Naked Sword Art

"If it isn't the troublemaker himself. Did you miss me?"

.

.

.

Seeing Xiao Fang conversing with Yao Yin, Zhao Pan began to get a bit nervous.

'How does he know senior sister Yao?' She thought.

Back when they were in the Outer Court, Zhao Pan had asked Yao Yin to help her hunt Xiao Fang down because she couldn't catch him on her own. She didn't know what happened after that, but Yao Yin eventually returned to her saying she didn't have any interest in capturing him anymore.

'Could they have slept with each other back then? No, if there was anyone who wouldn't sleep with him, it would certainly be Yao Yin,' Zhao Pan thought.

However, the more she thought about it, the less certain she became of it. Lost in thought, she eventually snapped out of it when she heard Xiao Fang call out to her.

"Zhao Pan, come here," he said.

Walking over to them she replied,

"You need me?"

However, the next person to speak wasn't Xiao Fang but Yao Yin.

"Long time no see, Zhao Pan. Long Wang here tells me that you were interested in joining the disciplinary department this year, is that correct?"

"Ah, yes. That's right," Zhao Pan replied before side eyeing Xiao Fang. She didn't know why he was getting involved in her business so she could only assume the worst.

"Have you committed any crime or been associated with any known criminals since becoming a disciple of this sect?"

Xiao Fang choked awkwardly after hearing that question, but Zhao Pan still replied,

"No, I haven't."

"Have you sent an application form in yet?" Yao Yin asked next.

"Yes, I have, but I haven't received a reply yet," Zhao Pan said with a bit of concern in her voice.

Yao Yin sighed.

With Zhao Pan's history in law enforcement, her application should've been more than enough for her to be given a good position in their department.

It was no secret that many of the Spirit Cultivators in the Inner Court discriminated against the Body Cultivator, so Yao Yin wasn't too surprised by this, she was just disappointed that it was happening in her department as well.

"Here, put this on. From now on you will be a part of the disciplinary committee. Starting tomorrow you'll be working directly under me. Is that understood?" Yao Yin said before handing her an arm band reading 'Disciplinary Department'.

"This... Yes! Thank you so much. But how could you give me such a high position? You don't even know what I'm capable of," Zhao Pan said in shock.

"Anyone who could make it to the Phoenix-Class in their first year of becoming an Inner Court disciple is bound to be someone extraordinary. Also, Long Wang put in a good word for you, so you have him to thank as well," Yao Yin explained.

Xiao Fang coughed awkwardly then said, "Don't say unnecessary things."

Turning to Zhao Pan, he then said,

"Zhao Pan, could you take me to see the Assistant Elder Chu Yan now. I have other things I need to do, so I can't stay here for long."

"Yes, just this way," Zhao Pan said obediently.

To think, Xiao Fang had gone from being her biggest headache in the Outer Court to her benefactor in the Inner Court, Zhao Pan didn't know what to think of it.

"Long Wang, wait. Are you free tomorrow," Yao Yin suddenly said. "There something I'd like to speak to you about."

Xiao Fang already had a lot on his plate, so he didn't think he had the luxury to spend time dual cultivating with random women. However, Yao Yin wasn't someone random, she was now a fellow Dual Cultivator. If she needed help with something relating to his Dual Cultivation method, there was no one else she could go to but him. In a way, Yao Yin was his underling.

"We can speak in my guild house later tonight. Zhao Pan will show you where it is. Does that work for you?" Xiao Fang asked.

"Yeah, that fines with me. I'll see you later tonight," Yao Yin replied.

-

-

-

Taking Xiao Fang to the next room to meet her. 

"Welcome back," Chu Yan said.

She didn't seem too surprised to see him.

"You wanted to speak to me?" Xiao Fang asked.

"That's right. Please follow me into my office. Zhao Pan, you can return to the others."

As curious as Zhao Pan was to learn Xiao Fang's secret, she still did as the Assistant Elder said and returned to the practicing with the other club members. 

Seeing Xiao Fang follow Chu Yan into her office room, many of the other girls in the club house began gossiping about him once again, but a few minutes after Xiao Fang went in, everyone became silent when they saw the next person to walk into the club house.

...

Walking into Chu Yan's office, Xiao Fang could sense that there were many swords in there. 

"Don't be afraid, I'm a bit of a geek when it comes to swords, but I won't hurt you here," Chu Yan said.

Following her in, she continued to speak,

"Did you know that there are thousands of different types of swords? On the basic level, there are swords that spirit cultivators use, and swords Body Cultivators use, but there are different types of swords for each type of Cultivation Method as well," Chu Yan said. 

She continued to lecture him about all the different types of swords that existed in the world, explaining some of the history behind a few of the ones she had kept here in her office.

Xiao Fang couldn't say he was ever interested in swords in the past, but hearing the way she talked about it now made it seem a bit interesting.

"Oh right, wait here. There's something I want you to see," Chu Yan said before going into a hidden room in her office.

'Did she really bring me here to talk about swords?' Xiao Fang thought.

He had to admit, many of the swords here were impressive, but that wasn't the reason why he came.

A few moments later, Chu Yan returned with a strange looking sword in her hand.

"Here, feel this," she said.

Taking the sword, Xiao Fang's brows raised in shock.

"This-" Xiao Fang didn't know what to say.

He had only held the hilt of the sword but already knew it was as good as or maybe even better than the sword his grandmother gave him after returning from the Royal Court.

It didn't make sense, why would a girl from the Chu Family, who couldn't be older than 30, have a sword as strong as this, and why would he have no knowledge of her existence. Whoever she was, it was clear now that the Chu Family had secrets.

Putting the sword to her neck, Xiao Fang asked,

"Who are you?"

Seeing the shocked look on Xiao Fang's face put a smile on Chu Yan's face. 

"I already told you who I am. My name is Chu Yan," She said proudly while pushing the blade away from her neck using only a finger. At the same time, a silver glow streaked through her eyes as she passed her Divine Sword Qi through her finger and sword.

Feeling the power she had in her finger, and the cold white aura emitting from her body, he could tell her strength surpassed his [ Solid Clone's ].

'A Profound Body Realm Divine Swordsmen. And she's young too. Just with her talent alone, if she was in Divine Sword sect, she'd likely be a Core Court disciple by now. What is a girl like that doing here,' Xiao Fang thought.

"Don't worry I didn't bring you here to hurt you. I was actually hoping you could do me a favor," Chu Yan said.

"What favor?"

"I saw the way you effortlessly cut the bamboo sticks during the club trial phase, and the way your sword hardly made any contact with the sticks. You've already mastered the [ Divine Sword Cutting Air ] technique, haven't you. I want you to teach it to me."

"Why should I do that?"

"If you help me, I'll have my family compensate you?"

Xiao Fang was even more convinced that she had never stepped foot in the Divine Sword sect, otherwise, she would've know who he was. However, practicing the [ Divine Sword ] technique should've been impossible unless she did. 

There was only one genuine copy of the [ Divine Sword ] technique, and it was inscribed on a massive wall at the center of the Sect. The only other way to practice it was if someone had given her a forged copy, but unless she saw the comprehension behind the ancient calligraphy on the wall, it would've been incredibly difficult to get as far with that technique as she did. To say she was a talented cultivator would be an understatement. 

For the Chu Family to be hiding someone like this sparked Xiao Fang's interest. 

'I wonder what the Chu are planning,' Xiao Fang thought.

Becoming less tense he said,

"Alright I'll teach you. Meet me at my guild tonight. I want to see what you're capable of." 

"Mn! I can't wait," Chu Yan said excitedly.

Seeing how cheerful she'd been acting towards his this whole time, it was almost disgraceful to Xiao Fang. She called herself a Divine Swordsmen but the look in her eyes looked as if she had never seen the cruelty of battle before. She was a sheltered child. The girls in the Divine Sword sect were nothing like her.

He sighed.

"I'm also going to be needing a Body Cultivating sword, do you have any more in the back?" Xiao Fang asked.

"Keep the one you're holding. I don't use it anymore." 

Xiao Fang was surprised to hear that.

"You're letting me keep it? Do you have a better one?" he asked.

"Hehehe, that's a secret."

Xiao Fang almost couldn't believe what he was hearing. The more he learned about her, the more surprised he got.

"So are you going to stay? We have an official swordsmen team here. Five of us representing the sect fight against disciples from the other sects in the province. With your help, there's a good chance we could finish 1st this year."

"Not interested. I wouldn't want to expose my identity," Xiao Fang said without a second thought.

"if that was a problem, do you think I'd still be here teaching as an assistant?"

The truth was, Xiao Fang already knew the sect didn't seem to care about where their disciples came from. He assumed they might've been desperate to recruit strong disciples after several years being the weakest major sect in the country.

"If you join us, we'd also be able to give you an excuse to skipping classes. We go to other sects for tournaments every other week, and we don't get back after a few days. You can use that opportunity to return to the Divine Sword sect when you need to," Chu Yan explained.

Hearing that was enough to convince him, but he didn't show it.

"I'll see you tonight," he said before turning to leave, but the moment he did, he suddenly felt something he wasn't expecting. 

It was his real body, it was waking up.