12 Unparalleled Natural Gifts

"Whoa…"

As Zhou Yan released his warm embrace, the ladies soon began to wake up naturally. Ping'er was the first to wake up from her confused state and gradually opened her eyes to freshen up a little. As she met Zhou Yan's gaze, her heart began beating fast. To hide her embarrassment, she pretended to remain asleep, hoping no one would notice her nervousness. 

However, as soon as Ning'er opened her eyes, she woke up from the blurry daze she was in, with Obvious exhaustion and fatigue in her eyes. However, her fatigue faded into her naturally stunning and beautiful pearly eyes. She had a glint of confusion but the instant realization that the event was not a dream snapped her out of her confusion. 

Seen across her stunningly beautiful face was a hint of a nervous blush. However, she never reacted but simply greeted him with a warm smile. While staring directly into Zhou Yan's eyes, she asked, "Oh you, are you hooked?"

"Why do you still ask when you already know?"

Zhou Yan chuckled, his personality seeming extremely open-minded and accepting. 

Ning'er was slightly stunned as the girl did not expect Zhou Yan to be so blatantly blunt in admitting his feelings. Her initial assumption was that this man was still the same old naive and immature person who would have been forced to say it as she used to occasionally tease him in the past. 

She never expected him to become that flamboyant.

An indescribable feeling of glee and joy-filled her heart. It appeared to him that the more exceptional the man she loved became, the more proud she would feel. 

Even if this feeling was of a little girl's immaturity, the girl enjoyed the way she felt very much. 

"You've changed, Zhou Yan. You've truly become even more exceptional than you were in the past. You've rid yourself off any child-like behavior, and transformed into a truly handsome man of exceptional caliber. You were stubborn and determined in the past but in certain aspects, you seemed cowardly and slightly weak."

Ning'er let out a soft sigh as she reflected on herself as she just gave the most honest and sincere perspective from her heart. 

There were some words she wished to say, however, she never said anything.

Somehow, the girl knew to a certain degree that she was not a normal person. If Zhou Yan had been as weak and as frail as he was in the past, her foresight informed her that it would be tremendously difficult for them if they wanted to be together. 

She was unsure of the reason she perceived things the way she did but she felt in her gut that her foresight was accurate. 

Upon hearing what Ning'er said, he seemingly understood and felt her most genuine feelings and so Zhou Yan silently nodded. 

Ning'er was not the only person who shared the same perspective of him. Truthfully, he viewed himself in the same light, in fact, his old self was weak. He used to bend over backward and reduced himself for a worthless woman so much that the people closest to him did not even speak to him about the tremendous amount of sorrow they had to go through… This would only be seen as a worthless, wasted effort for him!

The only possible silver lining from this would be his unbending determined heart to train harder, and his adamant will to never surrender and submit to anyone.

As of now, he had finally been enlightened and when he reflected upon his past he would lament on how he used to be.

"It'll never happen again in the future. I was a naive reckless fool in the past and had disappointed you, causing Ping'er to endure so much sorrow. With that I swear I'll make things right, and I'll make sure to take amazing care of both of you in future days to come even if I have to climb mountains of blades,cross oceans of flames, or if things would cripple or cost me my life.."

The tone in Zhou Yan's voice was calm and full of compassion.

Ning'er was extremely moved by his words soshe gave him a kiss without warning.

Zhou Yan was more than pleased to receive her kiss.

This single kiss…

Both girls were giggling as they whispered to each other and took turns staring at Zhou Yan oddly at random intervals as if they were speaking ill about him.

As he sat by a boulder furiously roasting a wild hare, he looked extremely depressed.

It was all due to a slip of his hand, thus causing him to grab the wrong spot, which in turn prompted Ping'er to scream out in agony. This also caused Ning'er to assume that he was touching Ping'er with his hands while they were having a romantic moment. Hence, both maidens denied his pleasure-filled escapade. This was why he was in such a foul mood.

Zhou Yan understood what these girlies did was not an act motivated by envious feelings but it was simply an act of moderation.

At the same time, this was done simply to liven up his mood and to prevent him from lingering or dwelling in painful, sorrow-filled memories.

This proves that a woman's heart is kind and most empathetic towards others.

Zhou Yan's sixth sense was undeniably exceptionally sharp. He could read and steal anyone's heart. It was through this lad's demonstration of extreme care toward both maidens that caused them to share their deepest and most sincere feelings.

Everything that happened or said was real and not a single bit was made up.

It was also at this moment that he was able to eavesdrop on their entire conversation in utmost clarity. However, he chose not to and simply pretended to not hear a thing out of respect.

"Ning'er, Ping'er, come on and have some roast hare. It was made by your master's own hands. I guarantee after a bite, the scrumptious aftertaste will linger in your memories forever."

While Zhou Yan spoke intimately, a casual, carefree glint was visible from his gaze through his smile.

However, a slight dubious intention was hidden behind his smile.

"Yes, master, Sister Ning'er, and I had both decided to train in the future as well."

Ping'er spoke gleefully.

"Ning'er, you can train someone now?" questioned Zhou Yan out of the blue.

It was also at this very moment that he realized the pale look on Ning'er's face caused by her ailment had faded away slightly, and she had recovered some health. The temperament of her mythical nature seemed to emanate tremendously from her entire body.

It appeared as if her body had undergone a godly awakening. Her soul, however, seemed as if it was going through an unpredictable transmutation with every passing moment.

"Yes, Zhou Yan, earlier, when you and I... did that, it felt like… I was training my sword skills in a different place. The moment an attack was unleashed, glaciers formed in a million miles, and the heavens and Earth would split open… that invincible feeling I felt, was too powerful.

"I had the foresight that I am now able to begin training."

As Ning'er spoke those words softly, she slowly walked towards Zhou Yan and stood in front of him.

She hid one last thing from him, and those were the feelings of desperation and loneliness even though she felt invincible.

…

As the early sun rose, while staring at that maiden, Zhou Yan once again felt the insane temptation of lust. It was almost as if he wanted nothing more than to consume the other person into his own body. That unforgettable boiling, rising feelings of lust suddenly grew inhumanly strong. 

With everything that she said, a seemingly insuppressible odd feeling rose within Zhou Yan.

It was a similar situation that those pupils and elders in his family feared most, which is facing a defenseless young girl. Her unnatural, deity-like temperament she presented herself as was what made her appear extremely sacred.

However, the man had already violated her.

'Hmm… However…' thought Zhou Yan to himself.

Zhou Yan wanted to implore her to not leave his side using sentimental words as he wished to never part with her. However, since a premonition or foresight still meant uncertainty, she did not want to lose faith in himself. 

"Eat something, I know both of you are tired and famished." Zhou Yan spoke as he tried to rid his mind of certain thoughts. He also wanted to change topics from this depressing and heavy conversation.

A pure and calm deity such as her, who valued purity so much, would throw herself into his loving arms. What is there left for him to worry about? He needed to have more faith in her!

He grew increasingly relieved the more he thought about the situation.

He then proceeded to focus and concentrate all his might to unleash his Blade's essence from his body. While counting and mumbling, he cleanly sliced six different segments of the roasted hare.

The moment he unleashed his Blade's Essence, Ping'er, who was a naive girl who knew nothing but the basics in the ways of the sword realized that no one could unleash one's Blade's Essence… without ascending to the realm of the Blade's Essence! However, it was obvious that her master, Zhou Yan, a man who had not even reached the first rank of a Blade's Cardinal managed to unleash his Blade's Essence. It was rumored to be the result of forcefully pushing his body beyond his physical limits!

However, what they had just witnessed was…

A simple act such as that had shocked both girlies. Instantly, they were stunned and froze in shock.

"Master, you…"

A glint of surprise and shock completely filled Ping'er's eyes.

Ning'er's pearly, lively eyes were lit up with amusement as well.

"Zhou Yan, have you awakened your Blade's Essence?"

Her expression was interesting as glimmers of surprise reflected through her eyes.

"Yes, I wasn't as what you both assumed. I never pushed my body beyond its physical limitations but instead, it was through natural means. That wasn't the full extent of my awakening. I actually had been graced by the enlightenment of the knowledge of Blade's essence, and this very Blade's Essence has the effect of changing my body's anatomy. Now, both my body and perception are inhumanly exceptional."

Zhou Yan never hid anything from the girls. This was never about his inheritance of the will of the ancient sage. Thus, there was no harm in telling them. The main point was that he did not want these maidens to worry about him. Thus, he hoped to give them some confidence.

However, as good as the boost of confidence was, natural gifts, too, were extremely important. Hence that was what Zhou Yan did, right there and then.

"Ah! That's amazing! Master, I always knew that you truly are a natural genius. It's only a matter of time before karma catches up to those evil fiends!" Ping'er was ecstatic as she could not hold back her tears of joy.

"To say your gifts are amazing would be an understatement! That prime genius of the main branch of the majesty that was the Zhou family whose name was Zhou Yuntian had only awakened his Blade's Essence upon ascending to the first rank of a Blade's Cardinal. Even so, he was unable to utilize his Blade's Essence. However, you are already able to fully utilize your Blade's Essence when you had just recently ascended the ranks. I'm certain that the 'Pillar of Qi' in your body must be exceptionally powerful.

"Your natural gifts had far exceeded his!" explained Ning'er in detail.

As Ping'er listened, she was completely stunned by Ning'er's detailed explanation.

However, it would be impossible for the lad, Zhou Yan, to not be aware of his own talents. After listening to Ning'er's detailed analysis, he knew that Ning'er was indeed knowledgeable. The only odd thing was that there was some knowledge that seemed innate to her, which was the main reason most people in the family feared her and were wary of her.

"I've not contested him on that point alone. Thus, it would be difficult to decide. However, I am confident that I am better than him. I would not reveal to anyone about this just yet since in my current situation, I am in no position to be of high profile," said Zhou Yan.

Ning'er agreed with the man and, thus, nodded in agreement. She said, "Yes, you've said exactly what I was going to say. With the way you think now, I would be more relaxed. As I recall, your natural gifts, too, were extremely exceptional!"

...