“How boring. All this show over one disciple.” She played with her hair, unfazed by the aquamarine hiltless sword stabbed in front of her carriage. If they were allowed to bring their carriage mount, the Karmic Crimson Unicorn was enough to go past it.

  So what if it was the symbol of the Sect Leader? He was just a Rank 5 Nascent Soul.

  Yet, none of her guards could take a step further towards the sect.

  The blonde man tried to run away without revealing his own name. She just wanted him to come back running and declare his name to her. “You said I wasn’t qualified to know? Then I’ll make sure you reveal your name yourself.”

  It was entertaining.

  “A mere Rank 1 flying around with the arrogance of the heavens.” She chuckled. “Even after facing us, he dared to try to keep some sense of pride. Let alone his anomalous colour.”

  So what if the Seven Clouds tried to protect him? She had caused no harm. She even boosted his cultivation by a few scraps. So what if she left the aura of a Soul Scourge Dissonator? It was weak and would’ve naturally dissipated within a week. A mere imitation of the original.

  The Seven Clouds Sect Leader was kicking up far too much of a fuss over children’s interactions. She had to find some way to appease her boredom, and life was limiting as it was, full of constraints.

  The medallion on the Royal Guard of the Lady flickered in red. “The signal has been sent. Return to the outskirts of Cloud City.” They spoke no words to the Lady inside.

  Her smile grew even deeper. “To think they succumbed and left… They overvalue Aether Ul-Regen.”

  An old man sat down on the boat, fishing. His crumbled, creased old robes exuded the aura of a man with many tales. His eyes were almost covered by the sagging skin on his forehead until he opened them wide as he began reeling.

  Those eyes were pure white. Devoid of colour.

  His fishing line dropped deep into the tidal vortex, continuously spinning around, and towering the size of a mountain. Behind him in the distance was the giant obsidian pillar, bobbing on the ocean. His antiquated, raspy voice echoed out. “The next surge is stirring. The opportunity blooms at the revelations of the monolith.”

  The fishing line cut through water, leading straight into Cloud City.

  Right above the Seven Clouds Sect.

  The Sect Leader stood at the apex of Seven Clouds, far above the Elder Crownhall that floated above. He observed as the carriage left, and the cyan hiltless sword formed of clouds that stubbed itself dissipated. “Old man, your tricks get tiresome.” Light rain drizzled on the Sect Leader, so he ran his hand up his hair to drag the dampness out.

  A crimson fishing line appeared.

  The cloud sword high above him intercepted the crimson fishing line that descended upon the Crownhall.

  Aether Ul-Regen stopped holding back, and the aura of a peak Rank 5 Nascent Soul soared across the sky.

  In truth, He could ascend any time he wanted to at this point, but he held on to his ascension. He outstretched his palm, each finger illuminating with translucent lines.

  This man was long capable of harnessing the Grand Path of his own, even if he was a realm beneath! The world long fell to his command, the clouds, rain and sky rejoicing in his presence.

  “Celestial Nimbus; Precipice,” Aether Ul-Regen muttered. The cumulonimbus that originally manifested his sword evaporated, fell towards the hiltless sword, condensed and released from the tip of the sword as a single drop. All the water in that sky had disappeared, except for the liquid that originated from a vortex that lay on the fishing line.

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  The Sect Leader narrowed his eyes. “Scheming with the water of Worldfalls, just to probe me out. Pathetic.”

  That outstretched palm faced towards himself, closed with only his index finger out. “Harvest; Heaven’s Tear.” The single teardrop slid across the levitating sword into the tip of his index nail.

  The Sect Leader moved within a foot’s length of the crimson thread. He casually swayed his index finger into the thread. The strong scent of rainwater mired in dirt drifted when the crimson thread began dissipating. When nothing was left, a single golden strand floated down into his palm. When he probed it with his Immortal Qi, his expression changed.

  He burst out in a rambunctious laugh.

  “Hahahaha! Truly amusing! So this is your answer, Shar of the Divine. Good, good, good! I, Leader of the Seven Clouds, Aether Ul-Regen, accept your proposal!”

  Aether Regen reached a conjecture. So what if this is a trap you’ve laid out? I’m willing to play in the sinking sand with you.

  He seized the golden strand.

  It was blood. Blood from a being that shouldn’t have existed in the parameters of this world.

  “Finally, things are going to get interesting.”

  Aether Ul-Regen gazed towards the south at the site of the Unhallowed Monolith. With a flick of his robes, clouds festered in the sky once more, and water returned to the atmosphere. The hiltless sword once more evaporated in the cycle of the heavens and earth.

  By then, the carriage had already exited through the commercial districts. The captain of the guards had finally convened with the one who sent the signal. He bowed down in servitude, giving his report. “The Lady has arrived. About the matter with the court…”

  A scar riddled tanned man with dishevelled hair had been stationed outside of the city, smoking a cigar. His power was far too high to be allowed in. He responded to his subordinate’s question before it could even be asked, with a hoarse, tired voice. “The matters have already been settled. I’m only here to relay some information to the Lady.” He walked to the entrance of the carriage, his broad shoulders bulging from the seams of his coat. He signalled to the guards with a wave. “Disperse.”

  Only someone far beyond Rank 3 Core Genesis could commandeer them with such ease.

  The carriage was even large enough to accommodate his height, towering almost twice as tall as the Lady of the Shar. She had been serenely nibbling on some cake with tea.

  “Falseborne,” He said.

  She gave him a sincere smile that dimpled her cheeks, her bright teeth in full display. “My name is Celes.”

  The small teacup shattered as it fell to the floor, red liquid pouring on the carpet of the carriage.

  She couldn’t breathe anymore.

  The man's rough hands squeezed her neck, lifting her up to his height. “Know your place, Falseborne. You have humiliated the sect by ignoring their simplest of rules. No one preceding you has ever committed such a blunder.” She remained unaffected, still retaining her smile. No one knew what she was thinking behind that exterior.

  He constrained all of her spirit meridians, sealing her use of Qi. All this to ensure that after he dropped her to the ground, the shards of the broken teacup would pierce her skin. And yet as blood flowed through, her expression didn’t change. Still the same unnerving smile, almost spitting in his face.

  “Your purpose is to lend your life for the purpose of our court. That is all there is to it, and always will be. We didn’t give you this life otherwise.” He placed his two fingers on her face, as if to pinch out her eye. “Do not forget. Your worth lay in these. Behave yourself.” He left without a sound. A person of her status strangely had no servants or maids to clean up after her. She sat up, cycling her Qi to heal her cuts.

  Still, she knew she was let off easy.

  She stopped caring about it long ago.

  Without a yelp of pain or sigh of frustration, she picked up the broken pieces of her cup, cleaning up the interior of the carriage. “Can’t even relieve my boredom. How unfortunate.” The man emanated a dazzling, blinding radiance of white. His irreverent loyalty to the sect that was displayed, even as he disciplined her. That was all he thought of.

  Boring. Boring. Boring. She thought. Everyone she was surrounded by was utterly boring. All they thought of was their subservience and loyalty to the court. Everything was boring. She hoped the Seven Clouds Sect would offer some entertainment to her, but even that was shut down.

  She used her spatial ring to get a replacement of clothes. She couldn’t wear bloodied, cut up robes representing her sect. “To think that silly scaredy-cat ended up getting me in trouble. How the tables turn. He must be enjoying the benefits they’d be giving him right now.”

  After getting changed, she sat down once again, and the carriage began to move back to Seven Clouds. Her guards returned, resuming their duties.

  They were going to survey her actions even further when she joined. Even when everything had played out as the Shar had planned in the end.

  Whatever they wanted, it was all for naught. She saw it, as clear as Heaven’s Eye above. The Sect had the colour of desolation.

  Grey and hollow.