''Till mountains crumble,

Till rivers run dry,

Till thunder rumbles in winter,

Till snow falls in summer,

And the earth mingles with the sky,

Not till then will my love die.''

''Hah...''

''???''

Suddenly hearing an overly sentimental poem from Yu Chen, Kierra turned around and raised her eyebrow. In the first place, after enslaving assigning the old man to work at White Lotus, the archwizard accompanied Yu Chen to her room as the martial master was about to break through to the peak of the Soul Transformation Stage.

The breakthrough took quite some time, but ultimately, Yu Chen did it.

Yet, right when Kierra was about to feel proud of her disciple for once, Yu Chen spewed out this kind of bullshit!

''Love? What is Love? Go train some more!''

''...Kierra. In life, everyone needs love. It is a must.'' Yu Chen shook her head. ''As someone who has lived for almost a millennium, I humbly offer my opinion.''

''...''

Suddenly, this irritated Kierra a bit. Was Yu Chen trying to flex her age? Was that it?

Feeling salty inwardly, the archwizard actually turned on her sarcastic mode. ''Big talk for a virgin, '' she commented.

Twitch. Yu Chen's serene face cracked a bit.

''Hm~... Why don't you help me graduate that life, then, Miss Experienced?''

''...''

''...''

In the end, both of them stopped before the conversation took a strange turn. No, maybe it already had.

Nevertheless, as the two sat next to each other for a while, they suddenly felt a bit sentimental. This time, Yu Chen was the one initiating.

''Say... has it been two months?''

''Hm?''

''Since you suddenly appeared.''

''Has it?''

Thinking back, Kierra herself felt like the time she had spent here was much shorter than that. Time passes faster when you are having fun—was it?

'As expected, it wasn't a bad idea, after all.'

Coming to this world, the archwizard honestly didn't expect much. She thought she knew everything and that this trip would only result in her drifting in the void for a while, and yet...

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

Fun. It was fun.

Cultivating new wizards was fun. Finding a way to improve her power was also fun, and... it seemed there was something suspicious with the 'higher realm' of this world.

Through five centuries of relentless studying, Kierra found out that there was another type of energy a sentient being could wield besides mana and mana-adjacent force—divine power.

As it was, history had shown that divine power was decisively better than mana and that those who had it were hailed as 'gods.' Unfortunately, Kierra's home planet—no, her home universe didn't have a god in the first place, so she couldn't catch a random one and interrogate them.

Perhaps cosmic beasts like Cosmos, who were essentially the evils of the universe, thrived because no god existed. Humans ruled the universe, and that was the end of it.

So, when the archwizard witnessed the 'heavenly punishment' containing divine power, she was immediately intrigued.

Assuming the one giving out these punishments was a god, what would be the reason? Were they afraid of people rising to be as strong as them?

As much as Kierra wanted to rip the world apart to find out the secret right away, she didn't want to rush it. Besides, she had something else to take care of anyway.

The matter with August, for example. If she were not careful, even someone other than August would rush over. Both of them were a pain to deal with...

But for now, things were peaceful.

''Well, I do plan to stay here for some more time,'' Kierra replied. ''I have initiated a war, after all. I have to finish it.''

''...That is a relief.'' Yu Chen sighed.

''Worry not, I won't try to bail out of our deal by escaping.''

''Yes, yes... thank you very much...''

After teasing each other a bit more, the two began to stroll around the sect for a change of mood. Different from a while ago, the two had now become comfortable with each other. Yu Chen could now joke around Kierra and sometimes even make fun of her without fearing for her life, which was a great achievement.

As for Kierra, she was simply Kierra.

''Still, Kierra. How will you take on the unorthodox folks?''

At this, the archwizard turned to Yu Chen, her face unchanging.

''I can handle them alone.'' She declared. ''My army knows no bounds, and mere creatures of this realm can't dream of defeating it.''

''O-Oh...''

''The problem is not them.''

''Then...?''

''Remember the woman you saw earlier?''

''...What about her?''

''She is probably going to join that side.''

''???''

Immediately, Yu Chen fell into deep confusion and panic.

Why would Kierra's ex suddenly turn to the dark side?! Was she saying that they would have to fight that monster of a swordswoman??

''But why??'' Yu Chen quickly inquired.

''If she's the same woman I know, it's definitely to get back at me,'' Kierra replied nonchalantly.

''Are you two still having a feud...?''

"N... no, probably. She's merely jealous of the women around me."

''J-Jealous...??''

Wait. Wasn't this talking about Yu Chen herself?!

So she was the root cause all along?!?

No, no, no. There were other women loitering around Kierra as well, so...

''In any case, the war will be fine.'' Kierra continued. ''Au won't—August won't do anything outrageous.''

''Oh...''

(Ծ‸Ծ)

This time, it was Yu Chen who became jealous! What was that intimate nickname? And why did she still trust that woman so much??

A bit frustrated, Yu Chen once again pouted lightly, following Kierra's steps as she gazed at the ground. The gentle wind of autumn blew on the lonely road, carrying a few dead leaves and a hint of the sweet aftertaste she got from Kierra.

These times, the martial master of Qinling had many turmoils in her heart, and all of them were caused by this haughty woman in front of her.

Truthfully, Yu Chen was still scared. Kierra came like a wind, and she feared that the archwizard would abruptly leave like the wind one day. She had no idea where Kierra came from, and she was reluctant to ask about the matter directly.

'But... what good will it be if I hold it forever?'

At this moment, the two were completely alone.

Just like her confession, maybe if she revealed her intentions this time...

''Kierra—

''What happened?''

''!!''

Right then, Yu Chen saw the dangerously gorgeous face of Kierra right before her eyes. When did she get there?!

''Hm...''

Before Yu Chen could react, Kierra quickly understood the situation and went in for a quick peck on her lips.

''I know what you are thinking about.'' She said calmly. ''Worry not, I am not that scummy of a woman, even if I like to play around.''

''A-Ah—''

To finish the combo, Kierra then sealed the victory by pressing her lips onto Yu Chen's, this time tilting her head and going as deep and as long as she wanted.

When she pulled away, the opponent had nearly lost her mind!

''Mhm... it suits you.''

Kierra smiled teasingly, tapping her lips while admiring the lipstick she transferred to Yu Chen.

(º ﹃ º )

As the victim stared forward in a trance, Kierra giggled and turned away, elated after a prank.

'It's quite peaceful... but maybe this is not bad.'

Kierra continued her way, excitedly awaiting the future ahead.

Day by day, she spent her time quietly in this realm, capturing each and every memorable moment with her disciples.

Snow fell, flowers bloomed, and when the sounds of cicadas started to ring across White Lotus as if calling for summer, news about the frontline with the unorthodox sects finally arrived.