No matter how harsh he was, establishing his authority was not wrong. The family was beset by internal and external troubles—if every disciple followed his example and pushed their potential to the limit, destroying their cultivation foundation, it would be a road to ruin for the Zhou family.

He suddenly understood all this, and in that instant, the trace of displeasure he felt dissipated.

Watching the back of the transmission elder as he turned to leave, the sense of age and desolation was obvious. He suddenly realized that what he bore was not just one person's hope.

He also suddenly understood that the words spoken to Henry Carter were, in fact, meant to provoke him, to spur him on... But his performance seemed to make the transmission elder believe that he had forced his body’s potential to the limit and thus achieved a breakthrough...

If that were the case, his body and foundation would be completely ruined, and in the end, he would accomplish nothing. No matter how great his talent and comprehension, it would be useless...

He stood there silently, as if nailed in place, unmoving.

At this moment, he wanted to shout out loud that it was not by squeezing out his potential that he achieved his breakthrough, but rather... because of his extraordinary talent, he naturally reached a perfect breakthrough, and his combat power could even cross a minor realm to face an opponent!

But... it was as if something was stuck in his throat, and in the end, he said nothing.

He did not want to see the look of utter disappointment in the eyes of his family and friends, but at this moment, the disappointed gaze of the transmission elder once again pierced his heart.

Aside from the transmission elder, on the training ground, among the family disciples cultivating here, except for a few like Henry Carter, Charles Carter, and Sophie Carter who looked on with schadenfreude, most had expressions of deep disappointment.

Pity his misfortune, but resent his lack of effort!

This was the feeling that, at this moment, with his six senses becoming extremely sharp, Edward Carter suddenly sensed—a feeling that made his very soul tremble and quiver.

It was also at this moment that he realized he was not the so-called "genius" who was ridiculed by everyone as "unworthy of his reputation," because the vast majority of people still cared about him. It was just that, like the transmission elder, they pitied his misfortune and resented his lack of effort.

He gripped the broken sword in his hand tightly, his blood boiling.

But he did not explain anything. Everything would be revealed to the world in the test one month from now.

At that time, he would give them an unexpected surprise!

……

A short sword, moving like a dragon or snake, carved a pitch-black iron block into a lifelike statue of a woman.

This statue of a woman was only a back view, just like the back view of the woman in Edward Carter's memory.

The statue’s lines flowed like water, and a vivid, spiritual brilliance would occasionally appear.

Previously, Edward Carter did not understand the Bihui Endless Waters Sword Technique, so he could not comprehend this craftsmanship. But now, he understood.

This was a state akin to the perfect mastery of a sword technique that had merged with the Dao. The basic Bihui Endless Waters Sword Technique, in the hands of the man before him, had become a contest between the sword path of emotion and the sword path of ruthlessness.

The sword path of emotion gave the statue a sense of life, filled with endless love, stretching on without end; while the sword path of ruthlessness bestowed a sense of finality, a total, all-consuming destruction.

Thus, life and death played out on this statue at every moment, until the black iron block became a mass of chaotic scrap metal, and only then did he stop.

Wrinkles covered the corners of his eyes, each one filled with the suffering and misfortune of his life. Only those eyes—sometimes deep as an abyss, sometimes dull and lifeless—proved that he still existed in this world.

He looked at the ruined iron block in his hand and let out a deep sigh. Then, a jug of wine appeared out of thin air in his hand. He tilted his head back and gulped it down, as if swallowing all his suffering and sorrow.

His complexion, because of this action, changed from the sickly flush he had while carving to a heart-wrenching pallor, as if foretelling that he did not have long to live.

When the wine was finished, his body swayed as if about to fall. Only then did he glance at Edward Carter.

That simple look of attention made Edward Carter feel, for the first time, that this was not indifference, but a true concern. That look was as if he had experienced a whole cycle of reincarnation.

A single glance, a thousand years.

Edward Carter felt a bit uneasy. His father, Samuel Carter, was the most talented person in the history of the Zhou family—without exception!

But for unknown reasons, he had now lost all his cultivation and spent his days living only with his statues.

Drinking, carving, carving, drinking—nothing else.

This time, as always, was his once-a-week opportunity to come learn from his father.

Before this, he had never received any guidance from his father.

But this time, with his sharpened six senses, he sensed a flash of brilliance, like a shooting star, deep in his father’s desolate eyes.

“This statue is not ruined. It contains two sword paths: the ‘Sword Path of Emotion’ and the ‘Sword Path of No Life.’ Watch it and choose one to cultivate!”

For some unknown reason, his father, who had already become a cripple, lightly patted the air, and suddenly, from who knows where, a pitch-black statue flew out.

This statue was still the back view of a woman leaving, as if about to turn but not turning, filled with ‘hesitation.’

Chapter 004: Perfect Mastery of the Bihui Sword Technique