Edict of the Blade Fiend

Chapter 3: The Way of The Sword Through Bond and Despair

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“Are you entitled to call me ‘Zhou Yan’?”

Zhou Yan glared at Zhou Xian menacingly with his sharp eyes. While waves of pride washed over him.

However, Zhou Yan was only being sarcastically playful since he had absolutely no grievances against his cousin. Since he now possessed abilities beyond his wildest dreams, he no longer wished to relive the days of shame and humility.

Zhou Xian felt unusually terrified of Zhou Yan when he sensed Zhou Yan’s hostility. In attempts to act as natural as possible, he blinked and averted his eyes from Zhou Yan’s antagonizing gaze.

Zhou Xian could feel Zhou Yan might have already reached his boiling point. He wondered if all of his anger was the result of Zhou Yan overextending his body’s physical limits only to result in nothing as usual.

‘A meager trash like him… Why would I lower myself to his level?’ Zhou Xian thought to himself.

Even though he was afraid, he tried to ignore it by masquerading it behind the facade of his fragile pride. After hearing what his cousin said, Zhou Xian mustered a mockingly sarcastic smile and said, “You do have a point, hahaha. It seems you are still my genius cousin, after all. I am curious to witness the lengths of how gifted your talents are! I’ll give you a month’s time. If you are still as stagnated as you are now, we will see how ashamed you feel to claim such a vast resource for training.”

Zhou Yan just shrugged and ignored his comments. Zhou Xian turned around and left, filled with ignorant pride. However, Zhou Yan was hurt since Zhou Xian’s words were insensitive and disrespectful.

Zhou Yan trembled in rage and did not utter a single word while tightly clenching his broken sword in his right hand.

He was offended and his blood was boiling over in fury. This resulted in awakening the unstable primal Blade’s Essence and was ready to unleash a series of unchained wrath!

With every ounce of willpower, he subdued his boiling anger and confined it in his body. He allowed the raging formless primal Blade’s Essence to wreak havoc inside him instead of using it to retaliate against his cousin.

The young man was aware that he was undeserving of his grandfather’s kindness due to the constant disappointment that he brought home. The kindness his grandfather showered him caused unrest amongst his peers. They felt it was unfair of the Elder in favoring him as they had limited access to the resources as compared to Zhou Yan. It sparked hatred towards him as he just brooded in shame despite the constant teachings and good grace of his grandfather.

With that, it gave him more motivation to push his body beyond the limitations of his physical ability, such as when he was stuck in the middle of the freezing pond with cold winds constantly blowing at him.

He was aware of his natural talent toward perception. As talented as he was, he could not shake the suffocating feeling he felt, being unable to unleash it to its full potential.

However, that was in the past. He was now no longer shackled down by his previous worries. Gone were the days of his mental blockade in his struggles to master the Sword Art of Clear Waters Heaven’s Blade which he inherited from generations of his family. He was then able to demonstrate a feat that not even a genius like his father, Zhou Wangchen, could. With a single breath, he managed to perform up to form eight of this sword art!

He just made history for generations to come in the Zhou family!

Thus, with him being fully aware of his blessed talents, this further fueled his confidence and pride more than ever before in his life.

…

“Elders of Lore, I will speak to him about his arrogance. His prideful talents that clouded his judgment worries me.He even tried to fight with me! However, I heeded your advice, to not argue in the family. So I backed away from his atrocious act and returned.”

As Zhou Yan moved closer to the academy, he heard Zhou Xian’s voice echo as he muttered those words of insanity to the air.

Upon hearing such words of ignorance, Zhou Yan was disgusted by his act!

Unable to defeat his annoyance, Zhou Yan then heard a deep voice as the Elder of Lore said, “Yes, it’s quite admirable for you to demonstrate such swift improvements by your current standards. Zhou Yan, however, he’s nothing but broken glass. Has the Elder gone blind for thinking he would be Zhou Wangchen’s successor? Don’t worry about him, he could only be compared to dirt. Focus on your training. You will be able to prove the elder wrong for favoring such crude talent, which would be nothing but a joke!”

As the Elder of Lore spoke, his gaze drifted over to Zhou Yan as he remained rooted in his spot.

That very gaze was akin to the majestic work of two bronze bells since the majesty of such art reflected the cold winter rays. Hidden behind such elegance was a deep well that contained a menacing Blade’s Essence trapped in deep slumber.

After being intimidated by the menacing glare from the elder’s eyes, Zhou Yan felt extremely compelled to kneel in submission and prostrate in shame.

However, buried deep within Zhou Yan’s body was a primordial, formless Blade’s Essence. It was now raging within him. With a loud explosion, his long-flowing dark hair exploded into a messy glory all while his unkempt hair billowed in the wind. That sudden burst of energy broke the tension from the menacing gaze while a sudden rush of blood lust filled the air.

This young man was unrecognizable as he transformed into a completely different man. Compared to the vast realm, this man was frail, meek, and insignificant, almost indifferent to an insect. However, the instant the fierce blood lust filled the air; his unbending will made him appear like a God of War in the presence of mere mortals.

“Hmm!”

The shock was visible across the Elder’s wrinkly face. He stared at Zhou Yan with amusement and surprise.

“Great Elder, blind was not the Elder of my household, nay. For the ones that truly are blind are none other than old fools who share your title! On a side note, I ascended to rank one of the Blade Essence prodigies, without the need of studying in this rotting academy. I am now worthy of training with no form of supervision, and no rules of our household were violated; thus, there won’t be a need for me to kneel in anticipation of punishment!”

Zhou Yan’s eyes filled with pride, and this young man would no longer live in fear of the prejudice by the Elder of Lore.

However, he started to feel restless and irritated since the Elder’s menacing gaze never left him.

It was common for him to feel that way, but in the past, he felt no resentment toward such humiliation. Now, after inheriting the soul of the ancient sage along with the sage’s memories, he was graced with the knowledge of honor in kneeling. He realized that he was only meant to kneel toward his own birth parents. Since this principle was there to preserve his honor. The young man now knew that he was not supposed to kneel to those who were unworthy of his respect.

Ever since his rebirth, Zhou Yan felt there was no greater insult to him than kneeling for the Elder of Lore. He now realized what self-respect and pride meant.

The Elder of Lore was disappointed with him and dismissed his valiance. “It is not wrong what you said. This academy is no longer worthy for you to attend. However, the cost to attaining your power and leaping through progression would be overexerting your body’s physical limitations, and, in the end, you will only destroy yourself! You will never truly be Zhou Wangchen’s successor… sigh, be wary of your progression, child!”

It was without a doubt that the young man was still unwelcomed. However, due to the bond he shared as part of the family, all the Elder of Lore could do was regretfully bear witness to such gifted talent being wasted away.

Zhou Yan’s heart was shattered at the sight of the disapproving gaze from the Elder of Lore.

As strict as the Elder of Lore may be, given the position he was placed in and the status he carried, he would be required to be stern. All of his responsibility was in the name of maintaining order, preventing an internal conflict, and deterring external threats to the family. If every single pupil pushed the limitations of their physical body all in the name of progress like this young man, the very foundation and order of this household would be destroyed, and the only fate that awaited the Zhou family would be death.

With that sudden realization, Zhou Yan’s dissatisfaction faded away in an instant.

All the young man could do was stare at the silhouette of the Elder of Lore as he disappointingly walked away from this young man. He had finally learned that his actions had consequences and he had to be responsible for it.

He had also realized the bitter words spewed toward Zhou Xian were motivated by provocation, and their only purpose was to motivate him to work even harder… However, the careless actions of this man caused the Elder of Lore to think that his sudden progression was at the cost of his constant persistence in overextending the limits of his physical talents…

If that were the truth, the bones in his body would, without doubt, be destroyed. This effort would only end in vain. Even with the possession of insurmountable perception, it would only be a futile effort…

The young man stood rooted to his spot, unable to move.

He was tempted to scream out loud and explain that in fact, he did not force his body beyond the limits of his physical strength and that the product of his sudden progress was due to the blessing of his natural talent in perception and the journey to attain powers enough to rival a small nation was a smooth sailing one. However, he could not bring himself to say such things.

He did not wish to disappoint anyone in the family. However, the young man’s heart wrenched at the sight of disappointment in the Elder of Lore’s eyes.

Excluding the Elder of Lore, the look of disdain he was given was commonplace across his peers in the academy except for Zhou Xian and Zhou Cheng as they were humoring themselves at the cost of Zhou Yan’s despair.

As the saying of common folk goes, ‘Saddened was the unfortunate, angered were the act of submission.’

With the gift of clairvoyance, comes the blessing of heightened emotions. Zhou Yan had a sudden feeling that shook him down to his core.

At the same time, Zhou Yan realized that he was not called a fraud and an unworthy genius by every single person he had met this far. On the other hand, he now understood that he was cared for by most of his peers. The only thing was, they demonstrated their feelings of care the same way the Elder of Lore did, following the saying of ‘Saddened was the unfortunate, angered were the act of submission.’

Gripping his broken blade in the palm of his hand tightly, once again his blood boiled with anger.

However, the young man found no need to explain his case as the truth of his progress would undoubtedly be brought to light during the test of might in a month’s time, which would surprise all of them.

Till then, he would remain humble.

…

Carved from a single block of pitch-black steel was a carving of a lady brought to life by the slithering curved blade of a dagger.

Based on the back of the lady’s carving. It was uncanny to the silhouette in Zhou Yan’s visions.

The carving was detailed with streaks of intricately laced lines that resembled streams of flowing water.

Zhou Yan was never able to grasp the intricacies of the ‘Sword Art of Clear Waters Heaven’s blade,’ nor was he able to understand the deeper meaning of the inner workings of said technique in his recent past. However, blessed by his awakening, in his current state, the young man was able to understand entirely the very complexity of this sword art.

This very sword art reflected a perfect symphony of balance, rooted deeply in the very principles of the ‘Sword Art of Clear Waters Heaven’s Blade’ and it was through the very hands of the man that appeared in the face of Zhou Yan that transcended the parallels of balance in the form of ‘the way of the sword through bond and despair.’

Sword’s Way of Bond was the principle that breathed life into this carving. Life was bestowed to this object through the grace of limitless love, a relationship forged that stretched to no ends. The parallel to this balance was despair. The Sword’s Way of despair was bestowed only the purest form of desperation, wrought with its wake were the destruction of all life.

Thus, the symphony of life and death perfectly reflected upon this intricate carving. Only when this steel block was reduced to a pile of metallic dust will the hands of the man finally rest.

The edge of this man’s eyes filled with wrinkles of age. Each strand a different tale of the bitter, unfortunate paths he traversed in life. The only testament this poor man had of his participation in the intricate cog works of life’s distant past were the windows of his soul. The gaze in his eyes read wisdom as deep as the trenches, the husks that were once his eyes were completely devoid of life.

Observing the chaos, this man’s hands once again started to tinker with the steel block. This man took a deep breath as a full jug of ale appeared in the his hand out of nowhere. Tilting his head back, the man chugged with haste, seemingly drowning the feelings of extreme desperation.

The poor man’s expression morphed from a flushed, distraught state to a ghastly pale face as it reflected the fleeting life from this man; due to his hasty actions.

Finally, his gaze met Zhou Yan’s as he waddled in his drunken state after he had drained every last drop of ale in that jug.

The gaze was filled with concern. It was the first time Zhou Yan had felt that emotion. It was not one of ignorance since this gaze was filled with actual compassion. It felt like one had experienced a full cycle of reincarnation.

In short, a simple gaze felt like a millennium!

Zhou Yan was conflicted with intense feelings of doubt for his father, the prodigy who shouldered the good name of his family and an unparalleled genius with none to match!

However, with mysterious reasons, the life of this man was reduced to nothing, but one spent with his carvings.

A life spent with the same routine of carving and drowning in ale — nothing else.

This meeting was as per usual. Only once a week would Zhou Yan be granted the opportunity of receiving guidance from his father.

Before this current meeting, it was fated that Zhou Yan could never understand the knowledge his father had.

Read latest Chapters at WuxiaWorld.Site Only

However, in light of his enlightenment and heightened senses, Zhou Yan noticed buried in the deepest depths of his father’s eyes was the light as fierce and bright as a meteor shower.

“This carving was not a crude piece of art. It was carved on its body with two different Sword’s Way, which are Sword’s Way of Bond and The Sword’s Way of Despair. Choose only one path to follow, child!”

As pathetic as his father may be, the only thing that baffled Zhou Yan was his father’s ability to conjure a carving out of thin air with the simple flick of his wrist.

Although this carving was a woman’s back, it seemed to have plenty of hesitation to portray the indecisive nature of turning its back.