The girl's dark, vacant eyes stared intently back at him. The soft mountain breeze rustled her neatly tied, long black hair, yet Crescent remained frozen, words caught in his throat.
…There was nothing to say.
Vera alternated her gaze between Crescent and Aiden, her discomfort with the silence palpable. Still, she was astute enough to realize that the issue had been resolved.
"You've heard what was said, First Young Master. Now, we will take our leave," Aiden declared.
"...Very well," ca the reluctant response.
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The humiliation of being outmaneuvered by a fourteen-year-old girl clung to Crescent. Forcing the matter further would lead only to disgrace. And yet, her cutting remark had struck him deeply, forcing him to confront his current state of mind.
With a heavy sigh, he buried his head in his hands, fingers gripping at his disheveled hair before he straightened and exhaled heavily.
"...My apologies."
"It is fine," Vera replied curtly.
"The dead... he wasn't just a guard. He was my friend," Crescent began, voice laden with sorrow. "We grew up together. He sparred with , trained with ... and now, he's been so brutally taken."
As he smoothed back his unruly hair, Crescent composed himself enough to offer a deep bow to Vera and Aiden.
"I am Crescent, the First Young Master of the Everstone Clan. I do not know why you seek out my youngest sibling, but I hope you find what you need. I will take my leave."
Raising his head, Crescent t Vera's eyes once more—purely by coincidence this ti.
'...This child is... intriguing.'
Her black, hollow eyes, her pale, porcelain-like skin, her small lips, and her delicate fingers—all accentuated her petite fra. As a practitioner of formations, Crescent was attuned to the harmony of the natural world: yin and yang, the five elents, the six directions, and the eight trigrams. Sothing about Vera radiated an unusual, almost otherworldly, destiny.
'I've read about this sowhere... though I've never seen it in person.'
The vague mory danced at the edge of his mind, elusive and incomplete. Of course, it made sense. He had never encountered a Celestial Blade Star before.
As Vera followed her master, Aiden, past Crescent, she felt compelled to glance back. Their eyes locked once more.
'...She sensed my gaze?'
A glimr of surprise flickered in Crescent's mind. She was aware of him watching her—his silent judgnt.
'She's wary of ,' he thought, his stare full of unease.
It was the sa disquiet anyone felt when facing the unknown. The sa wariness shone in his gaze, but Vera no longer flinched from such things.
She had Aiden, a master who had risked his life for her. She had senior disciples who would shield her with their blades. She had made companions, built bonds, and forged alliances in blood and fire.
With the Young Master of Akrest Clan, Theron, she had shared thoughts about the world. Alongside Master Nathaniel of the Iron Fist Sect, she had saved lives and faced assassins. She had personally struck down the Great Curved Blade, Ashen, and had even ended the life of Kieran, the Vice Commander of Akrest's Midnight Celestial Pavilion.
Her hands, stained with countless lives and entwined with countless fates, would summon as much blood as needed and walk alongside those connections.
Turning her attention back to her master, she crossed the threshold into the Everstone Clan's estate.
The Hidden Retreat of Everstone
Though the Everstone Clan did not own all of Mount Eternity, parts of it were theirs. Among these was a secluded retreat, carved into the mountain itself.
This retreat served as a training ground for their elders, bolstered by formation arrays that drew on the natural energy of the earth and supplied with countless pristine fasting pills. It was a sacred, impenetrable sanctuary, safeguarded by formations that distorted perception.
For Aria, the retreat's architect and maintainer, these protections posed no barrier. Her mastery allowed her to step effortlessly past the traps, bypassing tripwires and threads of silk woven from Heavenly Silk Spider threads.
After traversing the cavern, she reached the center where her father, Edwin, sat cross-legged in deep ditation.
"...Clan Lord," she addressed softly.
Everstone Clan, Inner Chambers
Aria called out softly, her voice echoing faintly through the serene cavern. At her words, Edwin slowly opened his eyes from his ditative position. His gaze betrayed no trace of pleasure.
"Weren't you in seclusion? I forbade anyone from entering," he said, his tone asured.
"There's a struggle over the position of the next successor," she replied evenly.
"You speak of Crescent and Son?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.
"Yes," confird Aria.
A flicker of sharpness crossed Edwin's features.
"The matter of succession is vital. I encouraged their rivalry deliberately. What is the issue?"
"Crescent's personal guard, Julian, has been killed."
"...Julian?" he repeated, his tone carrying a trace of disbelief.
Julian, the handpicked guard Edwin had assigned to his son. The man wasn't rely a subordinate but a companion since childhood—a friend as close as blood.
Naturally, suspicion would fall on Son, Crescent's rival for the position of clan heir. Even considering the tension between them, this went far beyond simple enmity. Killing a friend who was like family? That wasn't just rivalry—it was a line no one in the Everstone Clan was supposed to cross.
"...The martial world may be governed by blood and steel," Edwin murmured, standing from his seat. His sharp eyes glead, cutting through the darkness of the cavern.
His tall, lean fra betrayed none of his age. Beneath his robes, his sinewy build radiated an imposing strength.
"But within the Everstone Clan, I swore this would not be the way."
With that, Edwin broke his half-year seclusion.
The Guest Pavilion
"The Inner Chamber Mistress has stepped away montarily. Please wait here for a short while," the attendant said, leading Vera and Aiden to the guest pavilion.
The pavilion was designed for receiving guests, with a spacious first-floor gallery and large, private rooms on the upper floors.
"You may use the second room on the second floor," the attendant added, bowing slightly.
"Thank you for your guidance," replied Aiden, returning the gesture politely. Following his example, Vera also bowed her head.
The attendant seed visibly flustered by their courtesy. After all, it was rare for a Disciple of Suncrest, let alone its second-ranked student, to bow to a re servant.
"Th-there's no need to show such formality toward …" the attendant stamred.
"Gratitude does not distinguish between ranks," Aiden replied calmly.
At a loss for words, the attendant bowed deeply and hurried away, clearly overwheld.
Watching the attendant's retreating figure, Vera and Aiden sat on a cushioned bench in the gallery and exhaled simultaneously.
"...Could it be the Bloodshadow Pavilion again, Master?" Vera asked, her tone quiet but heavy with suspicion.
"It seems likely," Aiden admitted.
Few had experienced the techniques of the Bloodshadow Pavilion and lived to tell the tale. The vast majority of their victims never had the chance to escape.
Even Marcus, who had survived their blade, had only done so by intentionally positioning himself to take a non-lethal wound. Otherwise, he would have perished instantly.
"You ntioned it yourself—the sinister killing intent. It's the hallmark of their blade techniques."
"Yes, Master. That sa oppressive energy lingered in Senior Brother Marcus's scars."
"Such malevolence," Aiden murmured.
The unique characteristic of the Bloodshadow Pavilion's techniques was the intense murderous energy imbued in their strikes. Just as the martial arts of the Iron Fist Sect radiated the light of Buddhist origins and Celestial Sword Sect's techniques embodied the serene harmony of Taoism, the Bloodshadow Pavilion's thods were steeped in malevolence.
"Could it be the Midnight Celestial Pavilion?" Aiden pondered aloud.
"The Akrest Clan... they did deploy the Midnight Celestial Pavilion to target ," Vera replied, her voice steady but contemplative.
She began reviewing past events in her mind. The Deputy Leader of the Division, Kieran, had ambushed her during ditation. Along the journey to the Fiery Blade clan, they had even gone as far as harming a disciple of the Iron Fist Sect to distract Valen.
In the end, even the Division's leader had resorted to holding Sev's sister hostage to force an attempt on Vera's life. But all of them had fallen to Jordan, leaving the Midnight Celestial Pavilion in shambles.
"It's plausible. Whoever orchestrated this may have chosen the timing of our arrival at the Everstone Clan for a reason."
"That seems reasonable," Aiden agreed.
After all, their past encounters had followed a similar pattern.
Yet Vera's brow furrowed slightly, her unease evident.
"But sothing doesn't sit right," she added.
"What troubles you?" asked Aiden.
"...The Midnight Celestial Pavilion lost both its leader and deputy not long ago."
Without its leaders, the organization would have lost its focus. While it could still function under direct orders from the Akrest Clan, its autonomy would have been crippled.
"Moreover, with such critical losses, it's unlikely the Akrest Clan would risk moving hastily."
"You're suggesting this wasn't orchestrated by the Akrest Clan?" Aiden's tone sharpened slightly, curiosity piqued.
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