“Throughout my life, since that incident, the only one that earned my respect besides your father, Zhou Wangchen, was the young lad.

“However, even though he was exiled, he was still part of the Yang family! The Yang family had always been on horrible terms with each other, and to have someone like that in their family, my bloodlust and intent to kill awoke on several occasions. Nonetheless, it was a shame that I was unable to pull through.

“It was because every time I was about to attack, I would picture his determined gaze.

“Whenever tragic moments plague a man’s life, one’s memories would significantly improve, as the more the effort goes into forgetting something, the harder it would be.

“Hence, as the young lad grew older, the only value worth admiring was that he never actually caused trouble for our Gu family. There were even several times in the past that this young lad helped out our Gu family.

“This time, however, there was a test of might between our family and the Yang family. He unleashed his attack and managed to strike me down with a single swing of his blade. However, he never took my life. I was instead harmed by someone else.”

As Gu Yan explained the tales of his past, he indirectly told Zhou Yan the history of a man who shared similar experiences with him.

“This… Yang Qingtan… I never expected this seemingly silent and complacent young lad to have this much power in him. This explains why his Sword’s Way of Indomitable Steel was this fast! However, based on his experience and everything this young lad had gone through, it seemed very similar to brother Zhou Yan’s personal experience. It was only after brother Zhou Yan continuously suppressed his own potential did, he awaken his natural gifts,” lamented Gu Xi.

As the young lass spoke, she glanced over at Zhou Yan. She felt her emotions toward this young lad just deepened.

“Huh? Little Yan, you are doing so as well… that means all these years, you were tortured by the Zhou family?”

As Gu Yan listened to his daughter’s statement, his expression grew increasingly furious.

He initially thought that it was only Zhou Yan’s life that was sorrow-filled. However, he never expected the Zhou family to force Zhou Yan in suppressing his own body’s potential, to the extent of actually harming himself!

This was nothing the lad, Gu Yan, could bear to hear, as a malicious intent slowly boiled within his heart. It no longer mattered if the Zhou family belonged to Zhou Wangchen nor the fact that he had become literal useless trash. He was tempted to unleash his fury on Zhou Yan’s behalf to get back what was rightfully his!

“Uncle Gu, about that, I will explain to you later in greater detail. You see, my current state isn’t as dire and unfortunate as you think.

“As of now, whoever attacked you is still a mystery. Hence, I reckon we lay this matter to rest at the moment, and we shall stop our conversation for now. Regarding your injuries, I happen to know a way to heal you, so go on and sit down cross-legged, uncle, and let go of any resistance you might have. Allow me to infuse my blade’s essence in your body’s meridians.”

After a brief moment of contemplation, Zhou Yan decided exactly what to do.

The young lad knew… that Yang Qingtan had shaken his uncle’s soul, scarring it deeply. If his uncle could not overcome this mental trauma of this young lad… he would be haunted by Yang Qingtan for the rest of his life.

If Gu Yan had unleashed his bloodlust, Zhou Yan could feel the sudden constriction of his eyebrows, morphing his expression into a bitter look.

Thus, it was obvious that each time this lad had mustered any sort of strong emotions, Zhou Yan was worried it might trigger some old wounds to hurt again.

Initially, the young lad had only intended to heal Gu Yan. However, since they had been apart for so many years, the instant they were reunited, the young lad had plenty to say to Gu Yan. He wanted to share his joy and sadness with the people he cared about. That was how the young lad felt, and Gu Yan was no exception, as Gu Yan told Zhou Yan his darkest secrets.

It was at this very moment that Gu Yan’s injuries started hurting again. Hence, without any delay, Zhou Yan began healing him.

“Yes, I shall leave my life in your hands. I have lived this long, and it has been worth it. It’s only a matter of time that I too will die, so don’t hesitate. Do what you have to do!” said Gu Yan with pride.

This scene was exactly the same as how Gu Xi trusted Zhou Yan before.

Zhou Yan was slightly touched as Gu Xi was truly a chip off the old block and had inherited her father’s pride.

…

Once again, nightfall approached. A cool fall’s breeze blew as the sky was illuminated by a pale moon.

Zhou Yan, Gu Yan, and Gu Xi were sitting in a shed. They were drinking and admiring the beauty of the twin moons in the night sky. They chatted about their past, present, and the progression of things with the current state of everything that occurred.

A full day and night were spent on healing Gu Yan’s wounds. Finally, after all that effort, Zhou Yan exhausted thirty mid-tier spirit crystals to fully heal his injuries.

In addition to that, Zhou Yan had drunk two full jugs of the Burning Blade’s Soul Ale. With that, he felt that based on his current progression, he was extremely close to finally ascending into the realm of the Blade’s Essence.

However, it seemed that he still lacked some power to break through his current realm.

Zhou Yan had actually thought about infusing the spirit crystals to ascend and break through the current realm he was in. However, he also thought about the benefits it would bring if he awoke his Blade’s Menace in a lower realm. Hence, he held back his progress.

If he was able to awake his Blade’s Menace in the realm of the Blade’s Cardinal, the benefits it would reap for his future would be unimaginable!

This was stated in the ‘Manuscripts of Clear Waters Heaven’s Blade.’

In the manuscript, it was not purely inscribed with the teachings of the sword skill. Instead, Zhou Yan was able to grasp a series of common knowledge and everything in between, such as the different standards of a scholar of the Sword’s Way, the Blade’s Core of Pure Frost, Pure Yang, Indomitable Steel, Ancient Arts, Chaos and many more.

Between the time Zhou Yan was done healing Gu Yan, and the time Gu Yan spent on self-recovery, he managed to read through the manuscript once more, and coincidentally, he saw the page.

Hence, the young lad willed himself to hold back his tempting feelings to progress further.

At this very moment, in the courtyard, Zhou Yan could only smile at the newly revitalized Gu Yan.

As Gu Yan completely recovered from his injuries, he did not have a single care in the world and was adamant on inviting Zhou Yan for a drink and to have fun. Gu Yan also invited Gu Xi for her company. Zhou Yan felt that this man was hinting at the idea of taking the hand of his daughter in marriage.

Normally, Zhou Yan would take up Gu Yan’s offer. However, after the young lad had drunk the Burning Blade’s Soul Ale, any other common ale no longer had any effect on him. Nothing could excite the young lad’s palate, as the ordinary ale tasted as bland and tasteless as water.

…

“Little Yan, I am serious. Although the Yang family was the one responsible for this attack, they never harbored any ill intent. Since the Yang family is represented by Yang Qingtan, he wouldn’t commit such an atrocious act. He is also in a position of great power in the Yang family. Thus, there is no way anyone in his family would do something of this caliber behind his back.

“Hence, if you thought about helping your uncle, please don’t harm the Yang family, alright?”

It was almost as if Gu Yan understood how Zhou Yan felt and what he was thinking about. Hence, his reminder to him.

“I understand, uncle. This has been the third time you’ve reminded me already. From what you’ve told me, I am, in fact, a little curious who exactly this Yan Qingtan is, to be held in such high regard and praise by you,” replied Zhou Yan with a bitter smile.

“Hmm, you will come to appreciate and value each other when you’ve befriended this young lad,” said Gu Yan frankly.

“Indeed. I, too, am looking forward to meeting this man whose power exceeds four realms. I also anticipate being enlightened by his aptitude as he managed to awaken his Blade’s Menace,” said Zhou Yan casually.

This realm that was governed by way of the sword was split into five different realms. They were the swordsmen, the Blade’s Cardinal, the Blade’s Essence, the Blade’s Enforcer, and the Blade’s Menace!

A limitless and exceedingly higher realm existed after the realm of the Blade’s Menace, and that realm was known as the realm of the Blade’s Heart! Powers that exceeded four major realms that awakened the Blade’s Menace simply meant that this young lad, Yang Qingtan, had awakened his Blade’s Menace before he reached the peak of a rank three swordsman!

If that young lad was able to awaken his Blade’s Menace in that realm, Zhou Yan was confident that he would be able to awaken his Blade’s Menace as he was already in the realm of the Blade’s Cardinal!

This was indeed a major boost in confidence. If other folks were able to achieve such a feat, why would he be an exception?

“Well, the thing is… Little Yan, you must mentally be ready, although it’s no secret that your current natural gifts are indeed amazing. However, awakening one’s Blade’s Menace isn’t an easy task. Even by your father’s standards back then, it was incredibly difficult. Hence, the feat Yang Qingtan showed, which was his ability to awaken his Blade’s Menace, was without the doubt the first person to do so in history!

“Give yourself five years Little Yan. If you can awaken your Blade’s Menace in five years, you will be extremely lucky!”

What Gu Yan said harbored no ill intention to look down on Zhou Yan’s ability. He knew from the moment Zhou Yan awakened his natural gifts that his potential far exceeded his father’s. It was due to that fact alone that he made that statement.

Anyone who never tried awakening their Blade’s Menace would never know how arduous, intricate, and deep this task was. Only those with the strongest will, impeccable perception, natural gifts, and incredible knowledge of the inner workings and detail of the Sword’s Way and, most importantly, the undying devotion to walk the path of the sword would be able to awaken one’s Blade’s Menace!

Before one ascended into the realm of the Blade’s Menace, one should rid one’s mind of inventing one’s own Sword’s Way. This act would destroy whatever foundation one had built, hence, knowing this would be the most important detail. However, Gu Yan never said a word about this.

It was because revealing this detail would render useless to the lad. It would instead result in destroying everything due to one’s haste.

To any scholar of the Sword’s Way, if the foundation itself was not firm or strong, one should never harbor the intention of building or inventing one’s Sword’s Way, because this act alone was an act of self-destruction.

It was all regarding what Gu Yan thought to himself when he made that statement earlier. In terms of normal folk, it was common for anyone to think about awakening one’s Blade’s Menace at a rank three Blade’s Cardinal. However, it was also normal for the majority of the common folk to give up and bail on this quest!

If any of his future heirs had thought the same, this lad assumed he would have stood up and graced those younglings with several tight slaps across their faces.

However, Zhou Yan was different. Similar to Yang Qingtan, the usual and logical method could never be applied. Hence, his statement of giving the young lad five years was the result of his blunt and direct inference.

The statements Gu Yan made to Zhou Yan seemingly caused him to lament a little.

Gu Yan was known for his keen eye and impeccable perception of people. However, this alone was not enough, and it was because there was still so much he did not understand about this young lad. He had no clue about his strong, indescribably limitless and powerful soul the young lad possessed, and he had less of a clue about the mutated Qi Column Zhou Yan had. Its volume was six-folds more than any common-folk.

If Gu Yan knew these facts, he would never have made such a lengthy five-year statement.

Five years? If he had not ascended to the realm of the Blade’s Menace in a year, his entire life would have been wasted. What else could he possibly still discuss about?

Could Gu Yan had not known about such a matter?

Feeling slightly puzzled, it was also at this moment that Gu Xi awkwardly spoke up. “What do you mean five years, father? My master told me to do everything I can in my power regardless of the methods to ascend into the realm of the Blade’s Menace before I’ve reached sixteen years of age, or else any natural gifts I possessed would’ve been wasted.

“Only the realm of the Blade’s Menace is truly viewed as a high degree of honor. If one failed to ascend to the realm of the Blade’s Menace before the age of sixteen, then the realms of the Sword’s Way would be extremely limited for the entire lifetime.”

“Huh? Is there such a saying?”

Gu Yan was shocked.

“Yes, indeed. This is exactly why I’m facing immense pressure, but the good thing is, I’m currently within the third rank in the realm of the Blade’s Essence, so I’ll only need to progress one more rank, and my master would help me accumulate as many Blade’s Enforcers, to overcome the restrictions within the realm of the Blade’s Enforcer. However, I would need to ascend to the realm of the Blade’s Menace,” explained Gu Xi.

“Blade’s Menace, awakening one’s Blade’s Menace… sigh, never did I expect that something I assumed to be incredibly difficult to achieve would be a requirement for any major sect. Back then, even when I traveled across the major southern continent, I never heard of such news. It is indeed odd to me.”

Gu Yan felt slightly remorseful.

…