Chapter 104: An Otherworldly Fairy

The old man’s piercing gaze lingered on Rhain and Seris for a brief moment.

Then he gave them a slight, approving nod.

"Friends of my granddaughter are always welcome in the Silvercrest Clan," the old man chuckled, ""I am Solas Silvercrest. Enjoy the evening, young ones."

"Thank you for the warm welcome, Senior," Rhain replied calmly, offering a measured, polite nod, while Seris curtsied gracefully beside him to express her gratitude.

Solas waved a large hand dismissively,. "None of that stiff formality! Now come, all of you — the sparring is about to begin, and I refuse to miss the opening matches because my granddaughter was dawdling at the gates."

Liana pouted but quickly looped her arm through Seris’s, pulling her along. "Come on, Seris! You’re going to love this!"

They walked through the luxurious corridors of the grand estate, eventually arriving at a massive, open-air arena

A circular stone platform, easily a hundred feet across, dominated the center of the space.

Dozens of young cultivators were already engaged in fierce duels, with the endless sounds of clashing.

But when Liana stepped into the viewing area, escorted by her grandfather, a visible ripple passed through the crowd.

Almost every single gaze in the training grounds was instantly attracted to her.

She was, after all, the undisputed pearl of Mirravele City.

"Lady Liana is here!"

"She’s looking so beautiful in that dazzling silver dress..."

"Focus on the match, you idiot! — But yes, she really is stunning tonight."

It was a reaction the Silvercrest Clan’s younger generation had long grown accustomed to.

Liana’s beauty was an undeniable force of nature, and her presence at any event invariably pulled the room’s attention like the moon pulling the tide. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

But tonight, the gravitational pull didn’t stop at Liana.

Merely a second later, those gazes shifted to the girl standing quietly beside her.

The sound of irrepressible breathing overlapped against one another as many young men stared straight ahead, unable to snap back into reality.

Even the young men who had been fiercely exchanging blows on the platforms a moment ago had unconsciously stopped their movements.

"Who... who is that girl standing next to Lady Liana?"

"Such an otherworldly temperament... I didn’t even know someone could look like that. Is she an illusion?"

"Look at her hair... It’s like she is glowing! I feel like my soul is being sucked away just looking at her..."

Although a sheer white veil still obscured the lower half of her face, her exposed skin was as flawless as snow.

The moon’s radiance flowed over her, casting a tremulous reflection across her silver-blue hair.

The stars, for once, were scattered clearly across the sky. While in the center, the moon was luminous, watching over the grand estate.

If Liana was the dazzling pearl of Mirravele City, then this girl standing beside her was a transcendent fairy who had inadvertently stepped out of a divine painting.

Noticing the stunned and infatuated looks from the surrounding crowd, Seris felt a bit uncomfortable.

She instinctively took a half-step back, her slender figure moving slightly closer to Rhain.

If looks could physically grab someone, Seris would have been kidnapped a hundred times over in the past ten seconds.

Rhain just looked indifferently at the young cultivators.

"Looks like you’ve completely stolen my spotlight, Seris," Liana giggled, leaning in to whisper playfully.

"Lady Liana, please don’t tease me," Seris whispered back, a touch of red quickly spreading from her fair face to the nape of her neck beneath the veil.

Her hand instinctively reached out to lightly grip the edge of Rhain’s sleeve.

That small, subconscious gesture did not go unnoticed.

The young Silvercrest cultivators felt a sudden, collective jolt in their chests.

’Who is that guy?’

’Why is she holding his sleeve?"

The envious glares immediately pivoted from Seris to the handsome dark-robed young man standing beside her.

Solas stroked his white beard and let out a hearty laugh, breaking the frozen atmosphere of the arena. "Hahahaha! You brats, what are you all standing around foolishly for? The sparring is not over! If you have the energy to stare, then use it to show off your skills!"

The old man’s booming voice contained a hint of his Core Formation Realm pressure, instantly snapping the youths out of their daze.

"Ah! Y-yes, Old Patriarch!"

But even as the sounds of clashing swords resumed, the eyes couldn’t help but drift back subconsciously toward the viewing area every few seconds.

They were used to seeing Liana’s flawless charm on a daily basis, but the veiled girl standing beside her felt entirely otherworldly.

"Liana," a confident, resonant voice came from from the center of the crowd, a tall figure detached himself and began making his way toward their viewing area..

He was a handsome young man dressed in a spotless, silver-trimmed martial robe that clearly distinguished him from the ordinary members.

His posture was straight and brimming with self-assurance.

The moment Liana saw him approaching, the cheerful smile on her face stiffened, instantly replaced by a subtle look of displeasure.

The young man didn’t seem to care about Liana’s annoyance in the slightest.

His eyes immediately locked onto Seris, flashing with an intense, undisguised look of amazement and desire.

"You brought guests? Won’t you introduce them?" the young man asked, stepping entirely too close.

Liana suppressed a sigh, her voice losing all of its previous enthusiasm.

"This is Seris, and her friend, Rhain. They are my guests for tonight," she said stiffly.

She then turned to Rhain and Seris, gesturing toward the young man with noticeable reluctance. "And this is Sylvan. He is... currently the most talented young member of our clan."

Sylvan puffed out his chest slightly, allowing his oppressive aura to naturally leak out.

Rhain looked at him with mild intrest.

Ninth level of the Essence Condensation Realm!

It was undeniably a massive feat.

Back in the Greymist Town, even those hailed as geniuses—like Victor and Bria—would need at least thirty to forty years of cultivation to reach this level.

In the Azure Cloud Sect, many of the old elders who had cultivated for their entire lives were hopelessly stuck at the third or fourth level of the Essence Condensation Realm.

Yet here, a young man barely twenty years of age already possessed the strength to be an sect elder in the Greymist Town.

The disparity was truly staggering.

"I have been waiting for you, Liana," Sylvan said, flashing what he believed to be a charming, confident smile, "Why don’t we spar? And since your new friend is here, all three of us could have a friendly exchange. I’d be more than happy to offer some pointers to both of you."

Liana’s smile vanished instantly.

A flash of genuine annoyance crossed her face.

"No thank you, Sylvan," Liana replied coldly, completely shooting down his proposal. "I invited Seris here to spar with me, and me alone. Besides, take a look around. There are dozens of people in this arena who are practically dying to cross swords with our clan’s number one genius. You certainly don’t lack for sparring partners."

Liana didn’t look at him anymore, and She turned her attention back to the Seris.

"Are you ready to spar right now, Seris?" Liana asked. "Originally, I wanted to let you relax in the grand hall for a while first, but now that we are here and the atmosphere is just right... I really want to spar with you."

Seris’s beautiful eyelashes fluttered as she gave a nod.

"I don’t have a problem with it," she replied, her voice carrying a hint of anticipation. "In fact, I couldn’t wait to spar with you either, Liana."

Liana beamed with delight. But before heading to the arena, she turned her head and looked at Rhain.

"What about you, Rhain?" Liana asked politely. "Do you want to spar as well? If you are interested, I can easily find a suitable partner for you from our clan’s ranks."

Rhain simply smiled faintly and waved his hand in a dismissive gesture.

"I appreciate the offer, Lady Liana, but I will pass," Rhain replied calmly. "I don’t really want to spar tonight. I’ll just watch."

Everyone here was far too weak.

It would be entirely meaningless anyway.

Hearing his refusal, Sylvan, who was still stinging from Liana’s rejection, let out a mocking scoff.

"Oh, come on now," Sylvan sneered, eyeing Rhain with blatant condescension. "It’s just a friendly spar. Don’t be afraid. We know how to hold back our strength—no one is going to break your bones."

The moment those words left Sylvan’s mouth, the cheerful atmosphere instantly plummeted.

"Sylvan!"

Solas scolded harshly, "Mind your tongue, boy, "Is this how our Silvercrest Clan treat our guests?"

Sylvan flinched, though a trace of unyielding disdain still lingered in his eyes.

Beside the old man, Seris and Liana were both looking at Sylvan with extremely unfriendly eyes.

The temperature around Seris’s delicate body dropped a few degrees.

If it wasn’t because of Liana’s sake, she would have already retorted.

Rhain, however, simply shook his head. He didn’t utter a single word to defend himself.

A tiger doesn’t stop to argue with an ant that happens to cross its path.

"Let’s go, Seris," Liana said coldly, casting one last disgusted glare at Sylvan before taking Seris by the hand. "Let’s leave this sour mood behind."

Seris gave Rhain a final, lingering look to ensure he truly wasn’t bothered, before nodding and following Liana.

The two girls stepped lightly out of the viewing area and made their way toward the massive circular platform in the center of the arena.

The moment their feet touched the stone tiles, something bizzare happened.

Clang—!

The frantic sounds of clashing swords and shouting youths abruptly died out.

"I admit defeat!"

"Huh? But... you were winning!"

"I said I admit defeat! The match is over! Get off the stage, idiot, Lady Liana and the fairy need the platform!"

All around the arena, absolute madness ensued.

Cultivators who were two or even three realms higher than their opponents were shamelessly admitting defeat at the top of their lungs.

In the span of few seconds, every single ongoing spar in the entire arena was abruptly abandoned.

No one wanted to miss the clash between two beauties.