After returning to Cloud Catcher City, the first thing Xuan did was head straight to Glacial Heights Pavilion. Surprisingly enough, he hadn't forgotten about the huntress girl, whom he'd left with Elder Shuang for training in preparation for the soon-opening Flaming Sands Field.
In the short ti that he'd been away, the environnt and atmosphere here had changed quite a lot—partly due to the awakening of the System to the natives of this world that happened earlier this morning, but also partly due to sothing else. Sothing more… sinister. Xuan couldn't quite describe it, but he could feel that sothing dark lood over the horizon—and he had more than enough experience to trust in his instincts.
Still, that could be put aside for now. After about an hour of travel by carriage—and the sinking realization of just how slow transportation was without teleportation abilities or a flying sword—Xuan arrived at his destination: a snowy mountain near Sky Cloud Peak, slightly shorter but covered in ice and glaciers. Glacial Heights Pavilion sat at the top of this hill, and to get there, Xuan had to walk the rest of the way.
Or rather—that's what he thought.
But when he stepped out of the carriage and onto the foot of the mountain, he saw a beautifully-crafted gate there, lined with exquisite designs and glamorous texture. Standing on both sides of it were female disciples, both with cold yet elegant appearances. They wore graceful blue uniforms of silk, lined with angelic and pure white ribbons.
Naturally, Xuan assud they were disciples of Glacial Heights Pavilion.
"Good morning," Xuan said politely, walking over to them. "I'm here to see Elder Shuang. She should be expecting ."
The girls looked Xuan up and down cautiously for a brief mont, then one of them spoke.
"What's your na?"
"You can call Xuan."
"So it is honored guest Xuan," the other disciple sighed in relief. "Yes, Elder Shuang left a word with us about you. Please, follow ."
Saying that, she turned around and headed towards the snowy mountain. After exchanging nods with the remaining girl, Xuan followed after her.
*****
Monts later, Xuan found himself riding on what seed to be this world's version of an elevator.
A levitating platform took the two vertically upwards, all the way to the highest point of the mountain where Glacial Heights Pavilion's main buildings sat. Rather than being powered by electricity, however, it was powered by Qi, and that fact saved a lot of unnecessary wires or anything like that. It was just a floating platform, through and through—no strings attached.
The higher they went, naturally, the colder it got. It didn't bother Xuan that much since he'd endured worse conditions before, but it would be a lie if he said he felt 'comfortable'. With the Divine Dragon Body, he could endure plenty of heat, but the cold was a different matter. The disciples here, on the other hand, all cultivated the ice attribute, so this climate was of no concern to them.
Soon, the elevator ca to a stop, and Xuan and the disciple stepped out onto a path leading towards the ice castle known as Glacial Heights Pavilion. That wasn't just a taphor, either—it was literally a castle. Not quite completely made of ice, but close. At the very least, Xuan could say it looked beautiful, even by his extraordinarily high standards. Watchtowers rose from the snow-covered floor like giants, and the main castle building was just a few steps away.
"Right this way," said the girl disciple, leading Xuan towards a building in the distance, which he assud as the Elder Hall judging from the grandiose and pressuring air it was giving off. There were multiple powerful presences inside—Xuan could feel them.
Once they reached the doors, the girl flashed a token marking her identity, and the two guards stationed there gave a nod before letting her in. Xuan didn't fail to notice how everyone he'd seen here thus far were female, so he received glances everywhere he went—for better or worse. He imagined he'd receive even more if not for Ruo Xi's Brooch, but that was besides the point.
Once inside the Elder Hall, the girl led Xuan to a room with a naplate on it, and knocked three tis gently.
"Elder Shuang, are you there? This is Ru Lian. I've brought the honored guest you told us to keep an eye out for."
After a short second, from within the room ca a gentle, soothing voice.
"Co in."
The girl opened the door before turning to Xuan and giving a nod, prompting him to enter. He did as instructed, and the girl closed the door after he went in before returning to her duties. Inside the room, Elder Shuang sat at her desk, having been apparently filling in so docunts, and set down her pen before standing up and bowing.
"Welco, senior Xuan," she said, smiling, to which Xuan waved off with his hand.
"No need to be so polite—and calling 'senior' feels weird as I am right now. You should know the reason I'm here, and I don't like beating around the bush. How's her progress?"
"Of course. Yexin has been extraordinarily fast in her cultivation—almost too fast." Elder Shuang sighed, sitting back down in her chair. "I fear her foundations won't be good enough since she's rushing now, so when she reaches the higher levels, she'll encounter a bottleneck she won't be able to break…"
"… Hm. Yuxin… so that's her na?"
"Ye Yuxin to be particular, but wait… you didn't know her na all this ti?"
"No comnt."
"… Right." Elder Shuang looked dubious, but she continued nonetheless. "Well, either way, she's just broken through to the Flowing Qi stage, and should be resting now."
At this, Xuan's eyes widened a bit. "Flowing Qi? Already?"
"I told you, didn't I? That girl has monstrous cultivation speed. She's imnsely motivated by a certain desire she refuses to tell about, and often spends continuous nights without sleep or food in order to cultivate."
"…"
'Reminds of my old self,' Xuan thought. In his past life, he'd been like that too.
"Where is she now?" He asked. "The Flaming Sands Field is about to open, and before that, I'd like to take her sowhere."
"Oh? You seem to care an awful lot about her," Elder Shuang gave a giggle. "I wonder what Ancestral Founder will think when she finds out…"
"I have three wives other than her, and she does not mind," Xuan replied with a chuckle. "But if you think I'm taking that brat sowhere because I 'care' about her… you're horribly wrong."
With a devious grin, he spun around and looked towards the door. Elder Shuang, wearing a slightly frightened expression on her face, stepped in front of him to lead the way, as she wondered just what kind of place Xuan was going to be taking that poor girl.
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