“Whoa…”

As Zhou Yan let go of his tight and warm embrace, the beautiful and stunning maidens soon awoken from their slumber. Ping’er was the first to wake up from her dazed state, and she blinked several times to freshen up a little. As she met Zhou Yan’s gaze, her heart started beating fast. To contain her anxiousness, she pretended to remain asleep, hoping no one would notice her nervousness.

The young lass, Ning’er, however, as soon as she opened her eyes, she woke up from her blurry daze. Exhaustion and fatigue were obvious in her eyes. Her fatigue eventually faded into her naturally stunning and beautiful pearly eyes. She had a glint of confusion. However, the instant realization that the event was not a dream snapped her out of her confusion.

Written across her stunningly beautiful face was a hint of a nervous blush. However, she never reacted but simply greeted the young lad with a warm smile. While staring directly into Zhou Yan’s eyes, she said, “Do you have a crush on me at the moment?”

“Why do you still ask when you already know?”

Zhou Yan chuckled, as his personality seemed extremely open-minded and accepting.

Ning’er was slightly stunned as the lass did not expect Zhou Yan to be so blatantly blunt in admitting his feelings. Her initial assumption was that this lad was still the same old naïve and immature person who would have been forced to say it as she used to occasionally tease the young lad in the past.

An indescribable feeling of glee and joy-filled the young lass’ heart. It appeared to the young lad that the more exceptional a man that she loved became, the more pride and contempt she would feel.

Even if this feeling was of a little girl’s immaturity, the lass very much enjoyed the way she felt.

“You’ve changed, Zhou Yan. You’ve truly become even more exceptional than you were in the past. You’ve rid yourself off any elegance, and thus you’ve transformed into a truly handsome man of exceptional caliber. The person you were in the past was stubborn and determined yes, however, in certain aspects, you seemed dull and slightly weak.”

Ning’er let out a soft sigh as she reflected on herself as she just gave the most honest and sincere perspective from her heart.

The lass somehow knew to a certain degree that she, herself was not a normal person. If Zhou Yan had been as weak and as frail as he was in the past, her foresight informed her that it would be a tremendously difficult thing for them if they wanted to be together.

She was unsure why she perceived things the way she did. However, she truly knew that the foresight she felt was impeccably accurate.

Upon hearing what Ning’er said, the young lad too had seemingly understood and felt her most genuine feelings, and thus, Zhou Yan silently nodded.

Ning’er was not the only person who shared the same perspective of him. Truthfully, the young lad, too, viewed himself in the same light and wondered how his past self could be so weak and frail. He used to have bent over backward and reduced himself for a worthless woman to such an extent that the people closest to him dared not even speak to him about the tremendous amount of sorrow they had to go through… This would only be seen as a worthless, wasted effort for the young lad!

Perhaps the only silver lining from this would be his unbending determined heart to train harder and his adamant will to never surrender and submit to anyone.

As of now, the young lad had finally been enlightened. When he reflected upon his past, there was nothing but regret.

“It will never happen again in the future. I was a naive reckless fool in the past and had disappointed you and made Ping’er endure so much sorrow. Thus, I hereby swear that in future days to come, it does not matter if I have to climb mountains of blades or cross oceans of flames; or if things would cripple or cost me my life. I swear I will make things right, and I will make sure to take amazing care of both of you.”

The tone in Zhou Yan’s voice was calm and full of compassion.

Ning’er was extremely moved by his words, and thus, without warning, she gave him a kiss.

Zhou Yan was more than pleased to receive her kiss.

This single kiss…

Both girls were giggling as they whispered to each other, and with random intervals, they took turns staring at Zhou Yan with an odd gaze, as if they were speaking ill about that young lad.

As the young lad sat by a boulder furiously roasting a wild hare, he looked extremely depressed.

It was all due to a slip of his hand, thus causing the young lad to grab the wrong spot, which in turn prompted Ping’er to scream out in agony. This also caused Ning’er to assume that the young lad was touching Ping’er with his hands while they were having a romantic moment. Hence, both maidens denied his ‘pleasure-filled’ escapade. This was why the young lad was in such a foul mood.

Zhou Yan understood what these lassies did was not an act motivated by envious feelings, but it was simply an act of moderation.

At the same time, this was done simply to liven up his mood and to prevent the young lad from lingering or dwelling in painful, sorrow-filled memories.

This proves that a woman’s heart is kind and most empathetic towards others.

Zhou Yan’s sixth sense was undeniably exceptionally sharp. He could read and steal anyone’s heart. It was through this lad’s demonstration of extreme care towards both maidens that caused them to share their deepest and most sincere feelings.

Everything that happened or said was real and not a single bit was made up.

It was also at this moment; the young lad was able to eavesdrop on their entire conversation in utmost clarity. However, the lad chose not to as he simply pretended to not hear a thing out of respect.

“Ning’er, Ping’er, come on and have some roast hare. It was made by your master’s own hands. I guarantee after a bite, the scrumptious aftertaste will linger in your memories forever.”

While the young lad, Zhou Yan, spoke intimately, at this very moment, a casual, carefree glint was visible from his gaze through his smile.

However, a slight dubious intention was hidden behind his smile.

“Yes, master, Sister Ning’er, and I had both decided to train in the future as well.”

Ping’er spoke gleefully.

“Ning’er, you can train someone now?” questioned Zhou Yan out of the blue.

It was also at this very moment that the young lad realized the pale look on Ning’er’s face caused by her ailment had faded away slightly, and she had recovered some health. The temperament of her mythical nature seemed to emanate tremendously from her entire body.

It appeared as if her body had undergone a godly awakening. Her soul, however, seemed as if it was going through an unpredictable transmutation with every passing moment.

“Yes, Zhou Yan, earlier, when you and I… did that, it felt like… I was training my sword skills in a different place. The moment an attack was unleashed, glaciers formed in a million miles, and the heavens and Earth would split open… that invincible feeling I felt, was too powerful.

“I had the foresight that I am now able to begin training.”

As Ning’er spoke those words softly, she slowly walked towards Zhou Yan and stood in front of him.

She hid one last thing from him, and those were the feelings of desperation and loneliness even though she felt invincible.

…

As the early sun rose, while staring at that maiden, Zhou Yan once again felt the insane temptation of lust. It was almost as if he wanted nothing more than to consume the other person into his own body. That unforgettable boiling, rising feelings of lust suddenly grew inhumanly strong.

With everything that the young lass said, a seemingly insuppressible odd feeling rose within Zhou Yan.

It was a similar situation that those pupils and elders in his family feared most, which is facing a defenseless young lass. Her unnatural, deity-like temperament she presented herself as was what made her appear extremely sacred.

However, the lad had already violated her.

‘Hmm… However…’ thought Zhou Yan to himself.

Zhou Yan wanted to implore the young lass to not leave his side using sentimental words as he wished to never part with her. However, since a premonition or foresight still meant uncertainty, the young lad did not want to lose faith in himself.

“Eat something, I know both of you are tired and famished.” Zhou Yan spoke as he tried to rid his mind of certain thoughts. He also wanted to change topics from this depressing and heavy conversation.

A pure and calm deity such as her, who valued purity so much, would throw herself into his loving arms. What was there left for him to worry about? He needed to have more faith in her!

The young lad grew increasingly relieved the more he thought about the situation.

He then proceeded to focus and concentrate all his might to unleash his Blade’s essence from his body. While counting and mumbling, the young lad managed to cleanly slice six different segments of the roasted hare.

The moment the young lad unleashed his Blade’s Essence, Ping’er, a naive girl who knew nothing but the basics in the ways of the sword, realized that no one could unleash one’s Blade’s Essence… without ascending to the realm of the Blade’s Essence! However, it was obvious that her master, Zhou Yan, a man who had not even reached the first rank of a Blade’s Cardinal managed to unleash his Blade’s Essence. It was rumored to be the result of forcefully pushing his body beyond his physical limits!

However, what they had just witnessed was…

A simple act such as that had shocked both lassies. In an instant, they were stunned and froze in shock.

“Master, you…”

A glint of surprise and shock completely filled Ping’er’s eyes.

Ning’er’s pearly, lively eyes too were lit up with amusement.

“Zhou Yan, have you awakened your Blade’s Essence?”

Her expression was interesting, as glimmers of surprise reflected through her eyes.

“Yes, I wasn’t as what you both assumed. I never pushed my body beyond its physical limitations. Instead, it was through natural means. That wasn’t the full extent of my awakening. I actually had been graced by the enlightenment of the knowledge of Blade’s essence, and this very Blade’s Essence has the effect of changing my body’s anatomy. Now, both my body and perception are inhumanly exceptional.”

Zhou Yan never hid anything from the lassies. This was never about his inheritance of the will of the ancient sage. Thus, there was no harm in telling them. The main point was that the young lad did not want these maidens to worry about him. Thus, he hoped to give them some confidence.

However, as good as the boost of confidence was, natural gifts, too, were extremely important. Hence the young lad, Zhou Yan, did exactly that, right there and then.

“Ah! That’s amazing! Master, I always knew that you truly are a natural genius. It’s only a matter of time before karma catches up to those evil fiends!” Ping’er was ecstatic as she could not hold back her tears of joy.

“To say your gifts are amazing would be an understatement! That prime genius of the main branch of the majesty that was the Zhou family whose name was Zhou Yuntian had only awakened his Blade’s Essence upon ascending to the first rank of a Blade’s Cardinal. Even so, he was unable to utilize his Blade’s Essence. However, you are already able to fully utilize your Blade’s Essence when you had just recently ascended the ranks. I’m certain that the ‘Pillar of Qi’ in your body must be exceptionally powerful.

“Your natural gifts had far exceeded his!” explained Ning’er in detail.

As Ping’er listened, she was completely stunned by Ning’er’s detailed explanation.

However, it would be impossible for the lad, Zhou Yan, to not be aware of his own talents. After listening to Ning’er’s detailed analysis, he knew that Ning’er was indeed knowledgeable. The only odd thing was that there was some knowledge that seemed innate to her, which was the main reason most people in the family feared her and were wary of her.

“I’ve not contested him on that point alone. Thus, it would be difficult to decide. However, I am confident that I am better than him. I would not reveal to anyone about this just yet since in my current situation, I am in no position to be of high profile,” said Zhou Yan.

Ning’er agreed with the lad and, thus, nodded in agreement. She said, “Yes, you’ve said exactly what I was going to say. With the way you think now, I would be more relaxed. As I recall, your natural gifts, too, were extremely exceptional!”

…