The chill of the Kunlun winds whispered across the mountain path as Liam Ardent walked beside Juliana Valehart, her white fox-fur mantle trailing like drifting snow. She moved with the grace of a snow lotus, serene and untouchable, yet her voice was lively as she explained the heritage of her clan.
"Our Valehart Manor is divided in two branches," Juliana said softly, eyes bright with pride. "The Valehart bloodline descends from Master Julian Valehart, once the disciple of the great sage Elias Rowan's peer, the venerable Sunpierce Hermit. From him, our house inherited the legacy of the Sunpierce Divine Finger, though time has frayed it. As for our allied branch, their roots trace back to the disciples of Sir Gareth Greenwood, the Guardian of Kunlun in the era of the Mongol wars."
Liam inclined his head. He had known of the Sunpierce Divine Finger from his System's knowledge fragments, yet to hear it named in the present tense stirred something within him. If such a legendary art—even fractured—remained within Valehart Manor, it would be a prize he could not allow to slip away.
Before he could speak, a voice rang sharply across the path.
"Juliana! Where are you?"
Juliana's lips curved faintly, though her eyes flashed with something between annoyance and resignation. "That would be my cousin," she murmured, then raised her voice: "Cedric, I am here."
From the trees ahead emerged two figures.
The first was a man in golden silk robes, his bearing proud, his eyes already narrowed at Liam. Cedric Valehart, disciple of the manor's second master. His aura was sharp, honed, though Liam instantly recognized its instability.
The second was a maiden clad in sable furs. Her features mirrored Juliana's in refinement, though her eyes carried a colder composure, and her beauty rivaled her cousin's in a darker hue. Selestine Valehart — the other of the famed Snow Peaks Twin Maidens.
Cedric's gaze cut like a drawn blade. "Juliana," he demanded, his tone sharpened by jealousy, "who is this stranger? Do you not care for the family's reputation, walking so close to a man unknown to us?"
Juliana's brow furrowed. Her tone, however, was as cool as frost. "He is Liam Ardent. You may have heard the tales—he who slew Mother Clarisse Hale of Emei. I have invited him to Valehart Manor as our guest. Have you an objection?"
The moment the name was spoken, both Cedric and Selestine stiffened.
Selestine's eyes widened briefly, a spark of surprise glimmering before she masked it beneath her composed façade. Yet her gaze lingered on Liam with something unspoken—was it admiration? Curiosity? Perhaps both.
Cedric, by contrast, stiffened with disdain. "You expect me to believe that this boy slew Mother Clarisse? Rubbish. He is a braggart who leans on inflated tales."
Without waiting for Liam's answer, Cedric lunged forward, his palm arcing with refined energy.
The wind howled as the strike cut the air.
Liam did not even draw the Skyblade at his back.
"Move," he said coldly.
With a single motion, his palm met Cedric's strike.
Boom!
The impact hurled Cedric back as though struck by thunder. He skidded across the stones, his silken robe shredded at the sleeve, a thin line of blood tracing from the corner of his lips. His eyes trembled, filled with disbelief.
Selestine's lips parted slightly. She did not rush to Cedric's side. Instead, her gaze deepened on Liam, studying the calmness in his posture, the way he hadn't so much as shifted his stance.
Juliana's eyes lit with open admiration. "As expected of the man who slew Mother Clarisse," she murmured.
System Update
[Defeated Cedric Valehart]
[Prestige +50]
[Juliana Valehart's Affection +5 → Current: 70 (Admiration)]
[Selestine Valehart's Affection +5 → Current: 65 (Curiosity)]
Cedric staggered to his feet, face pale, pride torn. His hand trembled as he pointed at Liam. "You… you dare disgrace me before them? This is not finished."
"Then come again when you've the strength," Liam said evenly, his voice as cutting as the Kunlun wind.
Juliana's glance silenced her cousin. "Cedric, enough. You shame only yourself."
Turning back to Liam, she softened. "Forgive my cousin. His temper is unworthy of the Valehart name."
"It matters little," Liam replied. His eyes, however, had shifted toward the towering cliffs in the distance. A faint ripple brushed against his consciousness, a thread of energy unlike any he had felt before.
The System chimed at once.
System Update – Quest Triggered
[Detecting: Sunpierce Divine Finger – Incomplete Manual]
[Quest: Enter Valehart Manor. Seek fragments of the lost art. Rewards: EXP, System Evaluation, Potential Upgrade Material]
Liam's lips quirked faintly. So it truly lay within.
As they continued toward Valehart Manor, the great gates appeared at last—a sprawling fortress of timber and stone nestled against the snowy ridges. Carvings of lotuses and dragons decorated its beams, each whispering of a legacy stretching back to the era of wandering heroes. Guards stiffened at the sight of Juliana, bowing low.
Within the courtyard, disciples paused their training, eyes narrowing at Liam. Whispers drifted like the wind:
"Is that him?"
"They say he slew Mother Clarisse…"
"Impossible. Look how young he is!"
Juliana's voice cut through. "He is my guest. He enters under my name. Let none here dishonor him."
Selestine, at her side, said little, but her gaze lingered on Liam once more before she turned away, unreadable.
As Liam stepped deeper into Valehart Manor, a sudden sound pierced the air—a tolling bell, resonant and urgent. Disciples scattered toward the inner halls, muttering of trials and summons.
Juliana's brows drew tight. "Strange… the bell tolls only when the elders summon challengers to the ancestral hall."
The System whispered in Liam's mind again.
System Update
[Hidden Event Detected: Valehart Ancestral Trial]
[Warning: Participation may alter faction relations.]
Liam exhaled slowly, his hand brushing the hilt at his side. So soon after arrival, the manor would test him.
And from the cold shadows of the ancestral hall, a voice like grinding stone echoed out:
"Bring the outsider forward. If he seeks to tread Valehart soil, let him first prove his worth—or leave his bones upon our snow."
The heavy gates creaked open, the darkness within yawning like the maw of a beast.
Liam stepped forward without hesitation.
Glossary – Chapter 33
Juliana Valehart – Heiress of Valehart Manor, descendant of Julian Valehart, inheritor of the fractured legacy of the Sunpierce Divine Finger. Known as one of the "Snow Peaks Twin Maidens."
Cedric Valehart – Proud disciple of the Valehart Manor's second master. Jealous, easily slighted, rival to Liam.
Selestine Valehart – Daughter of the Valehart branch lord. Elegant and reserved, beauty equal to Juliana, the second of the "Snow Peaks Twin Maidens."
Valehart Manor – Formerly Zhu-Wu Manor, renamed Valehart in this adaptation. Seat of twin legacies—Sunpierce Divine Finger (from Juliana's line) and martial traditions of Kunlun (from Selestine's).
Sunpierce Divine Finger – Legendary technique once taught by the Sunpierce Hermit. Divided into nine ranks, incomplete in the present age. Rumored to be hidden within Valehart Manor.
This story is inspired from various Wuxia novels ,so if you find any similarities please dont mind . and if you think this is boring wait till the Dual cultivation starts ,Thank you .
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
T/N :
Access 25 chapters in Advance on my P@treon: [email protected]/GodFic