Riven's eyes met hers.
For a brief moment neither of them moved.
Then the girl jerked back slightly in surprise, straightening up so quickly that a few strands of her dark hair slipped across her face. She brushed them aside with a small, slightly awkward motion.
"…Oh."
A short pause followed.
She looked at him for a moment, as if unsure what to say first.
Then she spoke.
"I tried calling you."
Her voice was still soft, but now there was a hint of mild embarrassment behind it.
"You didn't answer."
Riven sat up a little straighter on the bench.
His heart pounded slightly.
He wasn't entirely sure why.
Perhaps it was simply the shock of waking to find someone leaning so close over him.
Or perhaps it was the fair face that had been there when he opened his eyes.
Either way, the moment left him oddly aware of how easily someone had managed to approach him without his notice.
I can't let myself get this tired.
The girl continued, lightly gesturing toward the manor with one hand.
"From where I was I barely heard the announcement. So I figured you probably wouldn't hear it back here."
Another small pause.
"When you didn't answer, I thought you might have fallen asleep."
She seemed to realize how that might have looked.
Her gaze flicked briefly away before returning to him again.
"I didn't mean to startle you."
Riven studied her for a second.
"…It's fine."
His tone was calm and short.
The girl blinked once.
Something about the response seemed to catch her slightly off guard.
After a moment she continued.
"The training grounds are open now."
She nodded faintly toward the direction of the training grounds beyond the garden.
"Most people are heading there now."
Riven followed her gesture with his eyes briefly before looking back at her.
So it's starting already.
For a moment he considered how close he had been to sleeping through the main event of the evening.
"…Thank you."
The response came out as casually as before.
The girl hesitated for a moment, then gave a small nod.
"I'll head there first."
With that, she turned and began walking back along the lantern-lit path toward the manor grounds.
Riven watched her go for a second.
A thought crossed his mind.
No excitement?
From everything he had heard tonight, half the hall was practically buzzing about the duel.
Yet the girl who had just informed him about it had sounded almost… indifferent. Or even annoyed.
He frowned faintly.
Then he shook his head.
It didn't matter.
Riven pushed himself up from the bench and stretched his shoulders slightly before starting down the same path she had taken.
This was one part of the evening he was actually interested in.
Seeing the power levels of the city's noble heirs for himself.
Riven followed the lantern-lit path back toward the manor.
The quiet garden gradually gave way to distant voices and movement. The deeper he walked, the more the soft rustling of leaves was replaced by the muffled noise of gathered spectators.
Soon the garden opened into a larger clearing behind the estate.
The training grounds.
The space was wide and neatly maintained, its packed earth surface surrounded by low stone boundaries that marked the fighting area. Several lantern poles had been placed around the perimeter, bathing the field in warm light despite the late hour.
A large crowd had already gathered.
Young masters and noble daughters stood around the edges of the training field, forming a loose circle while servants remained farther back. The air buzzed with quiet conversation and occasional bursts of laughter.
In the center of the field, two cultivators were already fighting.
Neither of them were Cassian or Lucian.
Riven slowed as he approached the outer ring of spectators.
The duelists moved quickly across the packed earth. One of them wielded a narrow saber, the blade flashing as it cut through the air in quick arcs. His opponent fought bare-handed, his movements sharp and controlled as he deflected strikes with reinforced palms.
Steel rang against hardened qi.
Several spectators leaned forward slightly whenever the distance between the fighters closed.
Riven stopped near the edge of the crowd and watched quietly.
The saber user pressed forward aggressively, forcing his opponent back with a flurry of strikes aimed at the shoulders and ribs.
His opponent slipped aside at the last moment, palm striking toward the man's wrist.
The saber spun slightly off angle.
A quick twist of the body.
A sweeping kick.
The saber wielder stumbled and barely managed to recover before the other man's palm stopped just short of his chest.
The crowd reacted with scattered murmurs.
"Nice."
"Good one."
The two fighters stepped apart.
One of them let out a small breath before lowering his stance.
"Alright," the saber wielder admitted with a grin. "You've gotten better."
His opponent chuckled lightly.
"So have you."
They clasped forearms briefly before stepping away from the field.
These two clearly weren't as opposed to each other as Cassian and Lucian supposedly were.
A servant immediately stepped forward to smooth the disturbed dirt.
The spectators shifted again, conversations rising slightly as people began discussing what they had just seen.
Riven remained silent.
His eyes stayed on the training ground as he replayed the short exchange in his mind.
Early Inner Condensation.
Not bad.
But nothing good either.
Around him, more young masters were stepping forward now, clearly eager to take their turn before the main duel began.
Riven looked around before spotting Leyla on the side.
She was still standing with some of her friends.
He decided not to bother them.
Instead he folded his arms loosely as he watched the field.
The next fight was starting.
Two young men stepped onto the field, one adjusting the sleeves of his robe while the other rolled his shoulders as if loosening stiff muscles.
Riven watched quietly.
Unlike the earlier duel, these two didn't bother with weapons.
Both of them raised their hands.
The crowd leaned forward slightly.
Then the two cultivators moved.
The first exchange was quick.
One rushed forward with a straight punch aimed at the chest, only to have it deflected aside before the second man answered with a low kick toward the ribs.
The blow landed.
A dull thud echoed across the field.
Several spectators murmured approvingly.
The fight continued like that for a short while.
Nothing flashy.
Just quick movements.
It was less like a fight between cultivators and more like a fight between martial artists.
And that actually intrigued Riven even more.
Learning another person martial skills was difficult.
But gleaning ways to move in a fight was doable.
Watching this would help more than watching someone conjure up a fire.
Riven observed carefully.
But in the end he shook his head.
They had a good foundation, but were still behind him in terms of moves.
Eventually the match ended with one of them forced to step back out of bounds after a series of rapid palm strikes.
The crowd clapped politely.
Both fighters bowed slightly before leaving the field.
Another pair stepped forward soon after.
Then another.
The training grounds slowly filled with the rhythm of short duels and rotating participants.
Some fights lasted only a few exchanges.
Others stretched a bit longer.
Most of them were clearly meant more for display than serious competition.
Occasionally someone attempted a technique with a bit more flair, drawing louder reactions from the watching nobles.
But overall—
Nothing truly impressive appeared.
Riven remained near the back of the crowd, arms folded loosely as he continued watching with increasingly less interest.
He was beginning to understand the general level of the city's younger generation.
Late Inner Essence to early Inner Condensation.
Solid foundations, but nothing exceptional.
Another short duel ended soon after.
A palm strike forced one of the participants to stumble backward, stepping outside the marked boundary. The watching nobles clapped politely, though the enthusiasm had already begun to fade.
The two fighters bowed to each other and stepped away.
For a moment the field remained empty.
Riven noticed it immediately.
Earlier, someone had always been ready to step forward the moment a duel ended. But now the spectators only watched quietly.
Several of the young masters who had fought earlier had stepped back into the crowd.
Others simply folded their arms and waited.
The atmosphere shifted subtly.
People moved closer to the edge of the field.
The quiet conversations died down.
Then a voice rang out clearly from one side of the training grounds.
"I guess it's our turn."
Riven turned his head toward the source.
Cassian Azurelake was walking forward.
The deep blue robe with silver wave patterns was unmistakable even under the lantern light. His posture was relaxed, but there was a certain confidence in the way he carried himself that immediately drew attention.
As he approached the center of the field, Riven narrowed his eyes slightly.
The difference was obvious.
He felt… heavier.
Not physically.
But in presence.
Compared to the young masters who had fought earlier, the pressure around him felt subtly denser.
From the opposite side of the training ground, another figure stepped forward.
He came alone too.
The man was tall and broad-shouldered, his crimson robe standing out sharply against the packed earth of the arena. Long dark hair fell loosely down his back, tied only at the base of his neck.
Unlike Cassian, he carried no relaxed smile.
His expression was calm.
Focused.
But the faint smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth made it clear he was already enjoying the moment.
Riven had a feeling that only now was he getting to see the city's true elites.
He studied the crimson-robed guy lightly.
Lucian Harrowmont.
That had to be him.
The man stepped onto the field and stopped several meters away from Cassian.
The crowd had grown completely silent now.
Lantern light flickered softly across the open training ground as the two young men faced each other.
Cassian rolled his shoulders slightly before raising his voice again.
"Mirelle!"
He turned his head toward the gathered spectators.
"Come watch me beat up this klutz."
A few chuckles moved through the crowd.
Across the field, Lucian snorted.
"Careful," he replied lazily. "You might embarrass yourself again."
He clearly wasn't going to just stand there quietly.
But Riven was focused on something else by now.
The crowd on one side had begun to part.
Someone was stepping forward.
A familiar pale dress.
Long dark hair catching the lantern light.
She walked calmly through the opening in the crowd until she reached the very front.
Riven's eyes narrowed slightly.
It's her.