The young lad returned to the old courtyard his father was once at. It was brightly lit.

It seemed the necessary arrangements were made as even the servants knew about his imminent departure. Others were busy moving things, and some were emptying the room.

It appeared that the lad was the last person to know the truth.

Zhou Yan mustered a patronizing smile as he pondered about the current situation. If this happened before he inherited the will of the ancient sage, it would not have mattered much if he pushed his body beyond his physical ability or not. The same excuse claiming he was not much of a genius would be used by both Zhou Lingyao and his sister for the same purpose of claiming his birthright.

On the other hand, the young lad might have acted out rashly since he was just a teen and caused an even greater outburst that would have resulted in him completely giving up on his dreams.

No matter what the outcome was, it would ultimately be a grim one. It was destined for him to never have a glimmer of a positive outcome.

In reality, the young lad had a new strategy for training that allowed him to speedily progress his different skills without stalling. No longer was his progression considered average. However, the trio of Elders, along with the Lord of the family, never bothered to examine his body or attempted to understand the changes that were occurring in his body. All they did was jump to a conclusion without much evidence to support their verdict. They were adamant in claiming that he was nothing more than a piece of crippled trash. The young lad could not help but feel skeptical about their claims.

In addition to their hasty claims, they even told him what a blessing it would be for him to live the life of common-folk and ranted about his failures and disabilities, claiming how it would keep him on a righteous path, thus not bringing shame to the family.

Those spoken words alone wrenched his heart as it did not matter what the intention was, but it was the audacity to say such horrible things to him the moment after his father had perished that hurt him the most.

Those words would not sound unkind or unmerciful to an average child. It was precisely after that overwhelming soul-piercing blade of light was unsheathed, not a single soul acknowledged his presence.

Both of his siblings, Zhou Lingyao and Zhou Lingyi, could not even withstand the sheer force of such raw power. He was the only one who could face it without a single flinch. Even so, not a single soul looked over at him with concern. No one made an effort to understand how a nobody like him could have attained such capabilities to face the raw, unhinged power without flinching.

At that moment, he assumed his demonstration of might alone would give him a glimmer of hope for some recognition he desperately yearned for… However, he was deeply disappointed as not a single person noticed his potential. It was clear to him now that nobody cared about him.

It was evident that his presence alone had been long forgotten by the entirety of his family.

Perhaps it was his position in the family that everyone perceived him as not a genius and nothing more than an average man. If not for the resources provided to him during his training, he would not even stand a chance to compete with a regular pupil of the family.

…

Under the pine tree in the courtyard, streams of water flowed calmly as a cool breeze blew.

Painted across the night sky was a sea of flickering stars. It was what a dream should be beautiful and bright.

There the young stood, reflecting upon that very same scene that transpired before. It was heartbreaking for the young lad.

However, not a single complaint was uttered, nor grievances were held against anyone. Ever since the young lad knew how much betrayal, heartbreak, and endless cycles of vengeance the ancient sage went through, he realized that his situation cannot compare to that of the old sage.

Thus, the young lad came to an understanding. Since he no longer had a legitimate position in the Zhou family, there would be no need for him to fulfill his obligations.

…

“Master, please take care of yourself from now on as I, Ping’er, will be taking my leave now.”

At this moment, the young lad heard the voice of his personal handmaiden coming through one side of his ear.

The young lass, whose name was Ping’er, had been by Zhou Yan’s side ever since he was a child. Those two grew up closely together.

“Are you leaving too?” Zhou Yan asked with a saddened tone.

“I, Ping’er am reluctant to leave you, master, but the Mistress said you should be independent and work for everything with your bare hands, so you shouldn’t rely on me any longer.”

The young lass, Ping’er, was deeply saddened as she lowered her head. Zhou Yan noticed tears welling up in her huge pearly eyes. She seemed reluctant to leave his side.

With sudden realization, Zhou Yan recalled how loyal his handmaiden was despite always being a letdown in the past. This very realization tugged at the strings of his heart. However, Zhou Yan felt he was losing his very own identity after the collective memories of the ancient sage were infused inside him.

This change would act as a constant reminder for Zhou Yan. Due to his inexperience in the world, this change in personality was the result of acquiring tremendous information from the collective memories of the ancient sage. Although this would change the way he interacted with people, he was determined to never forget the precious memories he shared with his personal handmaiden.

The young lad was resolute in holding onto his will.

This change in personality only lingered for an instant as he could not shake the intense feeling of a coincidence that events in the past and the following unique changes he encountered were part of his fate.

It appeared that perhaps he had unconsciously shaken off the slight negative influence from the collective memories of the ancient sage.

“Pay no mind to what she had spoken. You are not her handmaiden but mine! I have no ties to that woman, so you shall join me in my future journey!”

“Ah…But master, she’s the Mistress of the house!”

Ping’er was shocked. However, she was secretly touched and grateful for his words.

It was a first for the young lass as she never knew her own master to be capable of such firm persuasion and possessed such a captivating side to his personality.

However, she was worried that this exchange would bring trouble for her master with the mistress.

“The Lady of the House?” chuckled Zhou Yan sarcastically. “So, what if she’s the Lady of the House? Just as I’ve told you before, worry not, just come along with me.”

“There’s no family left for you. Where would you go when you leave? You’d be soiled by the trash in the family that would only want you for your looks. Follow your master, for I promise you better days ahead.”

The spoken words of Zhou Yan were blunt. However, there was no ill intention in scaring the young lass. He was simply stating the bitter truth.

It was evident to Ping’er that her master was telling the truth. She became nervous as she listened to her master. It was almost as if she was troubled by the whole ordeal.

A lowly handmaiden without family and without servitude to her master would be detrimental to her reputation regardless of where she headed to.

It was not due to her lack of understanding of the impending reality she would have to face but her fear towards the Lady genius of the Zhou family. She dared not disobey her orders. She was more worried that this ordeal would negatively impact her master.

“Master…”

Ping’er was moved by Zhou Yan’s bold statement earlier as she felt a strong urge to follow her master anywhere in this realm. However, it was also due to the kindness he had shown her that made Ping’er worried about angering the mistress of the house, Zhou Lingyi.

“You’ve been with me for all these years, am I not allowed to understand your feelings? Since we’re both leaving the Zhou household, then what does our journey have anything to do with Zhou Lingyi anyway? As your master, I do not even possess the ability to defend your rights. Thus, what honor do I still have to request for anything more?”

A strong wave of masculine confidence echoed in his speech, as was the coldness portrayed by his attitude. It was difficult for Ping’er to immediately adapt to Zhou Yan’s sudden show of masculinity.

However, it only took a brief moment for the young lass to recover as a look of gratitude and worry washed over her.

It seemed to Zhou Yan that the hellish experience this young lass been through had far exceeded his expectations.

Perhaps it was his naivety in the past that he failed to notice the hesitation in her speech, which only meant that this young lass had been through hell and back.

She was merely a naïve but elegant and stunning lass. She had no clue of the inner workings of the world around her. There was a saying amongst the common folk which said, ‘before punishment could befall a hound, one must first turn to its master.’ However, these people did not even hesitate to violate his handmaiden. It made him wonder where he stood within the ranks of his family.

It was too, at this moment, did Zhou Yan realize that the cause of all these unfortunate events were the whispers of Zhou Shuangshuang to Zhou Lingyi since both of them shared a solid friendship together. It was through these unknown whispers that persuaded her brother, Zhou Lingyao, to violate Ping’er; thus, robbing her of her purity.

As the young lad was lost in deep contemplation, a series of heavy footsteps could be heard from nearby.

Alas, someone was approaching them.

Judging by the sounds of the footsteps, someone within the group was a rank one Blade’s Cardinal as that person’s steps were uneven; since they had not yet gained the knowledge of controlling one’s raw strength.

Who could it be approaching them at this moment? Even as much as the Elder of Lore wished to exile him, it was unlikely of him to rush things. Hence, the only possible guess would be the Third Prodigal heir and his men.

Zhou Yan had absolutely no interest in matters as trivial as that, and thus, the young lad decided to ignore their impending presence as they do not concern him.

The young lad’s heart wrenched at the realization of how much distress this poor lass had gone through as he noticed Ping’er’s eyes were completely filled with tears, and the look of sorrow was noticeable.

A lass like her would be the definition of loyalty. Zhou Yan reflected upon the days of the past and realized just how blind he was of not noticing someone so close to him that experienced such extreme sorrow and humiliation.

His gaze landed upon the young lass’s face. Her face was elegant and stunning. One that would stun anyone with a single glance. No make-up in the world could hide her flawless grace and stunning magnificence.

She had a face of flawless beauty. Like an immaculate painting, she could captivate any living soul with her beauty alone.

She felt his intense gaze. This was the first time in her life to have her master pay so much attention to her. She was conflicted as she enjoyed the attention and yet she was nervous. This action had seemingly lit the embers of first love in her heart.

Her cheeks blushed as she felt her entire body uncontrollably warmed up as well.

It was also at this moment, Zhou Yan’s focus shifted from her face as he reminisced an extraordinary moment in his heart that reminded him of a much happier time. He recalled from his memories that this adorable young lass used to tail him around when they were kids. This little girl used to cry her lungs out while yelling, “Master is bullying Ping’er again!” Unknown to him, this little girl had grown up so much.

The young lad felt an unknown spark that burst into flames in his heart.

His mouth moved, but he said nothing. He inhaled deeply as the young lass’ scent filled his lungs. He felt an unexplainable surge of energy rush through his body.

Taking a few steps forward, Zhou Yan stood in front of Ping’er as he gently wiped away teardrops from her face while hugging her lovingly in his arms.

Ping’er was touched by his gesture of love as her elegant body stiffened. However, her entire body was trembling unconsciously. It felt like an amazing dream for her.

She was in disbelief as she was so gently embraced by her master, who she always thought was invested in training and was obsessed with the mistress of the house. It felt so gentle and warm being in his embrace.