Chu Yao stood quietly outside the inner hall, her hands clenched tightly within her sleeves. Her heart raced—not with excitement, but with frustration and uncertainty.
She was waiting here to discuss with her mother about the holy son.
She didn't know if she could convince her not to arrange a marriage with the holy son.
Inside the grand hall, four elder women sat upon elevated thrones, each adorned in distinct robes representing their status.
On the highest seat sat a graceful figure clad in pure white—Chu Ying, the Matriarch of Frost Cloud Pavilion and Chu Yao's mother.
"Elders," Chu Ying began, her voice was carrying an undeniable authority, "today's meeting is for one matter—the proposed collaboration with the Azure Dragon Sect. I want to hear your thoughts."
A moment of silence followed, before one of the elders—a middle-aged woman with a few sliver strands on her lustrous black hair—spoke first.
"I support it, Matriarch," she said with a respectful nod.
"The Azure Dragon Sect is powerful. If we align ourselves with them, Frost Cloud Pavilion's name will spread far beyond the Northern Regions."
Two other elders beside her nodded in agreement.
"It would be a mistake to pass on such a chance."
"With the Tournament of Ascension approaching, we need powerful allies."
Chu Ying nodded slowly, acknowledging their words. Then her gaze shifted toward the lone figure on the other side of the hall.
"Elder Sun Menglan," she said, her tone neutral, "you've remained quiet. Do you disagree?"
Sun Menglan, the youngest of the elders, sat with her arms crossed.
She was barely older than Chu Yao and had gained her position through talent and merit, not connections.
Her expression remained blank, though her eyes held a certain cold sharpness.
"Yes, I disagree," she said bluntly. "Though I know my voice will be ignored regardless."
Her words made everyone present there to despise her.
Chu Ying kept her tone polite, though her eyes narrowed slightly. "You may speak freely."
Sun Menglan gave a humorless smile. "We all know this collaboration is just a stepping stone to tying Holy Son Wu Ming to the Pavilion… and by extension, tying him to your daughter."
A silence fell.
Chu Ying's smile did not falter, but her fingers slightly tightened on the armrest of her throne.
Sun Menglan continued. "The Tournament of Ascension isn't some parade. It's a battlefield. The Azure Dragon Sect is likely seeking additional sects to use as cannon fodder—to wear down the competition before they send their elite disciples."
One of the other elders interjected coldly, "Are you accusing the Azure Dragon Sect of deception, Elder Sun?"
"I'm saying they have their own agenda," Sun Menglan replied calmly. "Once they no longer need us, they'll forget we even exist."
Chu Ying's eyes glimmered for a moment before she replied softly, "And what would you propose we do? Reject this opportunity entirely?"
"We can still allow our disciples to participate," Sun Menglan answered. "But not under a unified front. Let them go to sharpen themselves, but not as part of the Azure Dragon Sect's ranks."
The room went silent again.
Then Chu Ying slowly exhaled. "Let us vote."
As expected, the three elders raised their hands in favor of collaboration.
Only Sun Menglan remained still.
Chu Ying turned to her with a faint smile. "Alas, Elder Sun, it seems your views are not shared by the others."
Sun Menglan stood up, her expression unreadable.
"They don't need to be."
She turned without bowing and walked toward the exit, pausing only briefly. "In a few days, I'll step down from this position. After that, what happens to this sect no longer concerns me."
Her words struck like a blade through ice. The other elders stiffened, but no one spoke.
Chu Ying's smile faded for the first time.
Once Sun Menglan left, the hall felt colder.
Chu Ying sat silently, gazing at nothing in particular.
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Outside, Chu Yao saw Sun Menglan pass by. Their eyes met for a fleeting second.
"Elder Sun..." Chu Yao began, but Menglan raised her hand.
"I was never truly your elder," she said softly. "Find your own answers, Holy Daughter."
Chu Yao remained rooted in place as the woman disappeared down the corridor.
Then, steeling herself, she turned and stepped into the hall to speak with her mother.
Chu Yao stepped in quietly.
She moved past the rows of jade pillars and sat atop her mother's throne — a place she had never dared to occupy before. Yet, in that moment, her thoughts were too heavy for formalities.
Across the hall, Chu Ying stood silently beside a tall arched window.
Her gaze was fixed on the snow-laced peaks beyond, as though searching for something that time had long buried.
"Yao Yao," she asked softly without turning around, "did you meet with the Holy Son of the Azure Dragon Sect?"
"Yes, Mother," Chu Yao answered. But even as the word Mother passed her lips, a strange tightness seized her chest.
Chu Yao always called her 'Mother'—not out of false affection, but because she had known no other maternal figure.
Yet every time she said it… it felt off. Empty.
Chu Ying was not her real mother.
She was… her mother's maid.
The only one who knew the truth.
To outsiders, Chu Ying was the matriarch of Frost Cloud Pavilion, a peerless figure whose grace and beauty had not faded with time. Some even joked she looked more like Chu Yao's elder sister than her parent.
But behind that cold, perfect exterior was a buried history no one else knew.
Chu Yao's true mother had once been a royal—an expelled princess from the Great Yan Kingdom, a dynasty nestled deep within the Central Region.
Though kingdoms were usually weaker than major sects, what if that kingdom was from a realm where thousands of powerful sects coexisted—each as strong as Frost Cloud Pavilion or stronger?
Then everything changed.
Chu Yao… was not just a sect's holy daughter.
She was a hidden princess—a stain upon royal blood.
A child never meant to exist.
Her mother had married in secret to a wandering cultivator—one who claimed to hail from the Upper Realm. After conceiving Chu Yao, they fled to the barren Northern Regions.
On the night of Chu Yao's birth, both her parents vanished, leaving behind nothing but a letter... and Chu Ying.
The letter bore a command sealed with blood and Divine Qi. It was to be opened only when Chu Yao came of age.
And when that time came—just a few years ago—Chu Ying had opened it.
The command was clear:
When the girl comes of age, send her to marry the Holy Son of the Azure Dragon Sect. It is her fate. Whether she accepts it or not is irrelevant. The Holy Son belongs to an ancient clan whose ancestors surpassed even Immortals. Once this union is sealed… your duty ends.
Chu Ying had wept that night—not from sorrow, but from helpless rage.
She was bound by a Heavenly Oath. Sworn in servitude to her former mistress.
To break the command was to invite divine retribution—a Thunder Tribulation that even a Saint King could not survive.
She had no choice. The oath would not allow it.
Now… the time had come.
[To be Continued.]