Half an hour ago…
In a lavish chamber tucked deep within the sect, far from the roaring cheers of the Dueling Arena, a woman lounged gracefully on a luxurious bed.
She watched the Monthly Dueling Event unfold on a massive Spiritual Screen, a crystal wine cup delicately held in her hand.
She took a sip, savoring the taste as a delighted sigh escaped her lips.
"Kyaaa… This is divine. I can feel my entire body being rejuvenated," she murmured with pleasure.
A sly smile curved her lips as she swirled the wine in her cup.
"A decade… It's been a full decade since I last tasted this. And to think—I caught its scent the very day I arrived at the Supreme Dao Sect."
"How could I possibly miss it? Naturally, I helped myself to a bottle from the Sect Master's Premium Wine Collection…"
She let out a soft chuckle.
"What would he do if he found out, I wonder?"
Her voice was playful, tinged with amusement.
"Come on, so what if I didborrowed a bottle? I handed over absurdly expensive weapons and enough Spirit Stones to bankrupt a minor sect… just to visit their precious little prodigy."
"Surely… a little entertainment is the least I deserve."
Her eyes glinted with mischief as the rim of the cup touched her lips.
"Ahh… Nothing compares to the wines of the Sleeping Dragon Continent and the Crimson Leaf Continent."
She paused, savoring the taste, then added with a smirk.
"Even those grumpy old dwarves trade their finest weapons for a single bottle. That says everything."
Her gaze drifted off for a moment, lost in nostalgia.
This wine… it brings back memories.
Yes—memories of taking whatever caught my eye. Of borrowing without shame or hesitation.
"Sarah may think I'm here on official business… investigating threats to the continent or something noble like that," she muttered with a grin.
"But the real reason I came to this continent…"
She raised the cup again, letting the wine catch the light.
Its hue shimmered through the glass—an icy, translucent color that glowed like frozen starlight.
"…was for this—the Immortal Ice Heart Wine."
Her smile faded.
"…And the second reason…" she whispered, the playfulness vanishing from her eyes.
Her expression turned solemn as her gaze returned to the screen, sharp and unwavering.
The battle between Yi Ran and Yang Lie was reaching its climax.
Mysterious as moonlight and laced with mischief, this woman was Elenora Nyxveil—the illustrious Dean of Astral Dawn Academy, an overlord institution nestled in the blazing heart of the Rising Flame Continent.
A Peak Level 9th-Circle Archmage, cloaked in legend and immense power, she was hailed as one of the Ten Supreme Beings of her continent—among the most formidable mages to ever grace the Land of Sorcery.
On the screen, Yang Lie staggered back, blood dripping from his broken nose after taking a brutal strike from Yi Ran's saber hilt.
Gritting his teeth, he popped a Healing Pill into his mouth and forced himself to stand.
A golden glow enveloped him as he activated his Heavenly Peerless Sword Body.
"Yi Ran!" he shouted, eyes burning with determination. "Let's see if you can still touch me now!"
Yi Ran, calm and poised as ever, tilted her head slightly.
"Oh? You finally activated your physique?" she said with a smirk. "You should have done that from the start. I told you… come at me with everything."
With his physique amplifying his speed, Yang Lie became a golden blur, flashing across the arena.
In a heartbeat, he closed the distance—just few meters from Yi Ran—his sword raised high as radiant golden light surged along its edge.
He murmured under his breath, voice low and steady—
"Cloud Slashing Sword Technique…
Second Form—Drifting Cloud Slash!"
SHOOOSH!
The power of this move had increased fivefold since he last used it in the Mystic Evergreen Forest—thanks to the relentless, month-long training he endured in preparation for this Dueling Event.
A surge of violent Golden Sword Aura, infused with the full force of the technique, hurtled toward Yi Ran like a crashing wave of destruction.
Yi Ran's eyes narrowed.
"Mmm… Not bad," she said, watching the wave of sword aura rushing toward her.
"This would be quite dangerous… if I were anyone else."
"Out of respect for you, I will now unleash my Epic-Grade Technique, which I've only just managed to reach the Early-Stage of."
"W-What? E-Epic-Grade?" Yang Lie stammered, his voice laced with disbelief.
"S-Still, she can't possibly stop it… It's only the Early-Stage, after all. Not with the full force of my move, amplified by my physique—this should be unstoppable!"
The corner of Yi Ran's lips twitched as she shifted into a stance.
Feet shoulder-width apart. Knees bent.
Her dominant hand gripped her saber tightly, blade angled skyward in a steep diagonal.
She channeled her spiritual energy into the blade, fusing it with her Purple Saber Aura.
The air around her shimmered and distorted.
The pressure in the arena plummeted. The atmosphere turned dreamlike, surreal.
In a voice barely louder than a whisper, she uttered:
"False Heaven Cleave Technique…
First Form—Illusory Sky Severance."
SWOOSH!
Her blade swung in a single, fluid arc—from high right to low left—leaving behind a shimmering crescent of energy that distorted the very space it passed through.
The energy slash collided with Yang Lie's technique, and in a heartbeat, his attack was unraveled, shattered like glass against the tide.
The aftermath of the collision sent shockwaves through the entire arena, leaving the spectators in stunned silence.
Yang Lie stumbled back, eyes wide with disbelief.
"One of my strongest move… wiped out so easily?" he gasped. "She hasn't even activated her physique yet… How can this be?"
"Is... Is this the power of an Epic-Grade Technique, even at just the Early-Stage?"
"I've already reached the Master-Stage in this sword technique," Yang Lie growled under his breath, eyes burning with unyielding determination.
"It's far more powerful now than it was back in the forest. I… I refuse to accept this defeat."
He staggered slightly, then swiftly withdrew, keeping his distance. The last thing he wanted was to close the gap and have his nose shattered at her hands once more.
That single attack had already drained a third of his spiritual energy, and with his Sword Aura constantly devouring more, his reserves were nearly spent.
Yet, he clenched his fists tighter.
"This move… it'll drain me completely. But if I'm going down, I'll make sure she falls with me."
"Only then will I have a chance to face Xue Taiyang… and complete the special mission."
He drew a deep breath and stepped forward, his aura erupting like a final flame before death.
"This move… it could now wipe out a group of ten Mid-Stage Foundation Establishment cultivators."
Then, with a roar that shook the arena, he raised his sword skyward.
"Cloud Slashing Sword Technique…
Third Form—Falling Rain Strike!"
SWOOSH!
SWOOSH!
SWOOSH!
From the sky above, a golden storm burst forth.
Countless sword auras rained down like divine punishment, each drop humming with lethal force.
It was beautiful—deadly and blinding.
It was three times stronger than when he had used it to eliminate the assassin from the inner sect in the forest.
Yi Ran lifted her gaze, watching the descending storm with an unreadable expression.
"Mmm. Now this is better," she mused, tilting her head. "A wide-area assault… It would've been quite effective against a group of enemies."
She smiled faintly.
"But against me?"
Her eyes narrowed, and the smirk that formed was cold, confident, and utterly assured.
"It's still not enough."
She exhaled slowly, lifting her right arm, the saber poised delicately in her grasp. Her left hand extended with effortless grace, as if tracing the air itself.
Then she began to move.
"Dancing Mirage Saber Technique…
Third Form—Dancing Mirage Steps."
WHOOSH!
Her body became a blur of elegance.
Every motion flowed seamlessly into the next—feet gliding across the arena with ghost-like grace.
Her pink hair streamed around her like trailing silk, and in that moment, she seemed to transcend the very laws of motion.
To those watching, it was as if she was dancing amidst a storm, flitting between raindrops without a single one daring to touch her.
Sword auras slammed into the ground, splitting stone and shattering tiles—but she remained untouched, weaving through the storm with surreal beauty.
It was ethereal. Dreamlike.
"Oh, impressive. This girl clearly knows what she's doing," the dean remarked with a nod of approval.
"Impossible…" Yang Lie whispered, his voice hoarse. "That was my strongest move… and she dodged it… not with a pure footwork art—but with a movement form within a original saber technique?"
"She couldn't have done that unless she had complete mastery over her technique."
His sword trembled in his hand.
The last of his spiritual energy flickered out like a dying candle.
Yi Ran stepped forward, her saber resting lazily on her shoulder, her expression calm… almost indifferent.
"Is that all?" she asked softly. "Then you were never worth going all out for."
Her tone was not arrogant—it was absolute.
Yang Lie stood motionless.
Exhausted. Defeated. Yet… unyielding.
"I... can't accept this. I will... never accept this!" Yang Lie screamed, his voice trembling with fury.
"I am the Destined Son of Heaven—born to command respect, to bathe in glory!"
Then—
He muttered something under his breath—inaudible, mysterious.
Suddenly—spiritual energy surged around him, defying all logic, flaring up from nothingness like fire rekindled from ash.
The crowd erupted into chaos.
"What's going on?! He was completely drained just moments ago!"
"Is he… breaking through? In the middle of battle?! How... is that even possible?!"
"People train for years to break through in traditional way, and here he is, doing it in the heat of combat!"
"So this is what they mean by 'Heavenly Genius'… It's beyond belief."
"Becoming a Qi Solidification cultivator under twenty is already remarkable, but he's only seventeen and will soon step into the Foundation Establishment Realm!"
"Yi Ran's already at the Peak of Foundation Establishment Realm at eighteen. They're both literal monsters."
"Heaven is so unfair. When will we ever reach their level?"
"Maybe... never."
...
"Oh? He's advancing in the middle of a fight?" The Dean said, swirling her wine in a glass with a knowing smirk.
"That's the mark of a true genius. Since ancient times, only the real prodigies can achieve enlightenment while in battle."
Then—
BOOM!
BOOM!
Two explosions of energy rocked the arena.
In a single, breathtaking moment, Yang Lie broke through not once—but twice—soaring from the Eighth Stage to the very Peak of the Qi Solidification Realm.
"I'll defeat you first—then I'll deal with that loser too!" Yang Lie roared as he charged toward her.
Yi Ran raised a brow, mildly surprised. But not shaken. She had expected no less from one hailed as a prodigy.
And yet—he was still not her match.
Yang Lie roared, golden aura blazing wildly around him as he lunged forward, each strike more desperate than the last.
Their blades clashed, again and again, shattering the ground beneath them, splintering stone, tearing through the arena like a storm.
But talent alone could not bridge the chasm between them.
Not against her.
A Destined Daughter of Heaven.
Had it been anyone else—even a peak Foundation Establishment cultivator—they would've fallen instantly beneath his blade.
With cold precision, Yi Ran dismantled him—one blow at a time.
In a final exchange, she struck him down, his body crashing to the shattered ground below.
"I… I've lost," Yang Lie whispered, disbelief thick in his voice. "I feel… frustrated. Powerless…"
The Dean raised her cup, watching the duel's conclusion with growing interest.
"Extraordinary," she murmured. "Both of them."
She studied Yang Lie with a curious eye.
"That boy… he's the newly awakened inheritor of their ancestor's Heavenly Physique—Yang Lie, a rising star of the Supreme Dao Sect.
Still green, perhaps, but in time, his brilliance will ignite and shine like a blazing sun."
Her gaze shifted to Yi Ran, her smile returning.
"But that girl… now she's also a prodigy. Calm, refined, and ruthless. She fights not with power alone—but with mastery."
She leaned back on the bed, swirling her wine.
"In a few short years… their names will echo across the entire continent—perhaps even the world. Of that, I have no doubt."
But still…
I can't sense even the faintest trace of Mana from either of them.
Which means… they're not the one I'm searching for.