The northern cliffs near the Academy city of Aramore lay cloaked in fog. Nestled between the spines of grey mountains, the winding road that led down to the city flickered with lanterns, revealing travelers, merchants, and hopeful cultivators descending into the heart of power and prestige.
But high above them, cloaked in a veil of illusion and silence, Serena crouched atop a ledge beside her companion, Umbren.
Her robes fluttered lightly in the breeze, now dyed in darker hues, blending easily with the cliffs. Her face, reshaped by the system's "Veil of the Thousand Faces," bore no resemblance to Serena Valen. She looked like any other wandering cultivator—obscure, unthreatening. Except for the scythe strapped to her back and the beast crouched beside her, eyes glowing gold.
Umbren growled low.
"I see them too," Serena whispered, eyes narrowing as she spotted a caravan escorted by guards wearing violet sigils—the Ravenhart Clan. One of the four great clans with influence in the Academy.
They were early. Just like her.
But she wasn't here to make an entrance.
---
Earlier that morning
Serena stood within a clearing near Duskriver Gorge, scythe in hand.
She was no longer content with simply wielding a weapon—she needed to master it.
Her system had already registered two martial arts under her arsenal:
❖ [Skill Acquired: Crescent Severance – Scythe Art (Wind-Grade, Entry Level)]
❖ [Skill Acquired: Umbra Step – Movement Art (Darkness-Grade, Entry Level)]
The first was a deadly offensive form; the second a mobility technique that cloaked her presence in shadows.
But skills were only as sharp as the body that used them. So she trained.
Each strike of her scythe was a sweeping arc of death—sometimes horizontal, aiming to decapitate. Other times vertical, slashing with downward momentum enough to crack tree trunks. She practiced movement mid-air, leaping between trees and launching off branches like a wraith.
She would slice, spin midair, land on one foot, vanish into smoke, then reappear behind an imagined opponent.
Sweat poured down her back, her body aching, breath shallow—but she continued.
Umbren attacked her too, under her command. The beast would lunge at her from the blind side. Her task? React.
Once, she misstepped. Umbren's tail cracked across her ribs and sent her tumbling into a tree.
She coughed but smiled, wiping blood from her lips.
"Again."
---
By the third week of relentless training, her mastery had improved.
❖ [Crescent Severance: Entry Level → Master Level]
❖ [Umbra Step: Entry Level → Master Level]
The difference was profound.
Now, when Serena struck, her blade disappeared. Only the aftermath remained—a tree cleaved in silence, a rock split from top to bottom.
And when she moved? Not even leaves rustled. She became the wind in shadow.
With her system points spent, the rest of her advancement depended solely on effort, experience, and killing intent.
She now had all three.
---
Present
"I won't enter from the gates," Serena muttered, pulling her cloak tighter.
Umbren padded forward and crouched.
She leapt onto the beast's back.
"Let's go. Time to haunt their steps."
With a gust of wind, they vanished into the descending fog, leaving only silence behind.
---
Meanwhile, within the Academy walls, the elite gathered.
The sons and daughters of noble clans—all expecting to shine.
Among them were:
Alina Valen, now at Essence Vein Stage 6, who had begun to whisper questions about her sister's corpse never being found.
Cassian's allies, still unaware of his true fate, seeking vengeance against a name long thought erased.
The Sorellyn Twins, known for their dual cultivation technique.
And the prodigies of Draxis and Zar'eth, hoping to prove their supremacy.
But as the admissions continued, rumors began to stir.
A new student had entered the rankings—one with no clan name, no background, but with power that left an elite son of the Ravenhart clan hospitalized after a mock duel.
She wore a smile that never reached her eyes.
No one knew her real name.
They called her… Shade of the Crescent Path.
And she had just arrived.