The two of them immediately turned their attention toward the direction of the voice. And when they looked, they were greeted by the sight of a handsome young man with deep green hair. He was also wearing a red uniform like the one Finn had on. The young man was smiling sweetly as he gazed at Ashe. The infatuation and admiration were evident in his eyes. But when his gaze shifted to Finn, his sweet smile instantly turned into a scowl.
Ashe noticed his reaction upon seeing Finn, so she quickly spoke.
"Lore Lilytel, this is Finn Doria, the new core member of the Cloud Soaring Sect. He also came from the Sacred Dragon Institute."
"Lilytel?" Finn was surprised when he heard the surname of the handsome young man. He was familiar with that name because, to his knowledge, the Lilytel Family was none other than the strongest Noble Clan in the entire Sacred Dragon Kingdom—the Lightning Wind Family.
Finn gave a slight smile to the young man named Lore and greeted him politely.
"Young Master Lore, it is an honor to meet and see you."
If the Ice Feather Sect had the talented Hyon Pierceval, the Cloud Soaring Sect had Lore Lilytel. In terms of strength alone, the two were nearly equal.
Lore was also eighteen years old, and at present, he was known as the strongest core member in the entire Core Division. This was unsurprising, as Lore's current rank and level were at the 5th Level Scarlet Gold Rank.
"It's good that you know your place," Lore said arrogantly. He immediately turned to Ashe and no longer paid any attention to Finn. Lore smiled sweetly at the young woman and spoke softly.
"Ashe, the Seven Great Faction Games are about to begin. I'm sure the two of us will make it into the seven slots. How about we train together now? I'm certain I can help you if we train side by side."
Finn couldn't help but grimace at how Lore ignored him. He had greeted the other young man with respect and humility, but all he received in return were condescending words. Finn also noticed that Lore clearly had feelings for Ashe, which was probably why he acted that way when he saw them together.
Finn's suspicion was correct. Lore did indeed have feelings for Ashe. It wasn't a secret within the Core Division—everyone knew it. Meanwhile, when Lore saw Ashe with another young man, he couldn't help but feel irritated and jealous. He had liked her for a long time, but she always avoided and rejected him. Lore had long lost count of how many times he'd shown interest. All he knew was that every attempt and invitation was met with various forms of refusal.
"I'm sorry, but I still need to speak with this young man about the Cloud Soaring Sect's rules. It's an order from the Sect Master, so I can't ignore it," Ashe replied with a smile.
Of course, she was lying. And she did so for two reasons. First, to avoid Lore. Second, to get a little revenge on Finn for the way he'd mocked her when he caught her punch.
Meanwhile, Finn knew Ashe was up to something because she had already finished explaining the sect's rules. He forced a smile as he endured Lore's hostile glare.
'Women really do bring so many problems,' Finn thought to himself.
"In that case, I suppose I should leave so I don't get in the way," Lore said with a smile, though the irritation in his eyes was obvious. He looked at Finn and continued.
"You're new here, so you'd better watch yourself. Until next time."
After "reminding" Finn, Lore turned around and walked away at a measured pace, arms crossed behind his back.
Finn could tell that wasn't a friendly reminder—it was a clear threat. As he thought about it, he couldn't help but grimace. Just like that, he'd already made an enemy without lifting a finger. Wonderful.
Finn looked at Ashe and spoke irritably.
"What was your goal?"
He very much wanted to teach her a lesson, but he chose to restrain his anger. They were in the Cloud Soaring Sect, and he knew that if he so much as laid a hand on Ashe, her admirers would swarm him. Besides, Ashe was the most talented member of the Vermillion Bird Family and the daughter of the Sect Master himself. He knew better than to add to his troubles.
Ashe simply gave him a sweet smile and spoke innocently.
"Nothing. I just wanted him to leave because I don't like him. And since I'm clever, I thought of a good excuse."
Finn couldn't help but shake his head at her answer. He began to walk away to look for his quarters in the Cloud Soaring Sect.
There was no longer any reason to keep talking to Ashe. It would be better for him to find his lodging and begin his training.
While waiting for the three months to pass, he planned to train inside the Myriad World Mirror to further strengthen himself.
"Where are you going?" Ashe called out as Finn continued walking.
He didn't reply. Instead, he walked even faster.
Ashe frowned and asked herself, 'Hm? Did I do something wrong?'
"Wait!"
When she realized Finn was already far away, she quickly ran after him.
She still had two things she'd forgotten to give him, so she hurried to catch up.
"Do you still need something, Miss Ashe?" Finn asked with a frown.
"You're too serious. I just forgot to give you something and to remind you of a few things," Ashe said with a smile, tracing her interspatial ring.
After a moment, two objects appeared from the ring, and she quickly took hold of them.
"You're now a core member, and my father knows you came from an ordinary clan. Perhaps you don't have a proper weapon for combat. So my father wanted to give you a High-tier Rare Armament," Ashe explained. She handed him a black sword and continued.
"That weapon is called the Black Iron Sword. It's made of special materials. Since they didn't know what type of weapon you use, they decided to give you a sword."
Finn took the black weapon, and information immediately entered his mind.
[Black Iron Sword]
Armament Grade: Rare
Quality: High-tier
Damage: 470
He accepted the gift not because he lacked weapons but to avoid arousing suspicion. He stored it inside his own interspatial ring and smiled politely at Ashe.
"Please convey my sincere gratitude to the Sect Master, Miss Ashe."
"You're strange—not even a little bit excited to receive a Rare Armament," Ashe remarked. She continued, "Take this medallion too. Bring it to the Adventurers Skill Pavilion. You can choose three Rank 5 skills with it."
When it came to skills, Finn lacked nothing. In truth, he was far wealthier than the Cloud Soaring Sect in such treasures. Like the Rare Armament, he placed the medallion into his interspatial ring.
"Since my duty here is done, I'll go report to the Sect Master. Remember, you're new here—don't go wandering around," Ashe reminded him.
She didn't wait for Finn to reply. She turned and left.
Watching her back, Finn sighed and murmured to himself,
"At last, she's finally gone."
Some adventurers were walking nearby, and when they saw Ashe talking to Finn, most of them wondered who the newcomer was. A few of them shot him unfriendly looks.
Finn ignored them all. He didn't want to get into trouble before the selection started, so he thought it would be best if he never crossed paths with Ashe again to avoid the chaos she brought.
He resumed walking to find his temporary quarters, and after a few minutes of searching, he finally found what he was looking for.
Using the key Ashe had given him, he quickly entered and made sure to lock the door. Then he opened his Myriad World Mirror and stepped inside. He left it open so he could still sense if anyone entered his quarters. Even though it was open, no one else could see it—only he could perceive its appearance. Others would only see it if he deliberately revealed it.
Once again, he entered a deep meditation, and soon, the little creature reappeared and quietly watched him from afar.
--
Eastern Part of the Core Division
In a room, a man was calmly seated in a chair.
"Father, I have returned," came the voice of a young woman from outside the door.
A smile immediately appeared on the man's face when he heard her voice.
"You may come in," he said.
After he spoke, the door opened, and a beautiful young woman entered the room—Ashe.
Since she called the man "Father," it meant that the man before her was the current Faction Master of the Cloud Soaring Sect—Noah Vildar.
Ashe bowed respectfully to Noah. In Ashe's heart, this was the only man she truly admired. Noah was a Sky Rank Adventurer and was currently the strongest adventurer in the entire Cloud Soaring Sect.
As Noah watched Ashe's respectful demeanor, he smiled and spoke.
"Elder Marcus already reported everything to me. He also told me you tested Finn Doria. But it seems he didn't have any difficulty passing the test you gave."
"That was just an attack without any soulforce. If I had used soulforce, he definitely would still be unconscious," Ashe insisted haughtily.
She really didn't like the fact that Finn had blocked her attack. It felt wrong to her, so she kept trying to convince herself that if she'd truly meant it, he wouldn't have passed.
Noah smiled at Ashe's answer and gently said, "But according to Elder Marcus, the young man didn't use soulforce either when he blocked your attack. He only used his physical strength, and that's why Elder Marcus was surprised."
"He didn't use soulforce?" Ashe was stunned.
She hadn't known whether Finn had used soulforce. But since Marcus and Kiden were stronger and were watching, they surely would have sensed it.
"He's still a Gold Rank Adventurer. He wouldn't beat me in a real fight, Father," Ashe insisted stubbornly.
To her, Finn was still an ordinary adventurer. She saw herself as talented and above others whom she viewed as merely average.
Noah shook his head and gave a wry smile at Ashe's obstinance. He would have liked to temper her arrogance, but it seemed pointless.
"Kiden still recommended him, and surely he had his reasons," Noah said calmly. He looked into his daughter's eyes and asked seriously, "By the way, how is your real father?"