For hours Nathan trained, his Avalanche technique painting the Northern Plateau in frost and jagged ice. Each strike of qi left the ground shimmering, the cold biting deeper as his control sharpened. The plateau groaned under the strain, frost spreading in jagged veins across the stone. Nathan’s breath crystallized in the air, each exhale scattering shards of frost. His meridians burned with icy fire, forcing him to balance between mastery and collapse.

  If I can’t endure this, I’ll never grow stronger, he thought, pushing harder as the avalanche roared outward in jagged waves. By the time nightfall draped the plateau in silence, exhaustion weighed heavily on him. Yet satisfaction filled his chest. With his strength spent but his resolve firm, he turned to descend the path back to his quarters—

  —and that’s when a figure appeared. The silence shattered. A faint ripple of qi brushed against his senses, sharp and unfamiliar.

  She was his age, her beauty so striking that Nathan’s heart hammered against his ribs. Dark skin glowed faintly beneath the moonlight, long dark hair cascaded like silk, and almond eyes gleamed with dangerous allure. Her presence was intoxicating, leaving him breathless.

  Her lips curved into a faint smile. “So the delicious scent was coming from you.”

  Before Nathan could react, she vanished from where she stood. In an instant, she was before him, her hand pressed against his chest. The sensation was unbearable—like icy hooks sinking into his veins. His qi poured out of him in streams, his vision tunneling, and his heartbeat slowing as though she were draining his very life. Her almond eyes gleamed with delight, lips parting slightly as if savoring the taste. Nathan gasped, his body trembling, panic clawing at him.

  Nathan’s eyes widened. He struggled, but her cultivation was overwhelming—Peak Core Formation Realm, far beyond his reach. His strength drained rapidly, panic clawing at him.

  Then, the marble within his dantian flared. Brilliant silver light erupted, flooding his meridians and bursting outward in a wave of raw energy. The surge was blinding—cold yet protective, burning through his body like liquid moonlight. The shockwave cracked the frozen ground, shards of ice scattering into the night. The girl’s smile faltered as she was hurled backward, skidding across the plateau, her hair whipping wildly in the gale.

  The shockwave rippled across the plateau, striking the protective arrays embedded in the sect’s mountain walls. Alarms flared as violet runes lit up in the distance—the sect’s defensive barrier had been triggered.

  Nathan staggered, chest heaving, as the girl rose gracefully to her feet. Her almond eyes gleamed with fascination, but before she could advance again, the air shifted. Powerful auras surged from the distance, rushing toward the disturbance.

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  She clicked her tongue softly, her expression turning from intrigue to calculation. “Tch… looks like we’re having company.” Her gaze lingered on Nathan, sharp and hungry. “Let’s meet up some other time.”

  Her figure blurred into the night, vanishing just as several elders descended upon the plateau, their robes billowing, eyes scanning the frost?covered field puzzled and with suspicion.

  Nathan’s vision blurred, silver light flickering in his eyes before darkness claimed him. He collapsed onto the frozen ground, unconscious, as the elders closed in.

  Nathan’s eyes fluttered open to the dim glow of lanterns. He was no longer on the frozen plateau but lying in his quarters, the faint scent of medicinal herbs lingering in the air. His body felt heavy, drained, as though every ounce of strength had been wrung from him.

  Seated nearby was Elder Rian, his posture straight, though his expression was softer than usual.

  “You gave us quite a scare,” Rian said quietly.

  “Senior…” Nathan barely managed to whisper. He tried to rise, but his body refused to respond.

  “Easy,” Rian said firmly. “You are qi-deficient right now. You won’t be able to move for a while.”

  Though Nathan didn’t know the full story of how he had returned to his quarters, he guessed it was Elder Rian’s doing. “Thank you… senior, for helping me.”

  Rian gave a faint smile, though his eyes remained sharp. “I’m your guide, after all. It’s my duty to carry you back and watch over you.”

  Nathan forced a weak smile. “Sorry to trouble you, senior.”

  “It’s alright. I wanted to be sure you woke safely. You’ve only just joined the sect—it would be a shame if your journey ended so soon.”

  Rian leaned forward slightly, his tone shifting from gentle to firm. “Tell me, Nathan. What happened out there?”

  Nathan’s heart raced as the memory of the dark?skinned girl flashed before his eyes—her almond gaze, her hand pressed against his chest, the marble’s flare. But instinct told him to keep it hidden.

  “I… overexerted myself,” Nathan said. “I pushed Avalanche too far. The energy spiraled out of control, and I couldn’t contain it. I hope I didn’t cause any trouble.”

  Rian studied him for a long moment, his expression unreadable. There was no way it was as simple as the boy claimed. The energy sensed earlier had been far beyond Core Formation, yet when the elders arrived, the aura had vanished, leaving only Nathan unconscious. Questions lingered—what was the source of that power, and how had such a presence entered the sect unnoticed? But no answers revealed themselves. For now, Rian chose silence.

  He exhaled softly. “I suspected as much. But going forward, you must be careful in your cultivation, Nathan. The sect will not tolerate recklessness.”

  Nathan nodded, guilt etched across his features. “I understand. It won’t happen again.”

  Rian’s gaze softened slightly, though his voice remained firm. “See that it doesn’t. You are talented, but talent without discipline is a path to ruin. Rest now. You’ll need your strength.”

  With that, Rian rose and departed, leaving Nathan alone with his thoughts. He lay back, staring at the ceiling, the image of the mysterious girl lingering in his mind.

  Who was she? Did he offend her somehow? Why did she try to kill him?

  The questions circled endlessly, but none brought clarity.

  But what unsettled him most was not her strength, nor even the danger she posed—it was the way his heart raced whenever he thought of her. The memory of her almond eyes burned in his mind, sharp and intoxicating, and the faint curve of her smile haunted him like a forbidden dream.

  Nathan clenched his fists weakly against the bedding. She tried to drain me… yet why does my chest tighten at the thought of her? Exhaustion weighed him down, but sleep refused to come. Instead, he lay in silence, caught between fear and fascination, knowing that this encounter was far from over.