"This world's a madhouse," Edward scoffed. "Ever consider those locked up might be the sane ones? Right now, I'm telling you, you're all chained up."
"Chained up? There are no chains on us," someone retorted.
"Where are the chains? I say this fool's not just crazy, he's blind too," another voice mocked.
"Yeah, he's a madman who thinks he's a genius," someone else chimed in.
"Who's really lost their marbles?" Yvonne defended her brother. "Can't you tell it's a metaphor?"
"Still, my sister's the one with her head on straight. Yes, I'm talking about the invisible chains binding you all," Edward elaborated,
"Almost everyone here is wearing them. I tell you they're there. Deep down, you all know their existence, but your brains simply want to deny it because you are afraid of losing them psychologically. In a way, you crave more invisible chains to bind you."
The crowd burst into wilder laughter.
"Who do you think you are, a philosophy king?" someone mocked.
"Forget it," Edward sighed. "I know I can't wake someone who's pretending to be asleep. You'll never achieve true awakening."
At that moment, Patriarch Charles launched a new round of sarcasm.
"I think everyone's got a point, Edward. Stop pretending to be a philosophy master and showing off your rhetoric here.
The admissions selection for Aurora Awakening Academy is coming up in a few days. You should think about how you're going to pass the selection exam."
"Charles is right," Elder Daniel with the white beard said. "Edward, don't take this lightly.
As the most famous awakening academy in the country, Aurora has a very low acceptance rate. You'll be faced with a fierce competition. Even some average-talented awakeners can't cut."
"If you can't pass the test, you're not allowed to mention your mother's legacy ever again," Charles added, his lips curving into a wide sneer.
"Don't worry, Patriarch, I'll make sure to disappoint you, ha-ha," Edward laughed confidently.
"He's really full of himself," someone muttered.
"He's not confident so much as ignorant! He doesn't realize that as a newly awakener with Inferior Talent, to pass the selection exam, he needs to quickly improve his combat abilities.
But that requires not only awakening new combat skills but also a lot of cultivation resources. Look at him, a poor pathetic, where does he have money to buy those resources?"
"He probably can get energy from the air, ha-ha!"
"You got it right. I am the one who can transform air into cultivation resources," Edward retorted honestly.
His words evoked a new fit of laughter.
"Let me tell you the shortest joke in the world—Edward! The end!" Suddenly, the leader of the Four Guardians, Merciless Sword, sneered.
"What do you think of my joke, everyone?"
"It's the best joke I've ever heard this year!" Steel Plate said, giving him a thumbs-up.
"It's the most creative joke I've ever heard. I didn't expect you to have such literary talent, big brother. I admire you!" Heartless Whip said, also giving him a thumbs up.
"It's also the most realistic joke," Ironclaw said. "Even the young master Mike, with his Super Talent, can't absorb cultivation energy straight from the air. What a joke!"
He also gave a thumbs-up to Merciless Sword, then slowly moved his thumbs down to Edward, sneering,
"From now on, I won't call you Edward. I'll call you 'Shortest Joke.' Haha."
"This name suits him."
"It's perfect for him."
The four of them clapped in unison, and even Patriarch Charles clapped his hands happily.
Some others in the crowd also clapped and cheered.
Yvonne, who was usually sharp-tongued, had to admit that the joke was well-crafted. She wanted to help her brother, but for a moment, she didn't know what to say.
Edward, however, didn't care and retorted,
"I'm afraid that after my upcoming fight with the so-called best young awakener of the clan, that title will have to go to him!"
"All right, Edward," the patriarch's smile quickly turned into an authoritative expression, "stop with your verbal battles. I'm not going to get into this with you anymore!
I have an announcement for you. As a newly awakened individual, you were supposed to receive a set of standard cultivation resources.
However, due to recent financial constraints within the family, we're going to have to withhold your resources for now. You'll have to figure something out on your own."
"How can this be?" Yvonne's eyes widened in disbelief, "This is a deliberate hardship for my brother."
Patriarch Charles thought to himself,
'what if I'm making things difficult for him?
I am the patriarch after all.
Anyone who dares to oppose me is asking for trouble!'
Edward turned to Yvonne and said with a confident smile,
"Forget it, sis, I'll handle it. Besides, those resources won't be much help to me anyway."
"Humph!" Yvonne snorted coldly at the patriarch, "I just don't get it. Humanity has entered the Age of Awakening, yet the evil in human nature hasn't changed at all."
"Edward is doomed. There's no way he can get into Aurora Awakening Academy."
"Yeah, he only has a few days left to train, and he doesn't have any cultivation resources."
"Truth is, even if the family gave him the top-tier cultivation resources, it would be too late."
"That's right, so the patriarch is wise. He knows better than to waste resources on a piece of trash."
Indeed, for Edward to pass the selection in just a few days was harder than climbing to the heavens, especially without cultivation resources.
Those with kind hearts in the crowd couldn't help but worry for Edward.
They knew that to enter the academy, he would at least have to become an ordinary awakener of at least level seven, just like the Four Guardians.
Given his current cultivation rate as an Inferior talent, it would likely take a decade or more to achieve that.
It was an impossible mission for him to go from level one to level seven in just a few days.
Even the young master Mike, with his Super Talent, had taken five years to reach that level.
But Edward was brimming with confidence. He thought,
'A few days? Too short?
For ordinary people, indeed too short.
But for me, ha-ha, too looooooooooong!
Charles, this time I, Edward, will slap your face hard for wanting to swallow what belongs to my sister and me. I will shatter your hopes!
The sins of the father should be paid by the son. It's fair, isn't it?
Of course, Charles's suggestion for me to join Aurora Awakening Academy wasn't a bad thing.
If I get in there, it'll be a good opportunity for him to see the world.
A crisis is also an opportunity. I'll jump at it!'