“Why can’t one choose both the Sentimental Sword Path and the Lifeless Sword Path?”

Edward Carter frowned, holding the statue in his hand. After watching for a moment, he suddenly looked up and stared directly at his father.

“Choose both? Walk the same old path as me? Remember this: being broadly learned is not as good as being specialized!”

Samuel Carter’s gaze was calm, like a dead, rippleless pool. That unfocused look seemed to sweep casually across Edward Carter’s face, then silently settled on a brand new black iron block that had somehow appeared in his hand.

At this moment, he spoke in a low voice.

Edward Carter faced his father, momentarily speechless.

Seeing the silent desolation and bleakness in him at this moment, Edward Carter felt a deep discomfort in his heart.

This man—this man who, in his memories, once stood tall and proud, full of spirit—now appeared so defeated.

Edward Carter did not know what had happened to his father to bring him to such a state.

Once a peerless genius, dazzlingly talented and famous, a “True Person-level” prodigy whose combat power could break the shackles of realms, he was now so desolate, the laughingstock of all Canglan City.

Edward Carter stood there, saying nothing, only feeling a mix of emotions as he watched his father’s every move.

In his eyes, those originally incomparably complex movements seemed to become simple. He even vaguely felt that he, too, could do all of this!

Perhaps, he could even do it best!

He had such thoughts, but did not show them, only watching silently.

Suddenly, he sensed a slight stagnation in that otherwise smooth moment. His father’s movements faltered, causing the two sword intents to clash, showing signs of collapse.

At that moment, his father suddenly stopped and spoke.

“To choose a path and walk it well—that is the right way. Hmm… you have finally broken your own shackles.”

As Edward Carter had expected, the half-carved statue suddenly made a “puff” sound and turned to dust.

This time, Samuel Carter failed to complete the fusion of the Sentimental Sword Path and the Lifeless Sword Path. It hadn’t even begun for long before a piece of fine iron was wasted.

This scene was exactly as Edward Carter had anticipated.

Edward Carter felt a mix of agitation and shock in his heart, but he still did not speak of it. Instead, he pondered, “Father, the Sentimental Sword Path and the Lifeless Sword Path are your life’s achievements. As your son, if I cannot inherit them, it would be a disgrace to you and a sign of my own incompetence!

Therefore, choosing both the Sentimental Sword Path and the Lifeless Sword Path is my conviction. Father, you need not try to persuade me.”

“You insist on this, but it is foolish. If you cannot achieve greatness, even if you accomplish much like your father, you will still end up in misery. First comes strength, then the pursuit and creation of the sword path. Do not put the cart before the horse.”

Samuel Carter sighed, took out a jug of wine, and drank again.

The flush on his face from carving began to fade, turning ever paler from the wine. The red and white, like soul and flesh about to be burned away.

“There are three thousand paths to the Dao, all leading to the same end. Whether it’s the Sentimental Sword Path, the Lifeless Sword Path, or the Bloodthirsty Sword Path, the Fatal Sword Path, the Venomous Sword Path, the Geng Metal Sword Path, the Gentle Water Sword Path, the Void Sword Path, and so on—they are all just sword paths. What I cultivate is the great Dao of the sword, so there’s no need to care about the characteristics of the sword path itself.”

Edward Carter spoke with the experience of a grandmaster’s memories.

This sentence struck Samuel Carter like a thunderbolt!

In that instant, the wine jug in his hand fell to the ground with a “bang,” shattering completely with a “crack.”

A pungent wave of alcohol fiercely assaulted Edward Carter’s body and mind. Smelling the intense aroma, Edward Carter felt his blood and energy surge uncontrollably, as if ignited.

But he felt his mind was icy clear, cold to the extreme!

It was a most peculiar state. Edward Carter could sense that his own face must be deathly pale at this moment!

He was shocked inside, not knowing what kind of medicine was in the wine his father drank as if it were water, but he was certain it was a medicinal wine that suppressed some ability in the head, and its effect was extremely domineering!

Feeling dizzy and nauseous, he quickly focused his mind, held his breath, and circulated his nascent sword qi through the meridians all over his body, dissolving the invisible interference of the alcohol.

At this moment, his father Samuel Carter did not notice any of this, but had fallen into a mysterious state of “enlightenment.”

Edward Carter understood that his father had gained some insight. Perhaps his words had given him a reminder, since those words came from the experience of a powerful martial artist from an unknown “Earth” who could “shatter the void,” not just idle talk.

He waited for a while, silently pondering the so-called Sentimental Sword Path and Lifeless Sword Path, feeling that his Bihui Lian Tian Sword Technique was nearly mastered, and the eighth form was already complete. These two sword paths really weren’t that difficult.

As for comprehending that kind of sword intent, that was not something his current realm could grasp for now.

Without sword qi, sword intent is but an illusion.

Therefore, he did not force it.