Pinglu City, in a residential courtyard district not far from the academy.
Faded red walls and white tiles showed the ravages of time. The area looked unremarkable, but the people living here were anything but ordinary.
As evening fell, Yelena returned to one of the small courtyards. A middle-aged woman who was cleaning the yard straightened up and bowed. "Princess, you've returned."
Yelena nodded. "Sikokun, I have a mission for you."
"At your command, Princess."
"Investigate the Sisiya community here and find the people my brother sent."
The woman called Sikokun looked up in surprise. "That... person sent someone? Do they dare threaten your life?"
"Not me. They're threatening my teacher."
Yelena's icy face was filled with a cold, murderous intent—a side of her no one at the academy had ever seen.
"There's no reason to involve outsiders in our competition. He's crossed the line."
