In the backyard of a certain building, a woman was sitting on the edge of the pond, dipping her feet into the cold water.

The woman's face was exceptionally emotionless. No one was able to tell if she was happy, sad, or somewhere in between, not even her family. She blankly looked at the sky with a pair of brilliant golden eyes, which she inherited from her father. But unlike him, she had straight, mellow green hair instead of fluffy white hair.

As she watched the clouds floating by, she couldn't help but remember the scene that day. Ominous black clouds filled the sky, and suddenly, a spear thrust itself down to earth, defeating the mighty tiger that she had always admired.

She vividly recalled the procreator of the said spear.

''Hah...''

Overwhelming. This was the only thing she could use to describe that person.

Calm and composed, yet graceful movements, together with such an extraordinary display of power. Kierra's image on that fateful day had imprinted into the woman's mind. She longed for the same power that Kierra had and wanted to stand where Kierra was...

''...''

Alas.

It seemed her father was not nearly good enough for Kierra to care. If he couldn't invite her to the Lightning Tiger Sect during this tournament, her chance of getting to know Kierra early would be ruined. She tried to get into the White Lotus Sect directly a few times, but she got rejected regardless.

''Tch.''

(╬≖_≖)

Stupid brother. Doing useless stuff...

Nevertheless, it would take at least a day or so for her father to get back here. In the meanwhile, she wanted to keep training.

As she got up and carefully wiped her feet, she heard faintly a commotion going on in the distance. So she quickly got into her shoes and headed in the direction where she heard it.

'The town?'

She noticed a crowd forming at the central plaza. Curious, she jumped on a tall building to get a proper view, and then—

''!!''

The woman immediately widened her eyes. Her brother and his partner were kneeling pitifully before a few people in the heart of the sect, no less. Even her father was present but could not do anything.

Now, she didn't care about any of that. Instead, that person was there!

'Kierra Scarlett Aspenova!'

She couldn't miss this chance.

Ignoring anything else, she immediately shot herself at where Kierra was, successfully turning their attention to her.

''...?''

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

Kierra, who had been watching this young master of the sect apologize to Yu Chen and Tian Yun, was puzzled at the woman's sparkling eyes.

''Shuren! You're here!''

Kang Jiang hurriedly went over and stroked his daughter's head affectionately.

''Father.''

The woman simply nodded.

Kang Jiang then turned to Kierra. ''Lord Kierra, this is my daughter that I talked about before. Her name is Kang Shuren, and she has always wanted to meet you.''

''Hm. Speak your business.'' Kierra responded.

Kang Shuren pondered. ''...Could we talk privately, please?''

''Sure. Lead the way.''

Yu Chen said she intended to wait until Bai Qing woke up so she could hear the young master's apology directly for the first time, so Kierra had some free time.

With Kierra following her, Kang Shuren couldn't help but feel excited. Her chance had arrived, and she needed to seize it!

''Hmph!''

''...?''

'What is wrong with this kid...'

Not knowing Kierra's first impression of herself, Kang Shuren happily guided the archwizard into the backyard earlier. Once inside, she took out a chair for Kierra and herself. The two sat down facing each other.

''Lord Kierra, from that day, I have always admired your might.'' Kang Shuren said. ''So please, take me in as your disciple.''

Looking at the woman bowing her head, Kierra replied. ''I thought I said your sect would be trained later?''

Kierra had no intention of leaving out potential wizards, and this sect was hers anyway, so she announced that she would be searching for disciples here sometime in the future.

Kang Shuren lifted her head to look at Kierra with her pleading eyes. ''I really want to become stronger. Please.''

From childhood, Kang Shuren was always absorbed in cultivation. She found the idea of improving herself further and further until she became an immortal fascinating. So, she ignored almost everything else and devoted herself to the practice. After more than a hundred years, she was able to build a decent cultivation base, but as of right now, she was encountering a bottleneck.

She told all of that to Kierra while carefully watching her reaction.

Kierra, most of the time, had an emotionless face, plus this kind of story wasn't new to her, so the response was lukewarm at best. After thinking a bit, she spoke.

''This will entirely depend on your talent in magic. As you know, I don't teach cultivation.''

''I want to try magic.''

''Good. We will see how you do.''

''Thank you.''

Kierra looked away for a moment. She saw magnificent mountains, spectacular greenery, and good scenery overall. ''Prepare yourself. I will check your talent in a minute.'' Kierra spoke. She wanted to appreciate this sight some more.

''Of course.'' Kang Shuren replied excitedly, not that her face showed any of it.

'Mission success...!''

Internally, Kang Shuren was overjoyed. In actuality, she wasn't that interested in becoming the strongest there was. Sure, she would prefer having some strength rather than not, and she also found cultivation to be mildly fun, but it couldn't be called her life goal. She didn't believe she had one until she met Kierra.

The moment she saw the archwizard, her whole mind was shifted. Aside from strength, she desperately wanted to become domineering like Kierra!

Being able to crush anybody with raw power, dominate their souls and bodies with mere gestures, on top of that, possess an inhumanely beautiful exterior.... how cool is that...!

Kang Shuren was determined. One day, she would—

''Shuren, was it?''

''Y-Yes?''

''Tell me, what do you cultivate for?''

''Ah?''

Kierra, who had suddenly remembered the question Yu Chen asked her disciples the other day, was curious to hear about this woman's goal. She herself didn't have one specifically. Yu Chen said it was important in cultivation, so it might be wise to come up with one for herself.

Meanwhile, Kang Shuren:

!!! ∑(° Д °ノ)ノ

Although she didn't show, she was sweating buckets. Did Kierra see through her dirty intentions...?! Is this a test, or a threat...?

With such questions brewing in her head, Kang Shuren nervously answered. ''...For myself.''

''Elaborate.''

''I... wanted to find a purpose for my life, something I'm passionate about... and although cultivation didn't help me find it, I think I do know now. Thanks to magic.''

'Thanks to you, Kierra.'

''I see.''

Kierra was satisfied with this answer. Right when she was about to stand up and begin checking Kang Shuren, someone barged into the yard.

''Bad news!'' The man shouted. ''A powerful demon was detected nearby just a moment ago!''

''What...?!'' Kang Shuren stood up in shock.

'Demon?'

Kierra had gone to war with those things back in her world. So there was something similar even here...