Chapter 1087: Gentle Mr. Mei, Murderous Teaching Style

"Good, good, good!"

Mei Si Ren repeated the word three times in a row, his face beaming with smiles as he quickly stepped forward to steady Xu Xiaoshou. "Get up quickly—I already said there's no need for formalities..."

Even as he said this, Mei Si Ren could fully sense Xu Xiaoshou's deep devotion to the way of the sword and his earnestness in seeking a master.

He had countless students across the world, but when wandering the seas and mountains, he never revealed his true appearance, fearing it would stir up unnecessary trouble. As a result, few people knew what he really looked like.

More often than not, even after teaching a student the sword, to that student, the so-called "Sword Teaching Master" was just some down-and-out ancient sword cultivator searching for a legacy.

If a student managed to learn that the master's surname was Mei, it meant they had exceptional talent, and Mei Si Ren was willing to share a bit more information.

But if anyone figured out that this sword teacher was the "Seven Sword Immortals' Mei Si Ren," it would never come from Mei Si Ren's own lips—it depended on whether the student was clever enough to realize it themselves.

He came and went like the wind, leaving no trace of his deeds or name—that was the perfect embodiment of Mei Si Ren's lifelong approach to teaching the sword.

What he feared most was someone using phrases like "Master Ba Ren is my teacher" to cause trouble everywhere, planting seeds of disaster for himself and others.

In the rare cases where students realized he was one of the Seven Sword Immortals and still chose to learn from him, they were either "overjoyed" or "filled with dread"... In any case, it was hard for them to maintain a calm mindset for learning.

Whenever that happened, the gap between expectations and reality was always stark, and Mei Si Ren had rarely seen such students achieve anything on the path of ancient sword cultivation.

Of course, by "achieve," Mei Si Ren was measuring against figures like Ba Zun An or Wen Ting Zhi.

Xu Xiaoshou was different.

Even after learning all this, his attitude toward "taking a master"—or rather, what wasn't even a full "taking a master" yet—was one of pure sincerity in seeking the sword. Mei Si Ren saw that clearly.

Nothing else mattered; he was simply drawn to the way of the sword. That quality was rare and precious.

For those who practiced the sword, such a balanced mindset was what they lacked most.

"An old man like me doesn't waste time on pleasantries or empty rituals... I treat every student the same way: I just want to see them succeed, so I won't drag things out. Let's get straight to the point."

After helping him up, Mei Si Ren looked at Xu Xiaoshou, whose eyes showed respect mixed with a spark of excitement for the upcoming sword practice, and spoke with a smile.

He had taught many students, usually just giving them a few pointers before moving on. The longest he had stayed with one was a month, during which he poured out nearly everything he knew.

That student had been incredibly talented...

But a year after leaving him, Mei Si Ren heard news of the student's death.

Clever people often met early ends, and Mei Si Ren could only feel regret and helplessness about it. This only strengthened his mindset for teaching the sword.

Moderation in all things; know when to stop.

So, even when he met Xu Xiaoshou at the First Tower in the Sky, as long as Xu Xiaoshou didn't want to learn, Mei Si Ren didn't push.

Even with someone as talented as Xiao Kongdong there, Mei Si Ren had only given him a few pointers, and most of the time, it was during "chance" encounters downstairs that he offered guidance.

Influenced by his habit of brushing past people, getting inspired on a whim, giving quick directions, and then vanishing,

Mei Si Ren never learned the long-winded preambles that family or sect masters used before teaching. He always dove right in.

"When I was young and started practicing the sword, the first technique I cultivated was the 'Xin Jian Shu.' So, I'll start by passing that on to you!"

Mei Si Ren drew the second stone sword from his back and slowly stepped forward, speaking as he walked.

Xin Jian Shu... Xu Xiaoshou followed behind, and the terrifying "Jian Xiang" immediately flashed in his mind. He nodded eagerly, his heart pounding with excitement. "Yes, Xin Jian Shu—I really like it."

I like it too... Xiao Kongdong kept walking without a change in expression, thinking to himself that Mei Si Ren's Xin Jian Shu was indeed very different from his teacher's, belonging to another school's philosophy. I couldn't like it more!

"The eyes are the windows of the body; the heart is the dwelling of the intent," Mei Si Ren said as he stepped forward, beginning the lesson.

"Cultivating Xin Jian Shu is mostly about rediscovering your 'original intent,' finding your 'true intent.'

"By visualizing in the heart and manifesting in the intent, you turn these abstract 'forces of will' into a sort of 'entity,' making them appear as a visible 'image' to others, which can then cause mental harm...

"That's what it means for Xin Jian Shu to reach great completion.

Pausing for a moment, he continued, "In the interpretation of the Nine Great Sword Techniques in the 'Eighteen Sword Styles,' this level is defined as the 'First Realm,' and for Xin Jian Shu, the First Realm is 'Mu Xia Shen Fo.'

With that, he stopped in his tracks and suddenly turned around.

At that moment, in the vast Giant Kingdom, the long street stirred with dust though there was no wind, filled with a faint, eerie sound.

In Xu Xiaoshou's eyes, Mei Si Ren hadn't done anything, yet he inexplicably felt inferior to him in every way.

Correspondingly, as Mei Si Ren's image enlarged in his pupils, the massive, grotesque "Jian Xiang" behind him rose again, towering to the sky.

Roar!!!

An invisible, terrifying roar seemed to erupt from deep within his heart.

"Hua Cai Huan Yi reaches nine in splendor, body filled with the decay of mortal affairs. Ghosts resist the tower as thousands bow, Qing Wu Er Jian held in hand. Qiong Qi lurks silently in the heart, outer form withers like old wood. The four seas hide knowledge and intent, how can the true self be known by others?"

Once again facing Mei Si Ren's Jian Xiang head-on, Xiao Kongdong murmured, his pupils filled with shock. "Indeed, what Mei Si Ren has mastered is the most complete and perfect 'Mu Xia Shen Fo,' encompassing all Nine Great Sword Techniques!"

Hearing this, Xu Xiaoshou couldn't help but glance sideways.

Outsiders see the excitement; insiders see the skill.

Xiao Kongdong's words perfectly captured the essence of Mei Si Ren's grotesque Jian Xiang.

When Xu Xiaoshou looked back at the Jian Xiang monster, he indeed spotted traces of the Nine Great Sword Techniques on it, making his heart even more awestruck.

How many years of cultivation would it take to perfect it like this?

"Focus."

Mei Si Ren's face suddenly lost its smile, as if facing two mischievous students in class. His gaze turned stern, and his aura changed completely.

"Thud!"

Xu Xiaoshou felt his body sink, and the green stone slabs under his feet cracked into two pits from the pressure.

"Under pressure, passive value +1."

"Under attack, passive value +1."

"Under fright, passive value +1."

The information bar flashed, and Xu Xiaoshou clearly felt the terrifying pressure from the "Mu Xia Shen Fo" combined with "Che Shen Nian" and the "Jian Xiang"!

"Substantial mental pressure, impact, even harm..."

At that moment, the charge for "Huan Mie Yi Zhi" was rapidly increasing, and the passive value steadily rose with the information bar's changes.

Sweat beads had already formed on Xu Xiaoshou's forehead; he felt as if he were trapped in quicksand, struggling to move.

The last time he saw this "Jian Xiang," it was from the side during a battle; now, facing Mei Si Ren directly, and with him slightly annoyed, it felt even more overwhelming and terrifying.

—Completely immobilized! Suppressed to the point of helplessness! If past enemies had this ability, I probably wouldn't even know how I died!

"These are all illusions," Xu Xiaoshou thought of Mei Si Ren's earlier words and forced out the words.

"They are illusions, but they are also real." Mei Si Ren's expression remained unchanged, his aura unrelenting, as if he intended to hit Xu Xiaoshou with a full frontal shock to leave a deep imprint on his heart before discussing anything else.

"As I said...

"'The eyes are the windows of the body; the heart is the dwelling of the intent.' Xin Jian Shu is the manifestation of your true self, fully releasing the authentic self that ancient sword cultivators have found.

"As long as you master this realm proficiently... For those who can't see it, it's certainly an illusion, because they wouldn't feel anything unusual even if they passed by. But for those we want to see it, this release of the 'true self' is real! It's the most direct attack!"

As soon as Mei Si Ren finished speaking, he gripped the stone sword in his right hand and lightly swung it in front of him.

His movement stirred no dust or waves.

But then, the Jian Xiang behind him moved, and the Qing Wu Er Jian in its hands, representing "Mo Jian Shu" and "Wu Jian Shu," crossed in the air to form a "Cross Slash."

A simple, unadorned Cross Slash...

It enlarged rapidly in Xu Xiaoshou's immobilized body, right in his line of sight!

"Damn!"

In that instant, Xu Xiaoshou's hairs stood on end, as if struck by lightning. He felt death approaching but was paralyzed and unable to move.

"Wait, isn't this teaching time? What do you mean by attacking me?"

"Mei Si Ren, please wait a moment!"

"Hey—"

There was no buffer time!

Xu Xiaoshou opened his mouth to say something, but no sound came out. He could only watch as the Cross Slash from the Qing Wu Er Jian pierced straight through his body.

"Ahhh!!!"

A scream rang out nearby, and Xiao Kongdong was so startled that he quickly shut his eyes and dodged to the side.

After steadying himself, he hurriedly looked toward Xu Xiaoshou.

A question mark popped up on his forehead.

For a moment, Xiao Kongdong even thought Mei Si Ren had been possessed and was attacking Xu Xiaoshou.

The Mei Si Ren he knew didn't seem like such a hot-tempered person. Even when teaching, shouldn't it be gentle guidance, patiently instructing?

He had always been a very kind person... right?

"Was it because Xu Xiaoshou got distracted and glanced at me earlier?" Xiao Kongdong's lips twitched, his face showing a hint of fear.

"Am I... dead?"

As his spiritual form was forcefully severed, Xu Xiaoshou felt a familiar sensation.

He turned into a state of "perception," like an omniscient view, clearly seeing his physical body standing still and rigid; glimpsing Xiao Kongdong trembling in fear and standing respectfully; and noticing that Mei Si Ren ahead hadn't been possessed—he had just casually swung a sword, as if it were Xu Xiaoshou's own issue.

A similar feeling had occurred with Rao Yao Yao's "Hong Chen Jian," but the experience was completely different.

"Hong Chen Jian" pulled you into a world of mortal affairs, aging and corroding your heart, with uncertain outcomes on whether you could escape or what you'd become afterward.

The sword from the "Jian Xiang" had truly struck his spiritual form and even helped Xu Xiaoshou locate the source of his own mental will.

But this "help" was far too abrupt and terrifying...

"Ah!!!"

Still lost in thought, the intense pain from his spiritual form made Xu Xiaoshou scream again.

Looking down, he saw that after the Cross Slash, his spiritual form had been split into four pieces. Without even feeling the wind, the wounds began to burn fiercely!

"Under attack, passive value +1."

Mei Si Ren really wants to kill me...

Damn it, I don't want to learn this anymore. This sword technique... I really don't want to learn it...

Hell, it feels like I'm really going to die—my thoughts, my ideas, my...

"Heh."

Just as Xu Xiaoshou's consciousness was about to descend into chaos, Mei Si Ren across from him chuckled.

The Jian Xiang behind him also curled its grotesque lips, and then the nine swords flew out, forming a sword array in the air.

In that moment, the rising dust was forcefully pressed back to the ground; the invisible sound waves from afar converged like dandelion seeds being called back; and Xu Xiaoshou's immobilized body even floated up slightly, as the shattered green stone slabs under his feet healed and returned to normal.

—Time reversed!

"That's enough; come back."

Mei Si Ren lowered the stone sword in his hand, and the Jian Xiang's arms dropped as well. The Cross Slash flew back from nothingness, passing through the reforming cracks in Xu Xiaoshou's spiritual form and returning to the Qing Wu Er Jian.

"Ha!"

Xu Xiaoshou suddenly opened his eyes wide, gasping for breath as if his soul had just left and returned, his whole body drenched in cold sweat.

"How was it?" Mei Si Ren looked over with a smile and asked softly.

"You..." Xu Xiaoshou lifted his gaze in anger, on the verge of lashing out, but when he saw the monstrous "Jian Xiang" behind Mei Si Ren, he deflated instantly.

"Mei Si Ren, I almost died just now!" Xu Xiaoshou swung his fist in frustration, his face drooping like a dejected puppy.

"What I asked was, how did it feel?" Mei Si Ren's smile remained the same.

Only then did Xu Xiaoshou pause, recalling the sensation...

The complete sensation of death!

He had experienced the ultimate mental attack, felt the most real mental death, and witnessed the utter despair of being controlled by absolute mental force.

"That sword was less than one-tenth of its full power," Mei Si Ren said, his words hitting like thunder, leaving Xu Xiaoshou charred on the outside and tender on the inside.

Less than one-tenth...

Is that the gap between me and Mei Si Ren?

I thought the difference with Tai Xu wasn't that big anymore...

Mei Si Ren had no intention of discouraging anyone. After boldly "killing" Xu Xiaoshou once and then reversing time to bring him back from the underworld, he wore his devilish smile and spoke again:

"Now, it's your turn to visualize.

"Release your most extreme, purest self, follow your truest calling, visualize an 'image' not limited by your current understanding, and manifest your 'intent!'

"Use your heart to find the dwelling of intent, use your eyes to release it—your own 'Shen Fo,' or perhaps 'Mo.'"

Pausing, Mei Si Ren added a touch of encouragement to his tone:

"Give it a try. If you can successfully cultivate 'Mu Xia Shen Fo,' even just the initial stage, I'll have a reward for you—not just a little red flower, oh."

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Chapter 1069: The Gentle Mei Mister, Killer-Style Teaching! Free reading.