Chapter 49

The entire academy burst into an uncontrollable uproar!

A genius with two Qi Columns was a rare sight that would only happen once every millennium based on the total population of the Xiaoyao Capital City!

As the Grand Elder stared at the peculiar carving of a maiden, he was unable to calm his heart.

This time, the test of might had two people who had such a rare mutation, truly was an even rarer occurrence in a millennium!

This would undoubtedly be the first-ever Spiritual Genius of the Zhou family!

However, if he was selected and brought back to the main branch of the Zhou family, what can they do after exhausting all of their resources in training Zhou Yuntian?

As the Grand Elder pondered, there was already a series of applause from the spectating audiences below the academy.

This time, Zhou Yan had exploded in talent after staying complacent and silent for so long. He showed those people who disliked and judged him what he was truly capable of.

Within the walls of the main branch of the Zhou family, even some elders or actual geniuses would be ignored and looked down upon by the members of the main branch of the Zhou family. However, after witnessing such an incredible glorious feat by Zhou Yan, this astounding aura of retribution felt amazing to the young lad.

Hence, following Gu Yan’s lead, some untalented, third-generation pupils exploded in a series of applause and ignited the exciting mood of the entire academy.

Although both Zhou Wangchen’s legs were broken and caused him to kneel in shame back then by Zhou Yuntian, but his talents and combat prowess was still acknowledged by many!

As of then, Zhou Yan had made an extremely shocking entrance, thus all the cheers and applause was an expression of their emotions. It meant he had finally regained his glory, and nothing was able to stand in his way!

Once again, another endless series of applause filled the entire area.

Some people were also cheering his name, “Zhou Yan! Zhou Yan! Zhou Yan!” This was admiration of the highest degree of honor!

…

A wave of people was cheering as different cheers filled the scene, but Zhou Yan was extraordinarily calm. It was as if he was finally able to see through everything. An aura of unspoken vicissitude was emanating from his body, but it was all due to the cool demeanor he portrayed that made him even more attractive!

Thus, Zhou Yan glanced at the spectators and proceeded to take a serious and sincere bow. He did not say a word—his actions were enough to speak for him.

With that action, he was able to win the hearts of seemingly every single spectator present.

“Zhou Yan, Twin Qi Column. Each with two segments, ancient Qi Column. Perfect grade!”

That elderly man with a head full of white hair spoke with an uncontrollable shaky voice.

The couple who stood next to the elderly man both had a complicated and fearful gaze in their eyes as they looked at Zhou Yan.

“This test truly is excellent. Since Zhou Yan is such an outstanding genius, four extra nominated names will be added to the prize list and he will be in charge of naming these names.

“Based on the quality of Zhou Yan’s Qi Column alone, he wouldn’t be required to participate in the test of combat. The fight to the death for the Zhou family will be canceled.

“These extra names will be decided by Zhou Yan alone. Anyone besides the Zhou family will not be accepted.

“And thus, this shall be the end of the test of might; any grievances or grudge, be it personal or nay shall be settled under the shroud of personal hours. Should any arise, all personal grudges shall be settled before one enters the walls of the main family, and violation to this rule shall pay the price with one’s life. There will be no hatred between members of our family, hence, no exceptions shall be made. Anyone caught violating this rule will be murdered!

“However, one may choose to end one’s hatred or grudge in a battle to the death after one has announced to do so within the barriers of the swordplay alchemy!

“All you lot have half a day remaining! After half a day, the flying ship shall arrive to gather those who have been selected. I shall use my Blade’s Specter to travel across the void, thus bringing those who had been selected back into the walls of the main family.

“This time, besides Zhou Yan, there’s Zhou Ying from the City of Ten Thousand Changes who also possesses a twin Qi Column. The first thing both of you would do upon your arrival at the main branch of our family is to head directly into the Blade’s Cardinal pond in order to undergo a mutation which will awaken your potential, and thus ascending directly into the realm of the Blade’s Cardinal!”

“On a final note. To all of the spies in this event, heed my warning. Both of them who have the twin Qi Column are the geniuses of the main branch of our family. Anyone who even so slightly intends to murder these two shall be faced with the wrath of the main branch of our family. We shall unleash the Blade’s Specter within the Holy Sword to massacre the entire city! The lines of the majesty that is our Zhou family should never be crossed and should never be challenged!

“Heed my words everyone!”

“Alright, after so much has been said, everyone may leave now!”

With a single wave of the elderly man as he was speaking, an invisible layer of swordplay alchemy instantly faded away.

It seemed a wave of indescribably menacing energy had instantly faded away without a trace. Thus, countless scholars from countless families had left in that moment.

It was also at that moment, it mattered not if it was Elder Ling, the Elder of the Region of A Thousand Despair, or the third generation geniuses from the Huang family, all of them were exceedingly shocked by such a display of power.

The unimaginably powerful elderly man who unleashed the immensely menacing swordplay alchemy did it in a way where none of the countless people witnessing the event were even remotely aware of a skill being used!

That skill was an unimaginably heavenly-law breaking move!

…

“Elder Xing, how are we going to report to our master now?”

Zhou Yuan had a bitter look as he sighed in the flying ship.

Zhou Ting had a conflicted look on her face, but she finally lamented and said, “We didn’t expect him to possess a natural gift which was so beyond our expectation. But, his father has already…”

“I shall discuss this matter with the lord of our family when we return. The Zhou family… With twin Qi Column. This is the first time for the Zhou family to have a genius in possession of a twin Qi Column. As talented as Zhou Ying was, she’s still a maiden, and is still too weak to walk the path of the Sword’s Way.

“This young lad, Zhou Yan, is truly exceptional. He has gone through two of our deliberate challenges, and after he came to realize we were stopping him from entering the main branch of our family, he managed to earn his right to enter with his sheer natural gifts alone, forcing us to withdraw our deliberate hindrances…

“Forget it. The glory of our family is still the most important matter at hand. Hence, we’ll make him a direct competition of our master. Besides, our master has been too prideful recently. Having someone motivate him might be a good thing.”

The elderly man lamented.

“There isn’t much of a choice for us, this Zhou Yan truly is a spectacle. As much as I resent him, I can’t say that I’m not impressed by him since he has the twin Qi Column. A genius with a twin Qi Column is truly unimaginable. Even though I’ve already crossed him, I will not fear him regardless.

“The most I can do is avoid crossing him any further.”

That young lass Zhou Ting, replied with a sigh.

That young lad Zhou Yuan had a cold, sinister undertone on his face. He proceeded to speak in a soft and low pitched tone, “I’m concerned about the rapacious nature of that b*stard. Wasn’t that Zhou Wangchen unwilling to accept our family’s arrangement all those years ago? He desperately wanted to be with that wench from the brothel, and as a result of that, had completely given up on our master’s sister! Zhou Yan is a maniacal, arrogant and inexperienced lad. He knows how unrivaled his skills are and yet, reeks an air of arrogance. This type of character truly makes me unwilling to let go of my hatred toward him!

“That was beside the point. What if he had grown uncontrollably stronger and happened to discover the truth about his father. I’m concerned he would be a difficult threat to deal with. I say it’s better that we deal with this problem from its roots!”

Zhou Yuan’s gaze was inhumanly cold as his expression was exceedingly sinister.

“The situation with Zhou Wangchen isn’t all unsalvageable. Even if it was, he would bring no benefit to our family with the current state he’s in.

“However, Zhou Yan is completely different. He’s the hope of our family’s future! Moreover, with his impressive ability to gain enlightenment, there’s a high possibility for him to ascend into ‘that’ realm. With that feat alone, he might be the key to open ‘that’ door.”

The elderly man being addressed as Elder Xing by Zhou Yuan explained long-windedly.

However, the final line of that statement instantly caused a massive reaction from both Zhou Yuan and Zhou Ting. They were unable to calm themselves for a long while.

“That… that door… Impossible!”

Zhou Yuan exclaimed with a surprised tone. He could not convince himself to believe that outcome.

“Do you think there’s anyone who could possibly compete with his Qi Column and enlightened ability alone? Do you assume our capital city can go up against an entire region? Even if it were the Water Region and the Pale Flame’s Region alone, I’m afraid such talent is extremely hard to seek out!

“In the entirety of all major residences out there, the only top tier residence would be the Wang Chuan Residences! The master of the Wang Chuan Residence, Ji Taixu, was also in possession of a twin Qi Column. Everyone knew the moment he opened his doors.

“So, do you understand my hasty decision now?

“Expand your horizons. Expand your heart!

“Upon reaching a certain level, a person’s value would be allowed to break plenty of regulations. What Zhou Yan said before was true!”

“This time, it’s nothing more than Zhou Yuntian’s scuffle with that young lad’s father. Therefore, by treating Zhou Wangchen well and with respect, Zhou Yan would most likely repay our kindness.

“That guy, Gu Yan, that he brought along with him seems to be extremely close to him based on his actions.

“Hence, it’s decided. This matter shall be settled with exactly what I’ve told you. Both you should stop deliberately causing him trouble now.”

“As you wish, Elder Xing.”

Zhou Ting nodded without any hesitation, but Zhou Yuan sighed as he was still displeased judging from the dissatisfaction in his gaze. However, he knew Zhou Yan had already proven his worth, thus the lad could not do anything anymore.

He lamented with a sigh and said, “I’m concerned, this lad would never let us go so easily.”

“Then you should start forming a bond with him, or you should show how genuine and sincere you are to him! Our Zhou family can allow the disregarding of rules placed in our household for any geniuses to ease things for them.

“All those years ago, Zhou Yuntian was able to step on Zhou Wangchen because of his natural gifts. Our family has always valued geniuses, but we’ve also hoped by doing so we would be valued by all of the other geniuses, hence motivating more geniuses to be better!”

Elder Xing explained.

“Yes indeed. I, as your pupil, understand that, but I too have my pride. I’ve been by my master’s side for a long while now, and I’m unwilling and unable to put down my pride to get closer with an arrogant, mindless man like Zhou Yan.

“The most that I can do is stop bothering him from now!”

After Zhou Yuan had spent a long while contemplating and hesitating, he found himself unable to apologize to Zhou Yan.

It was Zhou Ting, on the other hand, whose gaze seemed conflicted—it was as if she was contemplating a huge decision.

…

The Zhou family household.

Zhou Yan was taking a walk with Gu Yan in the household.

The young lad returned to the little courtyard that once belonged to him, and as he had expected, the courtyard had been taken over by Zhou Shuangshuang and Zhou Cheng.

Zhou Yan was not even willing to grace both of these people of pure disgust with a single glance.

However, as the young lad arrived at the courtyard, they had a delightful yet awkward expression on both of their faces as they approached Zhou Yan.

The Hand of the Grand Elder, Zhou Wuji, was following behind these two people.

“Zhou Yan, you should always keep an open mind to everything. When you arrive at our main family’s household, the people you should pick are Zhou Shuangshuang, Zhou Cheng and Zhou Shan. Their natural gifts are pretty impressive as well. You should never let your anger or personal vendetta get the better of you.”

As the Hand of the Grand Elder spoke, he was speaking with the tone of a wise elder; and even more so, he had assumed he was still an elder.

Zhou Yan glared at that man. A rush of bloodlust raged through his eyes.

“Zhou Yan, you intend to kill me but you can’t? Although I have treated you poorly, I’m still your elder! In terms of status in the family, I’m still your grandfather and your father’s cousin! We’re related by blood. You dare murder me!”

Upon staring at Zhou Yan’s glare, it was uncertain why Zhou Wuji was overwhelmed with fear, but he was also suddenly angered by it.

Especially since when Zhou Yan was still a child, he had treated him quite well! Although the main reason behind it was because of Zhou Wangchen’s impressive prowess. However, when he recalled that incident, he did not feel as if he had wronged Zhou Yan. Instead, he felt how disrespectful and ungrateful Zhou Yan was!