The storm arrived not with thunder, but with silence.
It rolled over the eastern ridges like a shroud—low clouds twisting through the mountain passes, bringing with them the sharp scent of snow and secrets.
On Dawnmist Peak, the wind had changed.
Again.
Luo Feng stood beneath the hawthorn tree, eyes on the treeline.
He'd been sensing it all morning: a pressure. Not oppressive. Not hostile. But... searching. Like the mountain itself had drawn a breath and was waiting to see whether to exhale or hold it.
A-Yan paced behind him, blade in hand, half-training, half-pretending not to be nervous.
Bai Xueyin stood further back, arms folded, her eyes sharper than usual.
She knew that wind.
It was northern.
It was familiar.
Then the figure came.
Not on a flying beast. Not on a spiritual boat.
But on foot.
She walked up the side of the mountain like she owned it, her robe of dark furs trailing behind her, hood pulled low. The path froze beneath her steps—not with magic, but with sheer presence.
Bai's breath caught.
Luo Feng said nothing, but shifted his stance slightly. Not defensive. Not inviting.
Just ready.
The woman reached the top and paused.
She removed her hood slowly.
She had silver-white hair braided to her hip. Pale skin marked with thin, jagged scars beneath each eye. Her eyes were ice-blue—not glowing, not enchanted. Just cold. Ancient. Like she had seen too much and refused to blink.
She looked directly at Bai.
"You carry the seed," she said.
Bai straightened. "I do."
"You took it willingly?"
"I did."
The woman turned to Luo Feng next.
"And you let her."
"I don't own my disciples," Luo Feng said calmly. "I guide them."
The woman gave a slow nod.
"Then I've come to the right place."
They sat in the courtyard, tea steaming in the chill. A-Yan sat cross-legged nearby, pretending not to eavesdrop as she polished her dagger.
Bai stayed beside Luo Feng, her posture tense.
The woman finally spoke.
"My name is Kaelen of the Snowlands. I was once the Iceblade Saintess of the Northern Wastes. Now... I am what remains of the Silent Palace."
Bai inhaled sharply.
Luo Feng said nothing.
"I felt the Fracture Seed awaken. I thought it was a trick of the bloodline. But then I felt it stabilize. Shape itself. Obey."
Her gaze pierced Bai. "You bonded with it. And it did not break you."
"It tried," Bai said softly. "But I had help."
Kaelen's eyes flicked to Luo Feng.
"You taught her how to hold herself steady. That's not something power alone can do."
Luo Feng poured more tea. "That's what mentors are for."
Kaelen exhaled slowly.
"I've come with a proposal. Not for a duel. Not for revenge. For restoration."
She reached into her cloak and pulled out a scroll—thick, sealed with frost and runes.
"This is one of the last copies of the Frost Lotus Codex," she said. "It was meant to be passed to the next Matron. Bai Xueyin has the blood, the seed, and now... the chance to inherit it."
She set it gently on the table.
"But."
Luo Feng raised an eyebrow. "There's always a 'but.'"
Kaelen nodded.
"If she accepts it, she becomes a beacon. A threat. The Sect already fears your power. If she begins broadcasting Silent Palace energy from this peak… they will move."
"They're already moving," Bai muttered.
"And they will move faster." Kaelen's voice sharpened. "This is not a teaching scroll. It's a declaration. It says: 'We are not gone.'"
Ding! Unique Scroll Detected: Frost Lotus Codex (Matron's Copy).Option: Bind to Disciple Bai Xueyin and accelerate bloodline inheritance.Warning: Will mark Dawnmist Peak as a legacy-contaminated zone. Hostile factions may respond.Potential Reward: Forbidden Ice Domain – "Fracture Lotus Field."
Luo Feng studied the scroll.
Then looked at Bai.
"It's your decision," he said.
She was silent for a long time.
Then: "If I do this… I'm not hiding anymore."
Luo Feng nodded. "And I'll make sure you don't stand alone."
Kaelen smiled faintly. "You're a strange man, Luo Feng."
"Not strange," he said. "Just stubborn."
That night, Bai accepted the scroll.
The moment she unsealed it, frost rippled across the clearing. Flowers wilted. Grass crystalized. Even the stones groaned.
A-Yan watched from a distance, eyes wide. "Is she... okay?"
"She's growing," Luo Feng said. "Let her bloom."
Ding! Disciple Bai Xueyin has accepted the Frost Lotus Codex.Constitution: Glacial Veins of the Northern Wind – Advanced Stage Unlocked.New Technique: "Fracture Lotus Field" acquired (Area Control – Forbidden).Passive: Coldmind — Bai Xueyin gains resistance to all charm and illusion techniques.Host receives: Ice Affinity Boost + Fragment of Frost-Warded Memory.
Meanwhile, far away in the Sect's main city, Elder Mo knelt before a sealed chamber guarded by obsidian doors and glowing chains.
A voice, dry as bone and sharp as broken glass, echoed from within.
"You said the flame was manageable."
Mo clenched his fists. "It was. But the girl—Bai Xueyin—has drawn in the Snowlands."
"Then fire alone will not suffice."
"What do you suggest?"
The voice hissed.
"You made one Silent Peak. We will raise a second."
A scroll slid beneath the door—black as oil, humming with spiritual rot.
Mo took it.
And smiled.
Back on Dawnmist Peak, Bai stood beneath the stars, the wind swirling gently around her.
The cold no longer bothered her.
It listened.
Kaelen stood nearby, arms folded.
"When they come," she said, "it will not be subtle."
"I know."
"Will you run?"
Bai shook her head. "I have a teacher now."
Kaelen smiled—brief, but true.
"Then let's see what kind of Matron you become."