The morning sun cast long shadows across the cliffside as Damon closed the villa door behind them for the last time.

The air was crisp, carrying the distant scent of pine and the faint, ever-present hum of spiritual energy from the sect’s central formations.

Ariel stood beside him, her small travel pack slung over one shoulder, her expression a mix of nervousness and resolve.

Mio and Mia flanked them, their core disciple robes a stark white against the greenery, while Neko perched on Damon’s shoulder, her tail twitching with curiosity.

"It’s not far, but the path is steep. The spiritual pressure increases the higher you go." Mia said while pointing toward the towering peaks where the core disciple residences.

"I can feel it already," Ariel whispered, her breath forming a small cloud in the cool air.

Damon glanced at her. Her bloodline should help her adapt, but the jump from the outer disciple areas to the heart of the sect’s power was significant.

"Let’s go," he said, and they started walking.

The stone path wound upward, wide enough for three to walk abreast. They passed the familiar training grounds and meditation pavilions of the outer disciple zone, where early risers were already practicing forms or sitting in lotus position.

Heads turned as they passed. Whispers trailed after them like ghosts.

"That’s him... the one who killed Jack Frostborn."

"With a single strike, they say."

"And he’s with the Nightrider twins? Since when?"

"Look, that’s Ariel Aquaria. She was just promoted yesterday. Why is she heading up there?"

Damon ignored them, his gaze fixed ahead. The golden patterns deep within his irises shifted almost imperceptibly as he activated his Incubus Celestial Eyes for a moment, scanning the spiritual pressures around them.

Most were weak, flickering candles in the wind. A few stronger auras glowed from the inner disciple quarters they now left behind. Ahead, the core disciple court blazed like a constellation of fallen stars.

’So many powerful cultivators concentrated in one place. This is where the real resources are. This is where I need to be.’

The air grew thinner and colder as they climbed. The path became a staircase carved directly into the mountain rock, each step humming with embedded formation scripts that amplified the ambient energy.

Ariel’s steps began to slow, her breaths coming quicker. Damon reached back and took her hand without a word.

A surge of his own yang qi, warm and steady, flowed into her through their linked fingers. She gasped softly, then straightened, her pace evening out.

"Thank you," she murmured, her cheeks flushing.

Mio grinned over her shoulder. "Showing off already, Damon?"

"Just keeping my woman on her feet," he replied, his tone light but his grip firm.

The architecture changed as they entered the core disciple court. The wooden buildings of the lower sect gave way to structures of pale blue stone and silvered timber, each mansion separated by manicured gardens and small, private training yards.

Elder Selene’s mansion stood at the end of a secluded lane, a masterpiece of glacial architecture. It looked less like a building and more like a giant, multifaceted crystal that had grown from the mountain.

Its surfaces shimmered with reflected light, and a gentle, pale mist drifted around its foundations. The door was a single slab of polished blue ice, etched with intricate, swirling patterns that pulsed with a soft, cold light.

They stopped before it. The silence here was profound, broken only by the distant cry of a high-flying spirit eagle.

"Well, This is it. Mom’s probably inside too, knowing her." Mio said.

Damon released Ariel’s hand and stepped forward. He raised his fist to knock, but before he could make contact, the icy door slid sideways without a sound, melting away into the wall.

Elder Selene stood in the entrance hall. She wore simpler robes today, a pale grey that made her silver hair and ice-blue eyes seem even more striking. Her expression was unreadable.

But Damon’s eyes saw what hidden from the surface. A torrent of conflicting desires—curiosity about sword aura, frustration at her own stalled progress, a deep, ingrained loneliness, and a sharp, bitter resentment toward the Frostborn family that had both raised and confined her.

"You’re early." she said, her voice like wind over a frozen lake.

"We saw no reason to wait," Damon answered, meeting her gaze evenly.

Selene’s eyes flicked over Ariel, then to Neko on his shoulder. Her brow furrowed slightly at the sight of the cat. "What is that?"

"She is my companion, she stays with me." Damon stated.

For a moment, Selene looked like she might argue. Then she gave a single, curt nod. "Very well. Enter. Your quarters already prepared."

The interior was as breathtaking as the outside. The walls, floor, and ceiling were all made of the same translucent blue ice, but it was not cold.

A comfortable, ambient warmth radiated from somewhere, and the light that filtered through the walls was soft and diffuse.

The main hall was spacious, with a few simple furnishings of dark wood that provided stark contrast. Doors led off to other rooms.

Mei Nightrider was there, leaning against a far wall with a lazy smile. She looked utterly at home. "Took you long enough, I was beginning to think you’d gotten lost."

"Mother," Mio and Mia said in unison, their tones a mix of affection and exasperation.

Selene ignored the exchange. She pointed to a hallway on the left. "Arcknight, your room is there. Aquaria, yours is was there. The training arena is through the rear passage. We will begin after you have settled. We have six months until the Eastern Continent tournament. There is no time to waste."

Her gaze pinned Damon. "You will show me everything you know about sword aura. In return, I will push you and your... companion to the absolute limits of your current realms. Do you understand?"

"Perfectly," Damon said.

"Good. Dismissed." 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

She turned and walked away, her robes whispering against the icy floor, leaving them standing in the shimmering hall.

Ariel let out a breath she seemed to have been holding for minutes. "She’s... intense."

"That’s Elder Selene," Mia confirmed quietly.

Mei pushed off the wall and sauntered over. She stopped in front of Damon, her dark eyes gleaming with amusement and something else.

"Welcome to the ice palace, little dragon. Try not to melt everything."

She reached out and ruffled Mio’s hair, then Mia’s, before turning to leave. "I’ll be around. Girls, don’t cause too much trouble."

With that, she vanished, her form dissolving into shadows that seeped into the cracks of the ice.