The intruder did not hide his aura.
That was the first problem.
It rolled through Black Frost Ravine like a declaration—arrogant, heavy, sharpened by blood and experience. A high-tier cultivator, far beyond outer-discipline standards, unconcerned with subtlety because he had never needed it.
Ren felt it hit his senses like a weight pressing down on his spine.
Lian's hand was already on her weapon.
The Saintess's expression changed instantly.
Cold, focused, and lethal.
"This isn't a beast," she said quietly. "This is a man."
Ren exhaled.
Of course it was.
The figure emerged from the ravine's shadow moments later.
Tall. Broad-shouldered. Clad in dark red armor etched with devouring sigils. His cultivation flared openly—Core Formation, unstable but violently aggressive.
A mercenary.
A reaper-type cultivator.
The kind sects pretended didn't exist… until they needed someone erased.
His gaze swept over the camp without interest.
Then—
It stopped.
Locked.
On Ren.
The man smiled.
There was nothing friendly about it.
"There you are," he said. "You're quieter than expected."
Ren's instincts screamed.
"Hostile Lock Detected""Threat Level: EXTREME"
Lian stepped forward immediately, blade half-drawn.
"You've crossed sect territory," she snapped. "State your purpose or leave in pieces."
The mercenary laughed once, sharp and dismissive.
"I'm not here for you."
His eyes never left Ren.
"I was paid to retrieve him."
Silence slammed down.
The Saintess's aura surged.
"By who?" she demanded.
The man shrugged. "Does it matter?"
Yes.
It did.
Because if someone was paying Core Formation killers to collect Ren Vale—
This was already beyond sect politics.
Ren felt the warmth in his chest coil tightly.
Not fear.
Not panic.
Something deeper.
Something territorial.
"Possession Path: Pressure Rising"
Lian glanced back at him sharply.
"Ren," she said, low and urgent, "stay behind us."
The Saintess said nothing.
She simply moved.
One step.
Then another.
Until she stood directly in front of Ren.
Blocking him.
Shielding him.
The mercenary noticed.
"Oh?" he said, amused. "Saintess?"
His grin widened.
"This keeps getting better."
He took a deliberate step closer.
The air distorted.
"I was told you were… valuable," he continued. "Didn't realize how much."
His gaze flicked over her stance, her positioning, the way her aura curved backward toward Ren instead of forward toward him.
Understanding dawned.
"…You're protecting him."
Her voice was ice.
"Leave."
He laughed again.
"Can't do that."
His aura spiked violently.
"I get paid whether he comes willingly or unconscious."
Ren moved.
Not forward.
Sideways.
Enough that the Saintess felt it immediately.
"Don't," she said sharply.
"Trust me," Ren replied calmly. "This matters."
The system pulsed—slow, heavy.
"Possession Path: Conditions Satisfied""Trigger: External Claim Attempt"
The mercenary extended his hand.
Not even in a strike.
A grab.
A casual, confident reach toward Ren's chest.
That was his second mistake.
The Saintess moved faster than thought.
There was no technique.No flourish.
Just pure, decisive intent.
Her palm struck the mercenary's wrist—
And froze it solid.
The ice wasn't decorative.
It was absolute.
The man screamed as his arm crystallized mid-motion, frost crawling up his veins, severing spiritual circulation instantly.
"What—?!"
The Saintess's voice cut through him like a blade.
"He is not yours."
Her eyes burned.
"He is not anyone's."
Ren felt it then.
The truth.
The lie.
And the fracture between them.
"Contradiction Detected""Possession Path: Forcing Resolution"
The mercenary snarled, shattering the frozen arm with brute force qi, blood spraying across the stone.
"You'll regret—"
Ren stepped forward.
Just one step.
The warmth inside him snapped into alignment.
"Possession Path: ACTIVATED (INITIAL)"
The world seemed to tilt.
Not physically.
Emotionally.
The Saintess felt it first.
A sudden, unmistakable shift—like gravity subtly reorienting.
Ren didn't raise his voice.
"You shouldn't have reached for me," he said quietly.
The mercenary hesitated.
For the first time.
"What did you do?" he growled.
Ren met his eyes.
"I accepted it."
The system's whisper was almost reverent.
"Claim Acknowledged""Protection Override: Linked Targets"
The Saintess gasped softly.
Her aura flared—but instead of resisting, it linked.
Cold and warmth intertwined.
Not merging.
Synchronizing.
Lian felt it too—and swore under her breath.
"…Oh," she muttered. "That's new."
The mercenary attacked.
Fast. Brutal. Desperate.
Ren didn't dodge.
The Saintess did.
Ice surged like a living wall, her techniques flowing with unnatural efficiency, reactions sharpened, timing perfect.
Too perfect.
She struck him down in three moves.
The final blow shattered his core completely.
The body hit the stone and slid to a stop—lifeless.
Silence returned to the ravine.
Heavy.
Uncomfortable.
Ren exhaled slowly.
The warmth in his chest settled—not fading, but anchoring.
"Possession Path: Stabilized (Early Stage)""Effect: Shared Threat Response, Amplified Loyalty"
The Saintess turned to him.
Her expression was controlled.
Too controlled.
"You accepted something," she said quietly.
"Yes," Ren replied.
Her jaw tightened.
"Undo it."
Ren shook his head.
"I can't."
That landed harder than the attack.
Lian approached cautiously.
"So," she said, eyes flicking between them, "does this mean we're officially past pretending?"
The Saintess didn't answer.
She was staring at her own trembling hand.
The one that had moved without hesitation.
Without doubt.
To protect him.
"…I chose," she whispered.
Ren stepped closer.
Not touching.
Just present.
"You did," he said gently.
Her breath shook.
"And I don't know what that makes me anymore."
Ren's gaze was steady.
"It makes you honest."
That was worse than any confession.
The system pulsed one final time.
"Harem Axis Established: Primary Node""Warning: Further bonds will escalate conflicts exponentially"
Lian laughed softly, tension breaking.
"Well," she said, rolling her shoulders, "guess things are about to get very interesting."
The Saintess didn't look away from Ren.
"…You are now at the center of a storm," she said.
Ren met her gaze.
"I know."
And deep in the ravine, something ancient shifted—aware, curious, and hungry.
This was no longer a coincidence.
This was a beginning.
The sect elders arrived at dawn.
That was their first mistake.
By the time their flying platforms pierced the low fog of Black Frost Ravine, the night had already chosen its winner.
Ren felt them before he saw them—three vast pressure signatures descending in rigid formation, their qi dense with authority and habit. Not predators.
Judges.
"Trouble," Lian muttered beside him, cracking her neck. "The annoying kind."
The Saintess said nothing.
She stood slightly ahead of Ren.
Not shielding him now.
Positioning.
That was the difference.
The platforms settled with ceremonial precision, frost dispersing beneath engraved stone as three elders stepped down.
Elder Han, Enforcement Hall—hawk-eyed, thin-lipped, already irritated.Elder Qiu, Doctrine Keeper—stern, inflexible, clutching principles like weapons.Elder Mo, External Affairs—quiet, observant, dangerous in the way still water was.
Their gazes swept the scene.
The corpse.
The shattered core.
The blood frozen into the stone.
Then—
Ren.
All three paused.
Not long.
But long enough.
"Explain," Elder Han said sharply, eyes locking onto the Saintess. "Immediately."
She turned.
Her posture was flawless.Her aura—contained, absolute.
"This Core Formation mercenary violated sect territory," she said. "He targeted a disciple under mission protection."
Elder Qiu scoffed. "A single inner disciple does not justify lethal force from a Saintess."
Ren felt the warmth stir.
The Saintess didn't look back.
"He attempted retrieval under external contract," she continued calmly. "That constitutes hostile incursion."
Elder Mo's eyes narrowed.
"Retrieval?" he repeated. "Of whom?"
Silence pressed in.
Lian shifted her weight, hand resting casually on her blade.
Ren inhaled—and stepped forward.
"It was me," he said.
Three gazes snapped to him instantly.
The air thickened.
Elder Han's qi flared—controlled, oppressive.
"You?" he said incredulously. "You are barely beyond entry-level cultivation."
Ren met his eyes evenly.
"He wasn't here for my strength," Ren replied. "He was here for my value."
That word landed like a dropped blade.
Elder Qiu laughed coldly. "Arrogance. Or delusion."
"Neither," the Saintess said.
That was when the atmosphere changed.
Elder Han frowned. "Saintess."
"I confirmed the threat personally," she continued. "He reached for Ren Vale."
Her voice did not rise.
It didn't need to.
"Had I hesitated," she added, "Ren would now be gone."
Elder Mo studied her carefully.
"…You intervened decisively," he said slowly.
"Yes."
"And you would do so again?"
The Saintess paused.
Just long enough.
"Yes."
That pause was everything.
Elder Qiu's expression hardened.
"This is unacceptable," he snapped. "A Saintess does not entangle herself with a single disciple—"
"I did not entangle," she replied coolly.
"You shielded him," Elder Han shot back. "You altered formation priority."
Ren felt eyes on him from every angle.
"You formed a positional bond," Elder Mo said quietly.
The words echoed.
Bond.
Ren felt the system stir—alert, watchful.
"Authority Pressure Detected""Possession Path: Defensive Response Available"
He ignored it.
The Saintess met Elder Mo's gaze.
"I protected a sect asset."
Elder Mo didn't blink.
"And you would prioritize him again."
"Yes."
This time there was no hesitation.
The elders exchanged looks.
Not agreement.
Calculation.
Lian broke the silence with a soft laugh.
"Well," she said, hands on her hips, "if we're being honest now, should I mention I felt it too?"
All three elders turned on her.
"What did you feel?" Elder Han demanded.
Lian's grin sharpened.
"A shift," she said. "Like something locking into place."
Ren exhaled slowly.
Elder Qiu sneered. "You outer disciples dramatize everything."
"Inner," Lian corrected pleasantly. "And no, Elder. This wasn't drama."
She glanced at Ren.
"It was gravity."
That word again.
The elders didn't like it.
"Enough," Elder Han said sharply. "Ren Vale, step forward."
Ren did.
The Saintess stiffened—but didn't stop him.
That restraint was noticed.
Elder Han's gaze bored into Ren.
"You will submit to evaluation," he said. "Isolation if necessary."
The warmth in Ren's chest flared dangerously.
Before he could respond—
"No," the Saintess said.
The word cut clean through the morning air.
Elder Han froze.
"…Excuse me?"
"I will not permit his isolation," she said. "Nor experimental confinement."
Elder Qiu's voice rose. "You overstep—"
"I choose," she interrupted.
Silence slammed down.
Ren felt it then—clearly.
Not desire.
Not fear.
Resolve.
"Primary Node Assertion: ACTIVE"
The Saintess's aura subtly realigned.
Not aggressive.
Protective.
Linked.
Elder Mo's eyes widened a fraction.
"…So it has begun," he murmured.
Elder Han's expression darkened.
"You are risking doctrinal collapse," he warned. "If word spreads—"
"It will," Lian said lightly.
She pointed at the corpse.
"Core Formation mercenary. External contract. Failed retrieval."
She shrugged.
"People will ask why."
Elder Qiu hissed under his breath.
"You think this is leverage?"
"No," Lian replied. "I think it's inevitable."
The Saintess finally turned slightly—just enough to glance at Ren.
Her eyes softened.
Just a little.
"I will answer for my actions," she said to the elders. "Publicly, if required."
Ren's chest tightened.
Elder Mo studied them both for a long moment.
Then he sighed.
"…Very well," he said.
Both Elder Han and Elder Qiu turned sharply.
"You can't—" Elder Han began.
"We cannot afford open fracture," Elder Mo replied. "Not yet."
His gaze settled on Ren.
"Especially if he is already being… noticed."
That was not reassurance.
That was a warning.
"The mission continues," Elder Mo declared. "The Saintess retains command authority."
Elder Qiu's jaw clenched.
"And the boy?"
Elder Mo paused.
Then: "Ren Vale remains under her purview."
The words echoed louder than any proclamation.
Lian's eyebrows rose.
"Well," she said, amused, "that's one way to formalize it."
The Saintess said nothing.
But her shoulders relaxed—just slightly.
Ren felt the system settle, satisfied.
"Possession Path: Public Anchor Established""Future Conflicts: Guaranteed"
The elders departed soon after.
Not calmly.
Not comfortably.
They left behind silence—and a hundred unspoken consequences.
When they were gone, Lian let out a low whistle.
"…You're really doing this," she said to the Saintess.
The Saintess looked at Ren.
"Yes."
Ren met her gaze.
"No regret?"
"…Fear," she admitted softly. "But no regret."
Lian smiled.
"Good."
She turned to Ren.
"Because now," she said, "everyone's going to come for you."
Ren exhaled.
"I figured."
Deep in the ravine, something ancient stirred again.
Awake.
Interested.
This wasn't just a sect problem anymore.
This was a world-scale mistake.
And Ren Vale—
Now stood at its center.