The jungle was dense, alive in a way that felt deliberate.
Every step Lin Xue took was answered by the rustle of leaves, the quiet retreat of unseen beasts, the distant cries of creatures that had long since adapted to the Ascendant Grounds. Sunlight barely pierced the canopy, scattering in fractured beams that painted the forest floor in gold and shadow.
She moved calmly, efficiently.
This was not unfamiliar terrain, but her destination was.
Cloud City.
Even from a distance, it was impossible to mistake it for anything else.
The land ahead rose unnaturally, a colossal structure carved into stone and sky alike. Towers and platforms spiraled upward, vanishing into the clouds themselves, as if the city had been built not to touch heaven, but to claim it.
From the ground to the clouds, it was divided into three distinct layers.
The Floor.
The Middle-Plane.
And the Cloud.
Each layer carried its own laws, its own people, its own meaning.
Lin Xue knew little about Cloud City's internal politics, but one thing was certain: it was enormous. Not merely in scale, but in influence. Cultivators from every corner of the Ascendant Grounds passed through it, chasing reputation, security, or ascent.
And at its peak—
The Silver Lamb.
Ranked ninth among all known style creators. A woman who forged the Silver Style not through dominance or destruction, but refinement and control. Elusive, distant, almost mythic.
If the rumors were true, she resided in the Cloud itself.
Lin Xue lifted her gaze, following the city's ascent until it disappeared into white.
That was where she needed to go.
But need alone meant nothing here.
The Cloud was not accessible through strength alone. Nor through wealth. It demanded something far rarer.
Fame.
In Cloud City, recognition was currency. Reputation was passage.
There were only two ways to reach the Cloud without waiting years.
Be known.
Or conquer the Great Tower.
The Great Tower stood at the heart of the city, a vertical testament to ambition. It pierced through all three layers, its challenges changing as one ascended. To conquer it once granted access to the Middle-Plane.
To conquer it twice—
That was a declaration.
Those who succeeded were no longer merely cultivators. They were figures. Names spoken, remembered, watched.
And only such people were allowed to walk among the clouds.
Lin Xue exhaled slowly.
The fastest path was clear.
She would fight.
Not recklessly. Not for pride.
But with purpose.
As the jungle began to thin and the stone foundations of the city emerged ahead, Lin Xue tightened her grip around her weapon.
The Cloud waited above.
And she intended to reach it.