gulp—!

Walking meekly behind the strange woman, Bai Qing could not help but gulp nervously.

Previously, she and her junior martial sister went out to complete a task from her sect and luckily found a Foundation Establishment Pill. On the way back, though, they were ambushed by the people of the Lightning Tiger Sect.

They were tailing them all along!

When all hope was lost, somehow this woman appeared and easily took care of those people, including an elder of that sect. She even healed the two.

Too strong!

'So this is the composure of a Fusion Stage cultivator...'

Bai Qing and the little martial sister looked at the woman's back in admiration. In reality, Kierra didn't even know what a cultivator was, she'd barely calmed the girls down after chasing that man away.

Kierra was thanked repeatedly, then got an offer to follow them so they could 'repay this debt'. Needless to say, Kierra agreed. She had nowhere to go anyway.

''So, what did that man do?''

Suddenly, Kierra spoke, her step never stopped.

''You mean...?'' Bai Qing asked.

''Literally, what spell did that man cast? I've never seen it before.''

''Eh? Erm...'' Bai Qing pondered. ''I think he just made a dragon out of his qi...?''

The three fell into a brief silence as Kierra was processing what in the hell was 'qi'.

''...Firstly.'' Kierra said. ''Calling that thing a dragon is an insult to real dragons. Got it?''

''Y-Yes...!''

''Secondly, explain to me what 'qi' is.''

(꒪⌓꒪) (꒪⌓꒪)

'Huh?'

The two girls were confused as hell. Was she trolling?

''So... qi is essentially the life force that exists in all things. It can be cultivated by people who are qualified and be used for many things...'' Bai Qing explained anyway.

''The energy inside your body right now is also qi?''

Kierra turned back and stared at them expressionlessly.

''Y-Yes. Um... are you testing us...?''

''No?''

They continued walking. Kierra decided not to ask anything further, mainly because she thought that the scope she was dealing with was much bigger than she'd expected. She wanted a whole session in a calm place.

'This is exciting.'

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

In any case, the fact that the people here got stronger by harnessing a completely different energy than mana piqued her interest. And it seemed like they couldn't feel mana as well. How peculiar.

Eventually, the three decided to up their speed by switching to flight. They quickly arrived at Qinling Peak—one of the four peaks belonging to the White Lotus Sect, of which Bai Qing was the first disciple.

When Kierra flew here, she'd noticed there was some kind of protective arrangement surrounding this whole peak range as well. She could easily break through it, but the structure of it was interesting nonetheless.

''Thank you so much for this, elder martial sister!''

''Don't worry about it; go back and try your best.''

The little martial sister left with the pill. Bai Qing was already in the middle of the Foundation Establishment Stage, so she didn't particularly need that pill.

''Now, now. Please follow me, dear benefactor.'' Bai Qing turned to Kierra.

''Alright.''

Kierra followed Bai Qing into a relatively big house on the peak. The architecture was certainly foreign for the archwizard, but she thought that this wasn't bad for a poor house.

Inside the house, Kierra could feel eight or nine more girls, some staying in their own rooms alone, some gathered in groups. And above all, a woman stronger than all of these girls, including Bai Qing, was in a large room.

And that was precisely where Bai Qing took her.

clack—!

''Master, I'm back.''

On the excessively large tatami floor, a woman is sitting serenely in a lotus position. She wore a bleach-white cultivation robe, which was in total contrast with her pitch-black hair that cascaded down her shoulder to the floor.

The woman slowly opened her eyes, revealing a pair of brilliant purple eyes—like amethysts. Those, combined with her exquisite facial and body features, created an unreasonable beauty.

''So you have.'' The woman spoke, her voice soft, almost like a whisper. ''Come inside; I'm sure you have something to tell me.'' She looked at Kierra.

Because Kierra was used to sitting on chairs, not on floors, she made a simple wooden chair and sat down. Besides, she liked looking at things from above.

'''' ... ''''

''...Let me introduce both sides first.'' Bai Qing cleared her throat before she spoke. ''This person here is Yu Chen—the martial master of Qinling Peak, also my master.''

Yu Chen nodded at Kierra, and Kierra nodded at Yu Chen.

''And this person is my benefactor, Kie-Kierr...''

''Kierra Scarlett Aspenova.'' The archwizard corrected Bai Qing, who seemed to be struggling to pronounce her name.

Kierra then nodded at Yu Chen, and Yu Chen nodded at Kierra.

''Yes, so what happened was—'

Bai Qing told the whole story to Yu Chen, who quietly listened, only frowning when the ambush was mentioned.

''...I see. So that was what happened...'' Yu Chen said quietly; glimpses of cold murderous intent could be seen in her eyes. ''Don't worry, Bai Qing; I will not tolerate this kind of behavior from them.''

''M-Master...!''

''I will make them pay the price. Let me use [Divine Sight] to look for them.''

Bai Qing watched intently, and admiration filled her eyes. [Divine Sight] was a skill almost exclusive to her master, allowing her to peer into far distances—an omniscient eye!

Yu Chen's eyes began to glow intensely.

''Hm... it seems as though they are back at their sect.'' Yu Chen said.

''They seem quite angry.''

''Exactly. And... Hm?''

The two people of Qinling looked blankly at Kierra, whose left eye now had a brilliant golden color.

(꒪⌓꒪) (꒪⌓꒪)

''What?'' Yu Chen tilted her head in confusion.

''What?'' Kierra asked back.

⌈Clairvoyance—7★⌋—a spell that Kierra frequently used. It allowed her to peer into far distances, which... was basically the same as Yu Chen's skill.

'''' ... ''''

'''' ... ''''

Silence filled the room.

Bai Qing was seriously thinking about the possibility of the woman in front of her being an Immortal! What bullshit is this?!

Yu Chen was equally stunned. She didn't at all imagine that there would be a day in her life when her skill would be used by somebody else.

The silence didn't last for much longer, though, as Yu Chen had finished looking for her enemies' positions.

''In any case, allow me to say thank you, Kierra.'' Yu Chen bows her head lightly toward the woman in the chair. ''My disciples are very precious to me; I don't know how to repay you enough...''

Bai Qing gasped. She had never seen her master bow her head before, not even to the sect leader! Who was Yu Chen? The genius of the millennia, the Phantom Sword of Yunluo, and the hope of the White Lotus Sect!

''If so.'' Kierra replied calmly. ''I need you to answer me a few questions.''

'Let the fun begin.'

Kierra was ready to learn everything about these 'cultivators'.