'Who am I?' He thought as his body floated in the void.
The pervasive emptiness had invaded his core and was erasing all the things that marked his life.
'What's that?'
His mind showed a steel monster that ran on the ground, but before he could identify it, the image was erased and replaced with another.
This time, it was a tall building with the word 'Yu' at the very top.
However, this was also erased before he could think about it.
Thousands of images flashed in his mind, but they were quickly eroded before he could grasp onto them.
After a while, he stopped caring about the strange images and just let them disappear with the flow of time.
On this day, he was freely floating in the void when his mind showed the image of a man.
The man was tall, had black hair, and a pair of phoenix eyes that seemed to see through the world.
When he looked at this image, his heart skipped a beat and anxiety filled his body.
'Jiang Yue.' A name came to him, and he desperately grabbed onto the image.
He could forget everything, but he wasn't willing to forget this person.
Although he didn't know who Jiang Yue was, his heart let him know that the person could not be forgotten.
The mind that was quietly giving up finally awakened, and he struggled to squeeze out the emptiness from within his core.
'Why struggle?' A voice was heard from within the void.
The voice was ancient and carried an inviolable majesty, but he couldn't listen to it.
As he held onto the image and remaining memories, millions of thoughts flashed in his mind, and an answer occurred to him.
'At the dawn of the world, chaos split into yin and yang. Yang exists to nurture and balance yin, while yin exists to nurture and balance yang. This person is the yin to my yang.' He thought.
Although he didn't speak aloud, the ancient entity seemed to receive his answer.
The emptiness lessened, and the lost memories returned to his mind.
"That was dangerous. What would have happened if I didn't resist?" Yu Nianzhen spoke as his consciousness scanned his body.
He had a feeling that if he had continued to let his memories be erased, he would have ceased to exist. Even if he survived, he would be different from his current self.
This thought chilled his heart, but he didn't have time to think about it because a thin white line suddenly appeared in the void.
The line was a sword cut, and it carried the same breath as the ancient voice.
Soon after, the void retreated to the depths and was replaced by a green valley.
"What's going on?" Yu Nianzhen asked as he looked around.
The valley extended as far as the eye could see, and a slight wind swept through it, causing the growing weeds to sway in response.
Other than the plants and Yu Nianzhen, the only other presence was a swordsman who stood several metres away from him.
He couldn't see the person's face, but he could recognise the black sword held in the person's right hand.
"Senior…" Yu Nianzhen called.
However, his call went unanswered.
At first, Yu Nianzhen thought his voice had been lost in the wind.
He raised his voice and tried calling again, but the result was the same.
'Is he ignoring me?'
Yu Nianzhen changed his position and stood directly in front of the person.
Once again, he tried calling, but the result didn't change.
'He seems oblivious to my presence.'
Yu Nianzhen didn't know what to make of it, and since he had nothing better to do, he sat cross-legged and began to watch the man's practice.
'What is a sword?' A random thought appeared in his mind.
For most people, a sword was a weapon.
It was a metal blade that was wielded to defend or to oppress.
For a small number, the sword was an idea. A cloud-like idea that led to an eternal pursuit.
What about him?
What was a sword to him?
Yu Nianzhen had never thought about it.
To him, a sword was only the result of his origin test.
He wasn't attached to it and didn't have an unquenchable thirst for the idea.
However, now that he thought about it, he realised that his thoughts were wrong.
The sword wasn't a random outcome, it was the culmination of countless possibilities.
Possibilities that were born in this life and many other lives.
To him, the sword wasn't a weapon or idea, it was his origin. A part of him that was as integral as his limbs or his soul.
As he thought of this, a change began to happen within Yu Nianzhen's soul.
The change was so small that he didn't notice it, but it was a change that would define the rest of his cultivation path.
Time passed, and he continued to ponder.
'If the sword is my core, what is my intent?'
This question was not easy.
At the top of his head, he could think of a thousand things.
Protect? Defend? Oppress? Avenge? Plunder? Dominate?
However, these things were inadequate to encompass his ambition.
At his core, Yu Nianzhen was a person who couldn't submit.
He wished to control his own destiny, and if that was the case, his sword had to transcend the heavens.
After he thought this, his mind became clearer.
The swordsman's mysterious swordplay became a little discernible.
"The sword has nine forms, and each form has twelve variations." Yu Nianzhen muttered after watching the swordplay through countless repetitions.
Without notice, his state of mind had subtly changed, and he subconsciously began to understand the essence of the person's sword.
Thousands of thoughts crossed his mind, and countless possibilities were birthed in his consciousness.
'To master the sword is to master its one hundred and eight variations.'
'If a person could master all the variations, they wouldn't require any sword martial arts because any random move would contain the profundity of a martial art.'
After thinking this, Yu Nianzhen felt like he had discovered something incredible.
His instinct led him to practice, and a black sword appeared in his hand.
Although he had tested a sword origin, Yu Nianzhen had never used a sword. When he swung the sword, the action felt and appeared disjointed.
'I need to get used to its weight and length.' He thought and began to swing without caring for moves or variations.
Time passed, and thousands of swings later, he finally got used to the weight and length of the black sword.
However, this was only the first step.
He had only been swinging randomly, and now that he had a grasp of it, he needed to start learning the basics.
Luckily, he had a tireless teacher, and he began to follow the swordsman's actions.
However, this was easier said than done.
The swordsman had achieved an incredibly high level of comprehension, and the basic moves had been strung together into a flawless art.
At first, Yu Nianzhen could only make one move at a time.
He meticulously practised all the one hundred and eight variations, and when he was reasonably proficient, he began to string them together.
He didn't know how much time had passed, but after countless repetitions, Yu Nianzhen managed to practice all one hundred and eight sword variations in one continuous flow.
Unfortunately, he didn't get a chance to celebrate.
As soon as he finished the last move, the swordsman broke into nine golden lights, which drilled into Yu Nianzhen's body.
"Azhen…" Someone called, and Yu Nianzhen opened his eyes.
Jiang Yue was squatting beside him, and he had an anxious look on his face.
"Are you awake? Are you okay?"
Yu Nianzhen nodded, and Jiang Yue handed him a cup of water to quench his throat.
"How long was I unconscious?"
"Three weeks. The sect recruitment is tomorrow."
Yu Nianzhen was flabbergasted.
'Time in the void seems to flow differently than the real world.' He thought and then spoke.
"The black sword…"
Jiang Yue sighed and pointed at a pile of ashes in front of him.
Yu Nianzhen didn't quite understand, but he guessed that the black sword was a form of inheritance left by an ancient swordsman.
He remembered everything that happened, and he examined his body to look for changes.
To his surprise, there weren't any changes.
Although he retained the memory of the sword variations that he had learned, he couldn't find the nine runes that had flown into his body.
"Is something wrong?" Jiang Yue asked when he saw the frown on his face.
"I am not sure."
Yu Nianzhen explained everything but Jiang Yue was also at a loss.
"The runes don't seem to be harmful; you can ignore them for the time being."
Yu Nianzhen also thought so and put the matter to the back of his mind.
"What happened while I was unconscious?"
Jiang Yue laughed proudly and preened in front of Yu Nianzhen.
"I refined a few drops of stone milk, and my actual force value is almost catching up to my potential. I have also connected three meridians."
"At this rate, you will break through to the origin forging realm before I do."
"Of course." Jiang Yue became prouder, and Yu Nianzhen chuckled in amusement.
In fact, he didn't care who was first.