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Zayn and his uncle arrived at the house, which wasn't far from a wheat field. His aunt was sitting on a rocking chair, a ball of yarn in her lap, and two needles in her hands knitting tiny clothes for the baby that was soon to be born.
When Zayn and his uncle returned, his aunt struggled to rise from the rocking chair—she wanted to know if something had happened to make them return early from work. But the moment she saw the serious look on Zayn's uncle's face, and those eyes glowing with determination, she realized that the decision he had made was final. He looked like a man heading to the battlefield to protect those he loved, even though he knew that battlefield might be his death. And yet, he kept walking forward without fear.
"What…"
Before she could finish her sentence, her husband walked past her in silence. She was confused—this was the first time he had ever ignored her like that. She turned her gaze to Zayn, whose face showed no emotion.
She felt terrified by his expression. He looked terrifying, like someone heading to a battlefield knowing he would commit a massacre and return with the heads of the king and his generals.
Zayn passed by her without saying a word and followed in his uncle's footsteps as they entered the house.
His aunt felt something bad—something she didn't want unleashed into the world. She quickly followed them, and when she reached the attic where they were, she found Zayn and his uncle sitting across from each other, with a small box between them. Her heart pounded, and a dark feeling grew stronger. Before she could say anything, Zayn picked up the box and walked out without a single word.
She screamed at her husband, "Why did you tell him?! Why did you bring that thing out?! Why?!"
Tears streamed down her face as her husband replied with heavy words, like a mountain pushing through his throat: "What else could I do, when he wants to know the truth?"
She wanted to say something, but the words stuck in her throat and wouldn't come out. At that moment, Zayn was running at incredible speed, leaving only a faint shadow behind. As he ran, he thought about the contents of the box: the fang of a magical beast—and a letter.
Zayn searched for information about the fang, but found nothing that matched any known creature. His thoughts raced:
"This resembles the Moon Wolf's fang… but it's larger. The Moon Wolf is found in the western continent, and we're in the central plains... How is that possible?"
Zayn tried to come to a conclusion, but every path led to a dead end. Without realizing it, he had arrived at his personal training ground. He stood there, staring at the fang and the letter, lost in thought so deeply he didn't notice an entire hour had passed. Zayn closed his eyes, took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly and opened his eyes with calm.
"Whatever it is, I'll find the thread eventually. Since I'm here, I might as well train a little."
He pulled out the sword he used for training from his infinite storage space and began to swing it gently. Time passed slowly. The sun disappeared, the night crept in, and the moonlight spread, yet Zayn continued training.
He closed his eyes and stood straight, then raised his sword at a 90-degree angle above his head. {Moment of Freeze}
Suddenly, the world froze, everything turning gray. Zayn opened his eyes. {First Form – Slash of Darkness}
He swung his sword, unleashing a dark slash that tore through everything in its path. His attack caused massive destruction, but the sword cracked and shattered into pieces. Zayn looked at the sword's hilt:
"Looks like it couldn't withstand even a portion of that power… and I still can't use the first and second forms of Ashura's Sword Technique properly."
This move was the first and simplest technique of Zayn's sword style. The "Ashura Sword" style consisted of twelve techniques, each more complex, powerful, and deadly than the last. But don't be fooled by the simplicity of the first form—when Zayn was at his peak as a Celestial Demon, this move could slice through a mountain range like butter under a knife.
"And that 'Moment of Freeze' is really useful."
Zayn looked at the time and felt it was time to head back. "I should return—my uncle and aunt will worry about me."
As he prepared to leave, he noticed the letter was glowing. He examined it, and a map appeared on the back of the paper. A mountain range was drawn, with a mark at its center.
"When did this map appear?"
Zayn was shocked and excited. His hands trembled from excitement, as he recognized some of the locations. It was a range of icy mountains in the western continent, though there were some minor differences in the details.
"Was this a hidden map on the back of the letter?"
Zayn wasn't unfamiliar with such maps—he had seen many like them before. But how had this one appeared? Suddenly, the map started to fade. Luckily, Zayn had a photographic memory and memorized every detail.
He lifted his head and saw that the sun had fully set, then a flash of light passed through his eyes. "Was the hidden map revealed by sunset light? No… there's something else that activates it."
As he pondered, he noticed the full moon hanging in the sky. Suddenly, Zayn burst out laughing.
"Hahaha, that's it! In addition to the sunset light, the map also needed moonlight to be revealed!"
Zayn was happy because he was sure he had grabbed the end of a thread that would lead him to the origin of the pendant—the one that caused the strange mark on his chest. However, he felt that the location on the map wasn't unfamiliar, as if he had heard of it before… in his first life.
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Quickly, Zayn returned home, where he found his uncle and aunt waiting anxiously. As soon as they saw him, they both felt relieved, especially when they noticed that Zayn looked happy, even though they didn't know the reason behind his joy. But his happiness was enough to make them happy as well.
Zayn bowed respectfully and said, "Uncle, Aunt, I'm sorry for making you worry."
His uncle replied with a calm smile, "It's alright. What matters is that you're safe and at ease now." His voice carried a clear tone of support, as if he were declaring his approval for any decision Zayn would make.
His aunt nodded, but she couldn't hide the sadness in her eyes. Zayn stepped closer and hugged them warmly.
He said with emotion in his voice, "Honestly, I don't care who my real parents are, because my true mother and father are you two. It doesn't matter why they abandoned me—if they hadn't, I wouldn't have accepted you as my parents. I love you both… but I have to go."
They felt a bittersweet joy—Zayn considered them his real family, and yet he wanted to head out into the world.
His aunt said with a pleading tone, "Why do you want to leave? Stay here, play with your little brother or sister…"
Zayn pulled away and smiled, then said in a firm tone, devoid of any jest, "I want to… but I can't live an ordinary life. In the end… I am Zayn, the man who will dominate this era—and all eras, whether present, past, or future."
His aunt didn't try to convince him again. Everyone could feel that Zayn was born to be at the top.
They had dinner together, and before everyone went to sleep, his uncle gave him a piece of high-quality steel. He told him, "Zayn, I don't know if you can forge a weapon, but I trust you. This metal is strong and light—better than iron. Use it to craft your weapon until you find something even better."
Zayn felt a deep warmth in his heart. How could he ignore such love, running like a fool through life chasing meaningless affection?
The next day, after breakfast, Zayn headed with his uncle to the village forge. There, an old man in worn-out clothes, covered in soot, waited quietly.
The old man scoffed, "Can this kid really forge a weapon? Look at his skinny body… can he even lift a hammer?"
He was annoying, and Zayn's eyes flashed with disdain, but he said nothing. He simply let his uncle handle it.
Zayn entered the forge, took off his shirt, and shut the door tightly, leaving only a small glass window to show what was happening inside. He wanted to show that old man what it meant to be a true blacksmith—for the one standing there was a "Master of Iron and Flame."
He lit the furnace and began melting the steel, then pulled out the magical beast fang his uncle had given him. After melting both elements into a glowing red liquid, he grabbed the hammer, took a deep breath, and began forging.
Boom! Boom! Boom! The flames danced around him as if he were the Flame King himself. He breathed fire onto the metal and continued hammering, creating a fiery symphony.
The old man watched through the window in shock. He had expected failure, but what he saw was a master of iron and fire. He couldn't see Zayn's face, but his back looked like that of a demonic phantom, muscles rippling with power. Zayn's skin was flushed from the heat, yet he didn't stop. His strikes grew stronger, and at the same time, he was channeling his aura into the hammer and tongs, all while spitting fire from his mouth.
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