Evil Samurai In Cultivation World

[ This episode is a flashback episode. ]

Gilbert Gottfried was born in Gellia, the capital of the Kingdom of Dazeary. His father had been a shoemaker for almost all his life, until one day his workshop was burned down in an accidental fire, and his family found themselves living in poverty. 

His father, who couldn't come to terms with the situation he and his family was in, became an alcoholic, and Gilbert soon left his home and turned to a life of crime as a teenager.

During his years as a struggling street thug, he had robbed, burglarized, and assaulted many people, many of whom ended up dead. Because of his growing reputation in the streets, he was treated by other thugs in the neighborhood with considerable respect.

It was also during his time as a crook that Gilbert Gottfried became acquainted with Persiv Pablo, a crippled soldier from the middle eastern kingdom Saronna, who was exiled because of his participation in a failed coup. 

It was Persiv who had taught him the basic martial arts techniques that he had learned during his time in the Saronnan Army. Gilbert, who was a fast learner, was able to study the techniques in a very short amount of time, which impressed Persiv, because he knew that the Middle Eastern cultivation techniques were much more difficult to learn than an average Argrian martial arts technique. And yet, the young teenager in front of him was practicing as if it was nothing, which shocked him.

Gilbert, while practicing the martial arts techniques in his spare time, also began utilising them in his robberies and fights, which also helped improve his cultivation.

Persiv, who had realized the true potential of his young disciple, wished for him to stop turning towards crime, but Gilbert would simply shrug his shoulders and ignore his words. 

During his time training under Persiv, Gilbert had heard many stories from him. One story that really caught his interest was the story about a soldier, who had survived a one sided battle against enemy forces. He, who was the only one who had survived the massacre, believed that he was saved by God, keeping him alive for a bigger purpose in life. 

With his passion ignited, the soldier would go on to lead his army through various battles and survive, before eventually defeating the same enemies that had massacred his first battalion, snatching the victory from them this time around.

Gilbert Gottfried was incredibly fond of that one particular story, and intrigued by the notion of God and his chosen one, and the idea of fulfilling God's purpose.

It had taken about two years since he first dabbled in the art of crime, but Gilbert had finally fucked up big-time, when he had decided to assault the drug-dealing Azershah, a very reputable and formidable man in the criminal underworld with a long history of violence under his belt.

The resulting backlash from Azershah's gang was simply enormous, which ended with Azershah and his men tying up both Gilbert and his master, Persiv, inside one of his warehouses and lighting it on fire, leaving the both of them to be burned alive.

Putting his skills as a thief to good use, Gilbert was able to break free from the chains that were used to bind him up, but he couldn't save his master in time, and was forced to leave him as he was consumed by the flames.

Lost, alone and nowhere to go, Gilbert was found by a group of soldiers, who would take him under their wing, an incident which Gilbert considered to be the moment he was saved by God.

Finally finding his purpose in life as a messenger of God, Gilbert Gottfried decided to join the army as he believed that it was what God had intended. 

Combining his exceptional cultivation skills and his experience with fighting in the streets, Gilbert was easily able to rise up the ranks in the army, before eventually reaching the rank of Royal Commander of the Emperor, Augustin Makharadze, where he would learn about the Divine Commandments. 

It was only during his second year serving under the Emperor would he figure out that Augustin Makharadze was merely a puppet of the Board of Advisors, and was not born from Royal Blood, thus making him - in Gilbert's eyes - not a messenger of God.

Convinced that his purpose in life was to uphold the Divine Commandments, he would secretly organize a coup with the help of a few unhappy noblemen and the military, and would later overthrow the Emperor and the Board of Advisors before appointing himself as the new ruler of Dazearyn Empire, as he believed that he was, in fact, chosen by God as a messenger, and this was what God had intended.

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"Uuuugh… !" 

As Blake regained his conscience, he slowly got up from his bed and he rubbed his eyes.

"Mother..." 

He whispered softly as he let out a yawn. It was that dream again. He had been dreaming about his mother for a few days now. He wanted it to stop, as it reminded him of a painful memory, but his subconscious mind didn't seem to be listening to him.

'Damn it! Why did I dream of my mother again…' Blake clicked his tongue as he scratched his head and got up from the bed. 

'Perhaps the stress of it all is slowly getting to me..' He thought to himself as he walked to the bathroom.

After washing his face, Blake headed towards the gymnasium to train. He had chosen this gymnasium to practice his cultivation skills, and the gymnasium had a lot of space to train.

'Well, I guess if it helps me train, then it doesn't really matter…' With a bitter smile, Blake Bancroft waved his hands, and a bright red sword manifested in his palms.

Whoosh!

All of a sudden, the air surrounding him began swirling around, creating a whirlpool of wind and circling Blake. The aura he was emitting began to increase as time went on, and soon enough, the temperature of the gymnasium began increasing, and his body was definitely feeling the pressure of it.

Wham!

All of a sudden, Blake raised his sword and with a swing, a giant wave of crimson red light shot forward, causing ice-cold wind to blow out as a result.

BOOM!

The sword strike instantly collided with the ground, resulting in a deafening explosion and causing dust and debris to appear in the air.

"I'm doing better than yesterday…" Blake looked at the crimson sword he was holding, and muttered to himself.

"I see that you're doing well, Blake," A voice was heard coming from behind him, and Blake slowly turned around with a smile and said, "Why are you up so early, mother?"

"I was about to call you for breakfast, but it seemed like you were in the middle of practice, so I decided to wait a few minutes…" The voice came from a middle-aged woman who was looking at Blake with a loving gaze and a bright smile.

"Oh! It seems that I was late to wake up," Blake scratched his chin with a bitter smile as the crimson red sword disappeared from his hands, and he walked towards the middle aged lady. "Let us go and eat breakfast!"

As the two walked out of the gymnasium, the middle aged lady glanced at Blake before speaking softly, "Blake, is there something on your mind? You look a bit sad today.."

Blake shifted his gaze towards the middle aged lady, hesitating for a few seconds before eventually opening his mouth; "... I saw my mom in my dream again."

The middle aged lady widened her eyes with surprise and stopped walking as soon as she heard his words. Blake stopped walking as well, and turned around to look at the woman he had previously called 'mother'. 

The middle aged lady let out a deep breath, and looked at Blake with a smile as she said, "You know, I still remember when Brenda came to me with you in her arms. She was so careful about concealing her pregnancy that even I was surprised when she told me that she had given birth to you!"

Blake smiled when he heard her words. The middle aged lady let out a chuckle as well, before her expression turned serious and continued speaking. "I know that you're hell bent on taking revenge on your father, Blake. But I really wish that you would be more careful. The people who you're working with, they're not good people. The only reason that they're helping you is because you are useful to them. Do not forget that."

"I know, mother," Blake nodded his head, and the middle aged lady walked towards him and hugged him tightly.

"I know that I'm not the one who gave birth to you. But I do know that you're my son, Blake. I hope you know that," Blake could hear her trying her best to hold in tears, and he replied, "I know mom… I know.."