The very first thing Cade felt upon detecting the incoming company was a huge sense of relief.

  His decision to avoid using War Form was correct, and he was right in believing that their fight might have been observed. It was clear someone had to direct Aria here, likely Erendriel. They were literally in the middle of nowhere. This also gave him an idea about the range of soul sense, which was vastly greater than his life sense. It was understandable, considering the soul was the medium through which advanced cultivators were able to exert their will on reality. It was their connection to the Grand Dao and all the laws of the universe.

  I’ll have to look for more treatises on soul cultivation. Sooner or later I'll be facing enemies using soul qi, I might as well start learning now.

  Cade finished dismantling the defensive formation and brought out a large tent—he took it from Castien’s ring, who kept it fully assembled alongside plenty of expensive furniture. All that was left to fix were the guy ropes, but those didn’t matter. This was a temporary arrangement to keep away the scorching midday radiance and provide the girl with some comfort.

  Half a minute later, he saw Aria’s speeder in the distance—a sleek, long vessel the size of a large carriage, shaped to reduce air drag and covered in smooth, metallic plates arranged in a geometrically pleasing fashion.

  It was intricate and beautiful, but nothing like the elven speeder he took from the Tyrant. Whereas the elves preferred soft and rounded shapes, the fey were all about shining metal, hard angles, and maximum efficiency.

  Aria landed a few dozen feet away from the tent, and Cade was instantly reminded of her irresistible charm. Her silver hair shone in the sun, surrounding her perfect face like a blazing halo of silver sparks, heavily contrasting with her abyssal gaze. She wasn’t wearing Sword Dao robes but a splendid white gown with hundreds of tiny scintillating crystals sewn onto it. Its tight-fitting shape was enough to make the minds of most men go blank.

  Luckily, after his rebirth Cade became fairly resistant to feminine charms, unlike his gray-skinned brother Gorgo. Instead of gawking, he stood up, cupping his fist.

  “A pleasure to see you again, Martial Sister. May I ask what brings you to this random patch of desert?”

  “Martial Brother, it’s good to see you,” Aria smiled lightly, nodding in response to his greeting as she glanced toward the tent. “Grandmaster sent me to give you some help.”

  “He did?” Cade said, feigning surprise. So I’m being watched by that nosy old elf. Damn, I was right to be careful.

  Then a soft groan came from the tent, and he smiled gratefully at Aria. Her being here was definitely a good thing.

  “Your presence is most welcome, Martial Sister. I am indeed in need of some female assistance,” he said, heading inside. Seeing as Aria was about to follow him, he raised his hand. “Please, allow me to check on her first.”

  “What happened here? Were you attacked? From the air, this whole area looks like a battlefield,” Aria asked, her face showing concern as she took in the scene. Her life signature, however, revealed a well-restrained anger—she clearly knew something about what the Mirror Tyrant had done.

  “Just some worthless trash that needed cleaning up. Give me a moment,” Cade answered, sitting down next to the elven girl, who had regained consciousness. She was lying on the blanket, covered with his red coat, pressing her palms to her temples. A grimace of discomfort passed over her bruised face, then her eyes shot wide open. She glanced around, wide-eyed with fear, holding onto his spare coat as if it were a potent protective artifact. Once she saw there was nobody else inside the tent other than Cade, her eyes began to glisten.

  “You’re safe. He’s dead and won’t be able to harm you ever again,” the Asura said softly.

  Tears welled up in her eyes, and her lips quivered. In the next moment, the girl buried herself against his chest with all her strength, still clutching onto the coat. Her quiet tears swelled into a flood, and her muffled cry became a mournful wail as the survival drive gradually receded and the reality of her brutally stolen innocence began to sink in. Cade patted her back gently, choosing to stay silent. He had no idea what to say in any case.

  He could hear Aria’s breathing outside the tent quickening and the sound of her finger bones creaking. Her life signature burned with righteous fury.

  Eventually, the wailing turned into sobbing, and the young elf slowly calmed down. “Can you tell me your name?” Cade asked in a gentle voice.

  “I’m Naia. Thank you, sir. Thank you, thank you, thank you,” she repeated her thanks over and over again, unwilling to let go of his dusty black robe.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Naia. I’m Cade. Just think of me as your Senior Brother, alright?” he said, and could feel the girl nod, still unwilling to let go. “My Martial Sister is waiting outside the tent, and she might have some clothes that will suit you much better than my silly coat. Would you like me to call her?”

  Naia slowly pulled away from him, her trembling arms pressing his coat to her chest. His words seemed to have redirected her attention to her physical state. When she saw the bruises and cuts on her arms, she started crying again, and Cade sighed softly. After all, there was no rush.

  A few long breaths later, Naia wiped her eyes with her forearm. “I’m sorry…” Her voice was as quiet as a whisper.

  “If anyone here should apologize, it’s me. He was after me all that time. I was in seclusion, unaware of your plight. For this, I am deeply sorry,” he said, gritting his teeth and lowering his head. He knew he couldn’t have predicted what the Tyrant was planning, but he still couldn’t help but feel it was partially his fault.

  To his surprise, the girl vehemently shook her head. “I brought this onto myself. I could sense he was bad news, but I’m only a waitress. Unless I luck out on tips, I make less than 10 crystals a month; it’s barely enough to survive in Oasis, and I have to look after my sick mother. He offered me a thousand spirit crystals to be his attendant for several days… I felt I should refuse, but… the sum was too much… I didn’t expect…” she started explaining before breaking down again.

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  Cade sensed Aria’s growing impatience. “You did what you thought was right. You can’t blame yourself for it, you did nothing wrong,” he said, giving her delicate hand a light squeeze. “Would it be alright if my Martial Sister came in now?” he asked after Naia calmed down a little.

  The young elf nodded, sobbing quietly. “I’ll be outside the tent,” he said. Seeing a panicked look in her eyes, he quickly added, “I’ll sit right outside where you can see me.”

  As Cade walked out of the tent, he nodded to Aria, whose face was flushed with anger and two wet paths marked her cheeks. She looked at him, her abyssal eyes unreadable as always. Then she did something completely unexpected—the fey passionately snapped her fist to hand at him and bowed her head before swiftly disappearing inside the tent. He was so dumbfounded, he had no time to react.

  Instead, he sat down some twenty feet away with his back toward the entrance, listening to Aria’s soft, melodious voice as she introduced herself. Her incredible beauty actually seemed to help, as Naia was so awestruck with how gorgeous the silver-haired fey was, her life signature calmed down, with notes of admiration taking over.

  A short while later, both women were already engaged in a quiet conversation, occasionally interrupted by brief sobs, while Cade focused on examining the Tyrant’s ring. He took out the old man’s notes on him—several pages of writing, covering most of what the Sword Dao disciples would know. It was already obvious the Tyrant had someone inside the monastery working for him, which confirmed his suspicions regarding a corrupt guard. After reviewing his memories, he was positive there was nobody else who could have planted the scarab on his robe. This was something that needed resolving.

  The Asura proceeded to remove every object that could remind the girl of her recent fate—and there were many. The Tyrant was truly a perverse, sadistic monster. Eventually, all that was left were the spirit crystals, artifacts, and cultivation arts—including an ancient-looking memory crystal, which contained the Mirror Phalanx.

  “May I?” he said aloud, once he could tell that Naia’s emotions had stabilized a little and the women were no longer speaking in hushed voices.

  “Please come in, Martial Brother,” Aria said after a pause.

  The Asura had barely stepped inside the tent before Naia threw herself into a kowtow.

  “No, no, please,” Cade quickly reacted, gently stopping the young elf from hitting the ground with her forehead. She was now dressed in Aria's gorgeous black dress, though it was a bit loose on her. Her wounds and bruises were barely visible; the fey must have given her a potent healing pill. Naia’s face had been cleaned of dried blood and dirt, revealing delicate features.

  “Senior Brother, I don’t know how else I can thank you,” Naia said, her voice breaking with emotion. “Before you came, I had lost all hope. I have no one else to blame but myself,” she added, as tears gathered in the corners of her eyes.

  “No,” he responded firmly, shaking his head. “The only person at fault here is that old bastard. However, not only is he dead, he will never rejoin the cycle of reincarnation,” he stated solemnly, before placing the Tyrant’s storage ring on his open hand. For a moment, Naia’s grateful expression shifted into one of mild confusion.

  “I’ve learned in this life that the greatest misery can sometimes end up becoming the biggest opportunity. Inside this ring are artifacts, cultivation arts, and over 350,000 spirit crystals. With its contents and sufficient training, you should be able to reach the peak of Foundation Establishment, quite possibly break into True Core. It’s yours,” he said, extending his hand toward her.

  Naia sat unmoving like a marble statue, staring at his palm with her mouth half-open, eyes wide from shock.

  “There’s one thing here that I’d advise you not to sell. It’s this,” Cade brought out the ancient memory crystal from inside the ring. “This is the Mirror Phalanx, one of the two most powerful cultivation arts I’ve seen. If you decide to study it, there will be very few people in the same realm who will be able to pose any danger to you. With its help, you won’t just become strong; you will be truly powerful, especially if you decide to join the Sword Dao Monastery in the future,” he said, gently taking her trembling hand and placing both objects on her palm.

  Cade had no doubt it was the right thing to do. Naturally, he would greatly benefit from these resources, but ultimately he couldn’t find it within himself to keep them. That would feel wrong, and handing it all to Naia felt right. It was all he needed to make a decision.

  “But… I don’t deserve any of this,” Naia choked out, barely able to speak through the pressure in her throat.

  “Who, then, deserves it? Me?” Seeing her hesitant nod, Cade continued, “Well, I’ve decided to give it to you—so that’s that.” He smiled lightly as he wrapped Naia’s fingers around the ring and the crystal. “There’s also the matter of his speeder, but I have to clean it from all the rubbish.” Upon mentioning the vessel, he saw Naia’s face twist with disgust.

  “I don’t even want to look at it… or anything that reminds me of this… this animal,” she said, her voice shaking.

  “Fine, I’ll give you my speeder instead,” Cade said. Just as she was about to oppose, he added, “It’s not really mine anyway. I took it from another fellow who was also quite adept at courting death,” he gave her a cheeky grin.

  Witnessing his broad smile, Naia couldn’t help but feel the corners of her own lips curl up slightly.

  “I’ll take Naia back to Oasis,” Aria said in her usual, serious tone. While her face was expressionless, her fluctuations showed she did appreciate Cade’s attempt at redirecting the girl’s thoughts and improving her mood.

  “Thank you, Martial Sister,” Cade nodded, turning to the elven girl with a serious, solemn look. “If anyone makes problems for you in the future, come to Sword Dao and ask for Cade Ward. Whoever tries to hurt you will soon learn how bad of an idea that was. Use the resources inside the ring to grow strong, and in the future you won’t have to rely on anyone.”

  He was about to stand up when the girl threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck with all her strength.

  “Thank you, Senior Brother. Thank you so much. I will never forget your kindness,” she whispered in a teary voice.

  Cade lightly tapped her back. “All that darkness is now in the past. Treat all that happened as a bad dream. Your future is bright,” he whispered back, before they separated. He stood up, smiled at both women, and stepped out of the tent, swiping the Tyrant’s body into his ring. He didn’t want any of his shitty blood, but neither did he want to leave it lying in plain sight now that he knew Naia didn’t want to see it.

  The Asura brought out his Arrow Nine, leaving it outside for the girl to collect. Pushing blood qi into two small bumps on his back, Cade manifested his Blood Wings, wrapping the ribbons around his torso. The elven speeder was a work of art, but he didn’t want to touch it until he could remove all signs of the Mirror Tyrant’s presence.

  Now that the old bastard’s soul was stuck inside Legion, there’d be plenty of time to find out what he knew. Cade decided to head back to the monastery for now as there was something he really wanted to check in the Book of Life—and didn’t have the time to do before.

  "How are you feeling, Legion?" he asked, swapping into his realm of consciousness.

  “Never better, Master. Never better.” Hearing the spirit’s gleeful, satisfied chortle, Cade grinned inwardly.

  It’s time to find out what lies beyond Flesh Fortification, he thought, as his body cut through the air toward the distant peak of Sword Dao Mountain.