Six days later, Riven stood a few steps from the edge of the same stone platform they'd taken for the Newcomer Trials — high above the forest valley, clouds trailing like torn silk across the ridgelines.
Next to him stood five other people.
To his left, Ziren. Dressed plainly in slate-gray travel robes, no embellishments, no sect colors — only a utilitarian leather belt across the waist, and the faint impression of iron-stitched reinforcement beneath the sleeves. He looked more like a wandering courier than the sect's top outer disciples.
Oh. I guess he's an inner disciple now.
Riven corrected himself, before quickly thinking of the next point.
No way Lumi would have allowed me to dress that plainly.
To his right, Lara. Soft crimson robes edged in fine golden thread, a pair of pearl-fastened bracers at each wrist, and a traveling satchel that probably cost more than most disciples' entire gear sets. She'd tied her hair up this time — high, elegant, practical. She still somehow managed to make it look like a show of status.
Beside her stood the last of the Top Four — the other girl he hadn't spoken to before. Talia. Light-green robes with layered sleeves and water-weave thread that shimmered faintly in the sunlight. Elegant. Regal. The hem was slightly lifted on one side, revealing fitted boots with silent soles.
Together, Lara and Talia looked like the prized daughters of some noble house.
Refined. Polished. Dangerous.
And yet, Riven didn't feel out of place.
His own robes — pale gray and deep indigo — moved quietly with the breeze, the high collar and clean angles giving him a sharp, formal look. Subtle armor reinforced the chest and forearms in overlapping patterns like frost-laced slate, and delicate violet embroidery curled along the hem and shoulders like thorned vines. Soft, almost hidden. But there if you looked.
The kind of outfit that didn't draw attention until you stepped into the light — and then made people pause.
If the two girls were noble daughters, he supposed he looked like the distant cousin. The one with sharp eyes, a quieter voice, and rumors about the knife he kept in his sleeve.
And then there was Ziren in his simple outfit.
Like a servant.
The strongest one among them, dressed the worst.
Riven glanced at him again, maybe it was the outfit, but he allowed himself a quiet thought:
I might win now.
If he was still as he was during the finals, he wouldn't have that much confidence against Ziren yet.
But he wasn't.
Just a couple days after the tournament ended, he broke through
No warning. No struggle.
Just smooth progress, like water pouring into a larger vessel.
His dantian had expanded from the size of a clenched fist… to an opened one.
Late Inner Essence Realm.
He didn't know if it was all the battles catching up, or his bloodline, or something else.
But for the first time since arriving at the sect…
He felt like he wasn't just catching up.
He'd reached the top of the previous batch.
Ziren's realm.
"Alright, everyone's here," Elder Syen's voice cut through the air, crisp and even.
Riven turned his gaze forward.
Toward the other two people on the plaza.
Elder Syen stood with his hands folded behind his back, dressed in a pure black robe.
Next to him stood another girl he'd never seen before.
She stood with her hands clasped in front of her, gently rocking on her heels, her eyes wide as she looked over the group like a curious squirrel trying to decide who to greet first.
She was tiny — barely reaching Elder Syen's shoulder — and wore a top with short sleeves and a flared skirt over fitted leggings. Pale pink and cloud-white. A little ridiculous considering the place they were in. But also a little adorable. A jade tassel swung at her side like a piece of candy.
Inner disciple.
Her hair was a soft honey-brown, tied up in two fluffy buns with matching ribbon clasps. She had clear skin, a bright expression, and the kind of smile that looked like it had never had to be forced.
When she saw Riven looking, she waved.
"Hi! I'm Mei!" she said, beaming.
Riven blinked. "...Hi."
Syen sighed lightly beside her, but didn't comment.
"She'll be joining us as escort," he said. "She was raised in Verdance, so she knows the terrain well. Also..."
He gazed at Riven and Ziren specifically. "Don't be fooled by her appearance."
That caused a twitch in Mei's expression — just for a heartbeat — before her smile bloomed again like nothing happened.
"I'll keep you safe in the city!" she chirped, giving a tiny thumbs-up.
Riven glanced toward Ziren, unsure what to think, half-expecting the usual unreadable expression the boy always wore.
But…
His brow furrowed.
A blush?
Ziren's eyes had gone slightly wide. His ears tinted the faintest shade of red. His posture had stiffened, but not like in battle — more like someone caught completely off guard.
No way.
Riven blinked.
Is that his type?
But he didn't have time to dwell on it.
A deep, low rumble vibrated through the platform beneath their feet.
It came again — louder. Closer. The sound of something massive displacing air and stone.
Riven looked up.
He knew what was coming.
The Stormwing.
The enormous silver-feathered condor that had carried them to the Newcomer Trials. It made sense. It was the sect's usual method for group transport.
Or so he thought.
Instead, what came into view was a nightmare leaping through the mist.
It cleared the cliff edge with a single bound — a towering, multi-limbed form sailing high over the trees before landing on the platform with a stomach-turning thud.
Stone cracked. Dust shot outward. The platform shook under the impact.
A spider.
No — not just a spider.
It was massive. At least the size of a house, maybe more. Its body was a warped fusion of power and wrongness, covered in chitinous plates with greenish-black sheen, bristling with thick barbs and twitching sensory hairs. Its eight legs flexed with unnatural tension, limbs clicking faintly as it adjusted its weight. Two of its eyes were massive — the others were smaller, glinting like shards of obsidian. It stared at them with eerie stillness.
Riven's spine locked.
A clawed limb twitched.
The spider tilted its head, gaze sweeping across them—
And stopped on him.
For a half-second, its frontmost eyes narrowed.
Riven's hand curled slightly as he looked down at the back of it — where the faint lines of the spider tattoo still marked his skin.
Was this going to be like that again?
The spider let out a low huff, almost like a horse exhaling through its nose — then turned its attention away, back toward Syen.
The elder stepped forward, completely unfazed.
"You probably haven't seen one of these before," he said, arms behind his back. "This is a Titan Frog Spider. They're not native to this region. But they're incredibly fast. Built for long-range travel. Faster than the Stormwing and far more durable."
He paused, then added, almost cheerfully:
"Only downside is it can't fly. But that's fine. The speed and endurance more than make up for it."
The spider shifted again — the grotesque joints of its front legs lifting as if in anticipation.
Syen smiled faintly.
"Oh, and it's much scarier to look at."
He said that like it was a bonus.
Riven resisted the urge to sigh.
For sure.
The spider crouched slightly, lowering its body so they could board.
Lara was the first to move, stepping lightly onto the little platform mounted on its back with all the casual grace of someone climbing into a luxury carriage. Talia followed, calm and measured.
Mei practically bounced up, humming to herself.
What's with the girls in this sect?
Ziren followed quickly too, as if not wanting to be left too far behind Mei.
Only Riven and Elder Syen were left now.
Then, left with no choice, Riven stepped up onto the spider's back, one of the limbs twitching slightly — just enough to make him tense. He settled in, not letting it show.
Elder Syen followed.
He lightly tapped the spider on its head.
It almost seemed like they were best buddies.
Then the spider reared back slowly on its hind legs, as if understanding whatever Elder Syen had wanted — launching itself off the edge of the platform.
Wind howled past them.
The mountains blurred.
The platform disappeared behind them in a blink.
Riven gripped one of the harness lines strung across the platform, settling himself as the beast continued bounding down the mountainside with absurd speed.
Quickly it left the sect behind.
He didn't speak.
But inwardly?
He exhaled slowly.
"This is going to be an uncomfortable ride, isn't it?"