Chapter 174: Joining the Investigation

Chapter 173: Joining the Investigation

He locked eyes with the six youths. "Your objective is reconnaissance and identification. Do not engage blindly if you encounter an unknown entity. Report back to the Joint Council first. Understood?"

"Understood!"

"Move out."?

When the group stepped through the pavilion gates into the outer courtyard, the bustling noise of the training disciples dropped to a hushed murmur.

Lothe and Seana walked side by side behind Nyren, immediately drawing every eye in the square.

Neither wore the sect’s standard white uniform.

Lothe was clad in deep-purple layered silk, the dark fabric sweeping around his tall frame with effortless elegance. His long black hair was gathered back neatly, accentuating the sharp, unyielding lines of his jaw and those cold, lantern-like eyes that seemed to look right through the crowd. He strolled with one hand tucked casually behind his back, looking less like a guest and more like a wandering sovereign who had wandered into an inferior court.

Beside him, Seana moved with graceful, lethal poise. Her rich crimson robes contrasted vividly against the pale mountain snow, secured at her waist by a wide black sash. Her glossy dark hair was bound with a simple wooden hairpin, letting the natural intensity of her striking features command the space.

Whispers rippled through the ranks of junior disciples.

"Who are they?"

"Guests of the General... I heard they were the ones pulled from the center of the palace ruins."

"Look at that aura... neither of them wears sect colors, yet they walk right beside Lady Nyren."

Lothe heard every word. He didn’t care.

At the center of the plaza stood a tall, broad-shouldered elder draped in ash-gray robes. His silver hair was held in place by a dark jade pin, and his long white beard fell over a broad chest. His posture was ramrod straight, radiating the dense, suffocating weight of an advanced Core Formation cultivator.

Elder Rowan Greystone.

Rowan turned, his sharp gaze cutting across the newcomers before settling briefly on Lothe and Seana. "So these are the survivors."

Lothe inclined his head. "Elder."

Seana mirrored the gesture. "Greetings, Elder."

"Keep the pleasantries," Rowan grunted, his voice like gravel grinding underfoot. "We’re already burning daylight. We fly straight to the Arbitration Hall, link up with the other three delegations, and review the primary evidence."

He brought two calloused fingers to his mouth.

FIIIIIIIIIIIII!

A piercing, high-pitched whistle echoed across the snow-capped ridges.

A heartbeat passed. Then, the wind turned violently.

A vast shadow swallowed the courtyard, blotting out the midday sun.

From the upper cloud sea, an enormous avian beast descended.

Its wingspan stretched over thirty paces, its plumage a pristine, blinding white lined with faint silver runic veins. A crown of pale-gold feathers tipped its crested head, framing two brilliant, intelligent azure eyes.

FWOOOOOOSH.

Currents of compressed wind Qi spiraled beneath its wings, cushioning its massive descent. The beast touched down on the stone plaza without cracking a single flagstone, though the backdraft sent robes and fallen leaves whipping violently through the air.

Lothe’s eyes sharpened. "A high-tier wind beast."

"It’s breathtaking," Seana murmured, her eyes wide with admiration.

The creature tilted its regal head down, nudging Elder Rowan’s shoulder with affectionate familiarity.

Rowan patted its feathered mantle. "Easy, old friend. We have a long run ahead." He turned to the group. "Cloudstride Celestial Crane. Born of the Stormveil peaks. It ignores turbulence and outpaces any standard transport vessel across mountain terrain. Board the deck."

Secured to the crane’s back was an expansive, reinforced platform crafted from ironwood, complete with low railings and ward-engraved floorboards to deflect high-altitude gale winds.

As they approached the boarding ramp, Oren stepped briskly toward Seana.

"Seana, there’s an insulated seat near the front railing," Oren said, gesturing forward. "The wind currents can be harsh for someone still recovering their Qi, you can—"

Seana didn’t even slow her stride.

Before Oren could finish his sentence, her hand reached out, her slender fingers slipping naturally into Lothe’s palm.

"Come on," she said softly, pulling Lothe along with her.

Lothe followed without a word.

They brushed past Oren, stepping onto the ironwood platform and claiming a spot together near the port rail.

Oren stood frozen on the ramp, his hand half-extended toward an empty space. A flicker of cold shock crossed his face before he forced his expression flat, his jaw tightening until the muscle twitched. Slowly, he retracted his hand and walked toward the rear of the platform, taking a seat beside his sister in stony silence.

Seana leaned over the railing, completely oblivious—or completely indifferent—to the tension, her focus captured entirely by the massive silver-patterned wings beneath them.

Lothe, however, rested his forearm along the timber rail, casting a calm, sideways glance back toward Oren. His dark eyes flared with cold amusement, his lips curling into a sharp, bloodthirsty smirk that clearly said: Know your place.

At the front of the platform, Elder Rowan took the reins. "Lock your boots into the array plates! The initial climb doesn’t wait for latecomers!"

Rowan channeled a thread of Qi into the bridle.

KRAAAAAAA!

The Celestial Crane threw its head back, letting out a ringing cry that split the mountain air.

WHOOOOOOOOSH!

The massive wings snapped downward.

The ironwood platform surged.

The ground fell away with terrifying speed.

Within seconds, the grand pavilions, the snow-draped courtyards, and the training grounds of the Glacial Spirit Sect shrank into toy blocks. The biting cold of the upper atmosphere rushed over them, only to break harmlessly against the faint blue barrier rising from the platform’s perimeter.

Lothe stood at the rail, watching the wild expanse of Country B unfold below: jagged peaks yielding to emerald valleys, winding rivers, and far in the distance, the smoking scars of ancient ruins.

Seana leaned gently against his shoulder, her crimson sleeve brushing against his dark silk.

"Finally out," she whispered, her gaze fixed on the endless horizon.

Lothe looked down at her pale, determined face, his thumb tracing the back of her hand.

"Let’s go find those children," he said.

Seana smiled, her fingers tightening around his. "Right behind you."

Beneath them, the Cloudstride Celestial Crane cleaved through the cloud bank, hurtling like a white spear toward the neutral lands of the Arbitration Hall.?