The Inner Sect
Nestled within the mountainous spine of Heaven's End Range, the Inner Sect was a world apart.
Unlike the outer disciple barracks, the inner sanctum of Celestial Dawn glittered with cultivation splendor. Floating pagodas drifted on currents of spiritual wind. Verdant pavilions adorned with spirit-forged jade overlooked lakes where sword intent shaped the water's flow.
Here, even the flowers whispered secrets of the Dao.
And here, power ruled.
The Five Peaks and the Ranking System
The inner sect was divided into Five Peaks, each led by a Core Elder.
Azure Sword Peak – Focused on sword arts. Its disciples were proud and ruthless.
White Frost Peak – Home to the sect's cold cultivators and alchemists. Su Xue's peak.
Crimson Flame Peak – Known for destructive fire and body cultivators.
Shadow Lotus Peak – Illusion and poison cultivators, famed for political intrigue
Celestial Core Pavilion – The sect's main political seat, home to elite personal disciples of the Sect Master and Elders.
Inner disciples were ranked from 100 to 1, their position recorded on the Heavenly Obsidian Tablet. Rank wasn't merely symbolic — it dictated resources, housing, and even life expectancy.
And now, for the first time in a decade… a new name would be etched onto that tablet.
The Ceremony – Master and Disciple
The ceremony took place in the Jade Sky Hall, a chamber suspended in the clouds, watched by over three hundred disciples and elders.
Lu Xuan knelt on a black jade mat. Elder Shi Qiran, veiled in layers of spirit-silk, extended a single pale hand.
"I, Shi Qiran of the Celestial Dawn Sect, accept Lu Xuan as my personal disciple."
Gasps echoed through the chamber.
To be a personal disciple was to leap beyond ranks and enter the inner circle of power. Most inner disciples spent decades clawing for that right.
"Rise, Lu Xuan."
He stood slowly. His long black hair swayed, his eyes unreadable. His plain robe now bore the silver emblem of Shi Qiran's sigil — a withering lotus.
And yet, Su Xue — watching from the balcony — felt a chill.
Something inside him has changed again
New Faces – Allies and Enemies
Li Fengyin – Rank 6, prodigy of the Azure Sword Peak. Known as the "Silver Orchid Blade." Graceful, cold, and strategic. She watched Lu Xuan with narrowed eyes.
Yun Wushen – Rank 3, a devout follower of Elder Shi. His cultivation: Golden Core Realm, Late Stage. His smile toward Lu Xuan was polite — but empty.
Bai Shihao – Rank 15, from Shadow Lotus Peak. Poison cultivator. A sadist. Already placing bets on how long Lu Xuan would live.
Wu Yanyue – Rank 39, White Frost Peak. Su Xue's junior. Wary of Lu Xuan but loyal to her senior sister.
That evening, Lu Xuan walked through a frozen lotus garden beneath White Frost Peak. A gentle snowfall dusted the petals.
"You shouldn't trust Shi Qiran."
Su Xue stepped from the mist. Her white robes shimmered faintly with time runes, and her hourglass pendant glowed pale.
Lu Xuan turned. His face, now sharper from his breakthrough, carried a quiet magnetism — a sculpted jaw, high cheekbones, and storm-shadowed silver eyes. Still youthful, but cold… too cold.
"Trust is irrelevant," he said. "He gives me strength."
She stepped closer. "He gives you chains."
Their eyes met.
"Why do you care?" he asked.
A beat of silence.
"Because I've seen what you become," she whispered. "And I won't let that happen."
Snow fell between them, melting on the heat rising from the unspoken tension.
At midnight, the Heavenly Obsidian Tablet shimmered.
A name carved itself at Rank 100: Lu Xuan.
The stone cracked slightly as it accepted his existence.
Some said the tablet screamed.
And above them all, high in the Cloud Pavilion, a figure stirred — the Sect Master himself.
"The Devouring One… has returned."