Cold wind blew, hitting the faces of Lucian, Celine and Isabe as they walked through a dense forest.


    Under the rainy night, Lucian held arge umbre, just big enough to shelter the three of them from the light downpour. As they walked, their steps squelched in the muddy earth, the sound muffled by the sound of rain on leaves above.


    Right now, they had already reached the territory of the Azure Sword sect''s branch.


    All that remained was to cross this wilderness to reach their destination. The carriage couldn''t navigate the narrow, twisting forest paths, so they had been forced to continue on foot.


    The rain fell softly against the fabric of the umbre, droplets cascading off the edges and asionally sshing their feet despite Lucian''s best efforts to keep them dry.


    Isabe and Celine both shivered as the cold wind hit them, pressing their bodies closer to Lucian for warmth.


    Each of them had a bag on their shoulder, full of clothes and daily necessities.


    "Dear, are you sure this is the ce we need to pass through?"


    At this moment Celine asked Isabe, her voice barely audible above the pounding rain.


    They had already walked for nearly 30 minutes but still couldn''t see their destination. She worried they might be lost.


    Isabe couldn''t help but think for a moment, then nodded,


    "It should be, mom. Before leaving, father told me that we need to go through this forest. There''s a foggyke inside. That''s our destination."


    As if on cue, a thick mist began to roll in out of nowhere, curling around their ankles and obscuring the path ahead, startling them.


    The fog felt strange, not sticking to their bodies as usual! It had no moisture or smell.


    Lucian held the umbre tightly, bringing his mother and sister closer.


    "Stay close,"


    He murmured, his crimson eyes scanning the misty forest,


    "We don''t want to get separated in this fog."


    As they continued, the fogpletely enveloped them in an eerie haze. Soon the rain disappeared, only the endless fog remained.


    They couldn''t see more than 1 meter in front of them. The world around them became quite, as if they had stepped into another realm entirely.


    The trees that had surrounded them moments ago were now gone. The ground beneath their feet felt different too — no longer muddy and wet.


    Isabe clutched tighter to Lucian''s arm, her heart pounding in her chest. Even Celine, usually soposed, felt a shiver of unease run down her spine.


    The fog seemed to press in on them from all sides, thick and oppressive.


    "You must be Lucian!"


    Suddenly a male voice cut through the fog.


    Instantaneously, Lucian moved, his hand let go of the umbre, as he held Celine and Isabe and moved forward, as the sound seemed toe from behind them.


    As they moved forward, the fog began to thin, revealing a breathtaking sight. Before them stretched a small, mirror-likeke, its surface as smooth as ss. The water reflected the night sky above, but strangely there was no rain here.


    In the middle of theke was a small pce like structure. It seemed to float atop theke''s surface.


    At theke''s edge stood a figure, tall and imposing. As the mist slowly parted, they could see it was a handsome young man, wearing a azure daoist robe with a silver sword design near the chest.


    The man had a warning smile on his handsome face, with a sword sheath at his waist.


    Seeing the man, Isabe quickly whispered to Lucian,


    "Brother, you should rx, he''s the one who came to the Empire. His name is Xander!" Continue reading on empire


    As Lucian examined Xander, he too was looking at them.


    His eyes first roamed Isabe''s curvaceous figure, then lingered appreciatively on Celine''s mature beauty before finally settling on Lucian.


    Xander''s gaze was piercing, as if he could see through to their very souls.


    Looking at the man, Lucian intrinsically felt an overwhelming danger. His muscles tensed imperceptibly, ready to spring into action at a moment''s notice. But he felt even if he used his full strength, he might not be this man''s match.


    He suddenly remembered the assassin''s word — that it was Xander who had sent him to kill Lucian.


    But now, seeing the young man before him showing no surprise at his arrival, Lucian could guess few things.


    Either this Xander was a master at concealing his true emotions, his expression betraying nothing of his inner thoughts, or the assassin had lied.


    Theck of shock on Xander''s face at seeing Lucian alive could mean he truly hadn''t expected the assassination attempt to seed. Or perhaps he was simply that confident in his own strength, unconcerned by Lucian''s survival.


    Even though he could think many things, Lucian acted as if he knew nothing.


    Whether the assassin lied or not didn''t matter, cause once he had enough strength, he could just force them to tell the truth.


    So even though Lucian was furious seeing how this assh*le was looking at Isabe and Celine with lustful expression, he decided to act submisvely for the time being.


    At this moment, Xander had walked in front of the trio. He smiled warmly like an elder brother taking care of his juniors.


    He first looked at Celine and asked,


    "You are?"


    The thin fog swirled around them, tendrils of mist curling at their feet as Xander approached. His steps were light, barely touching the surface.


    Celine hesitated for a moment, her eyes darting to Lucian before answering.


    "I''m Celine, Lucian and Isabe''s mother,"


    She replied, her voice steady despite the unease she felt.


    Xander''s eyes widened slightly, a flicker of lust crossing his face before it was quickly masked.


    "Ah, I see. You look far too young to be their mother,"


    He said smoothly, his eyes lingering on Celine''s curvaceous figure.


    "But as far as I remember, the Empress doesn''t have any Cultivation aptitude, so may I ask for what reason you''reing?"


    Xander asked again, his eyes still fixated on Celine''s motherly chest and the creamy thighs visible beneath her rain-dampened dress.


    Celine was already used to people looking at her lustfully, but something about Xander''s gaze made her skin crawl.


    Still, she kept herposure, replying decisively,


    "I''m just going there to look after my daughter and son. It''s their first time leaving home."


    Xander''s eyebrows raised slightly at her response, a small smirk ying at the corners of his mouth.


    "Is that so?"


    He mused, his voice silky smooth,


    "Well, I''m sure your presence will be... most appreciated."


    The way he emphasized ''appreciated'' sent a shiver down Celine''s spine.


    Then he turned around, not giving Lucian another nce,


    "Follow me. Tomorrow, we''ll set off for the sect."


    As they got closer to the artificialke, they couldn''t help but notice a bridge stretching across theke.


    The bridge arched over the ssy surface of theke, leading to the pce-like building at its center.


    As they stepped onto the bridge, Xander suddenly spoke,


    "Isabe, your uncle Marcus has already registered you as an inner sect disciple of the sect, so from today onwards, you can call me Senior Brother."


    Walking in the front, Xander noticed the trio''s confused expression from the corner of his eyes, so he exined,


    "It''s natural for you not to know. The Azure Sword sect''s disciples are divided into three categories — Outer, Inner and Core. Your uncle Marcus is a core disciple, so he has the special privilege to help register one person directly as an inner disciple each year."


    Just as Isabe was about to question why her uncle Marcus had not stepped in to help Lucian, Xander''s words brought her to a halt.


    Lucian had not disclosed Marcus'' ulterior motive to use Isabe to them, so she still held onto hope that their uncle would lend a hand.


    As they walked across the bridge, the mist parted around them, revealing the more beautiful scenery.


    But the three of them didn''t have the luxury to appreciate the beauty around them. Their minds were pre-upied with Xander''s words.


    At this moment, noticing how Xander didn''t mention anything about Lucian, Isabe asked hesitantly, even though she was quite wary of this young man,


    "S-senior brother, w-what about my brother Lucian?"


    Xander gave Lucian a sidelong nce and replied as if he didn''t care about him,


    "Although he has a good talent for body cultivation, there are many disciples in our sect with simr or even better aptitudes."


    He paused, wanting to see Lucian''s expression. But observing how Lucian didn''t even flinch at his words, a flicker of annoyance passed through Xander''s eyes.


    He continued with a slight edge to his voice,


    "The reason why I asked you to reach here today is because the day after tomorrow, there will be a disciple selection process. It urs every three months. So if you guys want Lucian to join the sect, he''ll have to pass the test like everyone else. If you''d arrivedter, you''d have to wait another three months."


    As they reached the end of the bridge, the mist partedpletely, revealing the full view of the pce before them.