Thank you for your help, Master Xie, in healing my wounds."

The boy immediately knelt on the ground and said respectfully, "This humble servant wishes you, Master, great success in your martial arts and mastery of the sword."

Rin remained unmoved by the boy's flattery.

"Tell me, what do you think of that Fang Xuan?"

Upon hearing Rin's words, the boy pondered for a moment before saying seriously, "His sword intent is very special."

When it comes to serious matters, the boy dares not speak nonsense.

His assessment was also very objective.

"It's quite normal for a sword cultivator who can cultivate two natal flying swords to have a special sword intent."

Rin said, "What do you think about recommending him to be the Swordholder?"

"what?"

The boy asked in surprise, "Master, you want him to enter the Sword Pavilion?"

"no?"

"It's not impossible."

The boy looked conflicted and said, "I'm just afraid the people upstairs won't agree."

Rin's lips curled into a slight, sarcastic smile.

"When has the Sword Pavilion ever needed their permission to act?"

Lin scoffed, "Over the years, their influence has crossed the line. A sword cultivator is a sword cultivator. Since when did pseudo-sword cultivators begin to be worthy of the title?"

"The Sword Pavilion was passed down from that person; how can we allow these filthy people to create such a mess?"

Rin, unusually, delivered a lengthy speech, expressing her dissatisfaction.

"This Fang Xuan is quite bold. If he can enter the Sword Pavilion, there will be many more interesting things to do."

The thought that Fang Xuan could turn Sword Pavilion upside down instantly dispelled all the gloom in Lin's heart.

"Sir, to tell you the truth..."

The boy couldn't help but sigh and said, "Even if Fang Xuan has extremely strong talent in swordsmanship, becoming a sword wielder is not so easy, let alone entering the Sword Pavilion."

In the present day, people across the Nine Provinces only know about Tianbao Tower, but not about Sword Pavilion.

Even within Tianbao Tower, few people knew of the existence of the Sword Pavilion.

Because that requires unparalleled swordsmanship talent, and only by passing through the Sword Pavilion's rigorous tests can one have even a sliver of a chance.

Even his master, Rin, spent nearly ten years before being noticed by a sword master of the Sword Pavilion and taken in.

Sword Pavilion is a transcendent force that reigns supreme over the entire Nine Provinces continent.

Any one of the sword masters could easily crush a province.

That's why I gave him a chance.

The boy then realized that the reason his master had made the sword-testing agreement with Fang Xuan was to test him.

"Then you might as well just kill him with one sword."

The boy muttered, "Who doesn't know that testing swords with you is not as good as asking about swords?"

"Um?"

With a slight nasal tone, the boy quickly put on a smile and said, "What I mean is, Fang Xuan's ability to test his sword with you is a blessing he has accumulated over several lifetimes."

Rin smiled softly again.

"By the way, sir."

The boy said, "Now that you've chosen Fang Xuan, should we inform them in the building?"

"No need."

Rin said, "If he can't even handle this little setback, he's not qualified to enter the Sword Pavilion."

The boy nodded in deep agreement.

There's nothing wrong with that.

"Let's go."

Rin stood up and gazed in a certain direction.

"Those rats hiding in the sewers are showing signs of emerging again; we must get rid of them as soon as possible."

mouse?

The boy looked blank.

So, instead of playing with ants, I've switched to playing with mice?

The thought of his grandfather bending over and teasing a mouse sent a chill down the boy's spine.

Looking at the fist-sized material in front of him, Fang Xuan shuddered.

"Millennial Ice Marrow?"

As he circulated his internal energy to resist the bone-chilling cold of the Ice Marrow, Fang Xuan muttered to himself, "That little girl is quite lucky; she even managed to find such a top-grade material."