Damien took a few light steps forward. His body melded into the surrounding space and faded from existence. As he walked in this strange physical state, all borders in space became meaningless.
He, like a wisp of stray mana, easily entered the pocket dimension that existed on this mountain. Finally, the Seeking Lotus Palace's scenery was revealed to him.
It was a paradise. Tall waterfalls filled with mana roared and raged from the heavens, meeting on the earth as they fed their waters into a large and peaceful lake. Colorful iridescent trees and foliage grew from the water and painted its surface. Even the Seeking Lotus Palace was built atop this lake.
Its structure was different from other sects Damien had seen due to this. Its buildings floated a few inches above the water, using the water's ambient mana as a repelling force to keep them afloat. The architectural style of these buildings wasn't something Damien had seen before, but if he had to compare, it was most similar to Roman architecture on earth.
Combined with the scenery, the sect's architecture created a strange dichotomy that enhanced its mystery.
"Are you enjoying the view of our sect?" A voice resounded from behind Damien.
"Mm," he nodded, "it's definitely one of the more unique locations I've seen recently. While it isn't anything special, the natural ambiance seems to be extremely suited for practice."
"That's natural. If it wasn't, we wouldn't have built the sect here in the first place. Even the pocket dimension you bypassed existed here naturally before we came and occupied it."
"Naturally formed pocket dimension? Now that's an interesting wonder of nature. Do you know if there are any more of these around for me to study?"
"I might. But before I answer that question, why don't you answer a few of mine?"
Damien smiled as he watched the scenery around him change. In that instant, he'd been teleported into one of the sect's buildings. His current location was a personal office with a view of the heavenly waterfalls outside.
And sitting in a rather fancy chair in front of him was the woman he was conversing with earlier.
"My name is Damien Void. And you?"
"Sierra Lock." The woman replied.
"I see…that's likely a name I should know, but as you've probably guessed, I'm not from around here."
"That much was obvious when you attempted to climb the mountain path. You've landed yourself in more trouble than you probably ever expected."
"Aren't you being a bit too friendly to someone who broke into your sect?"
"Not in the slightest. You'll understand soon enough."
Sierra smiled after finishing her words. "You have a meeting with the Sect Master in a few minutes. First, though, why don't you tell me why you decided to come here in the first place? Judging by your attitude and strength, it surely can't be because you luster after our beauties…right?"
A terrifying pressure enveloped the room. While Damien could easily ward it off, he knew that he couldn't actually fight Sierra if negotiations broke down. Without the full capacity of a large world's World Force, he was powerless against these characters at the high ranges of 4th class.
Still, in this instance, he had no reason to fear. His intentions were just, after all.
Taking this opportunity, Damien told Sierra about Jiao Mei and his dilemma. He essentially told her that the sole reason he visited the Seeking Lotus Palace was to vet the sect.
"That's quite bold of you. Do you think you're qualified?" Sierra asked somewhat mockingly. It was clear that she held immense pride in the Seeking Lotus Palace.
"I do," Damien responded plainly. "I've seen stronger sects and I know Jiao Mei's abilities best. I'd rather form my own opinions about your sect before making any decisions."
"And why don't you let her decide for herself?" Sierra pushed.
"Because she doesn't know anything," Damien answered without hesitation. "She's a child without much worldly experience at all. She spent her entire life in a small world whose greatest powers could all be crushed by your sect master alone. Do you think she can accurately judge which sect is best for her?"
"I do," Sierra replied. "Everyone is entitled to their own decision. Even if I can respect your intentions, I can't respect you making life choices for someone as naive as the girl you're describing."
"Well then, it's good that I'm not making the choice for her. After I've formed my opinions on the sects I think are best for her, I'll naturally allow her to decide which one she wants to join."
"Hmph. It's still controlling."
"Stop bullshitting. You and I both know that you want to trick her into joining your sect. No sane person would turn down a disciple with a special physique."
"Tch. Don't you know that it's rude to be so blunt? You'll never become a cunning old fox that way."
"I never wanted to be a cunning old fox anyway. I'd rather be a monster that can't be stopped even with the most genius of schemes."
"I guess we can't agree then."
"I guess not."
Damien and Sierra stared at each other from across the table. The tension in the room was thick enough to cut with a knife.
But at that time, a messaging talisman on Sierra's desk lit up, expelling the awkward atmosphere.
"Sect Master is free. It's time for you to go meet her." She said.
"And why am I doing that?" Damien questioned back.
"Didn't I already tell you?" Sierra replied with a sly smile, "you've landed yourself in quite the troublesome situation."
The scenery around them shifted once more. Damien and Sierra arrived in a larger room with a similar minimalistic design. Seated at the desk in the center of the room was a beautiful veiled woman.
"So you're the man who passed the mountain trials?"
Her voice flowed so smoothly that it almost became one with the atmosphere. Her words were more like the breath of the world than the actions of a living being.
Damien's eyes narrowed as he felt this. This was an incredibly familiar feeling. Familiar to the point of being terrifying.
"You…"
"The mountain trials were put in place by our distant ancestor to accommodate her lover. It is tradition that any man who passes the mountain trial has the right to marry a genius from our sect. However, there is one more thing you must do." The Seeking Lotus Palace Master cut Damien off as she spoke.
"There is a Challenge Gate open at the moment. It opened around 2 weeks ago and is projected to remain open for another week. If you can attain satisfactory results in that trial to truly prove your worth, I will allow you to continue."
"This…you…what?"
Damien was speechless. He expected this meeting to be a matter of intimidation, but the Seeking Lotus Palace Master completely subverted that expectation.
Sierra's words echoed in his mind once more. A troublesome situation, that's how she described his entrance into the sect.
And seeing the slight smile she was desperately trying to hide as the Palace Master spoke, Damien could tell that this was what she meant.
While the prospect of entering a Challenge Gate excited him, his purpose in entering was suspicious.
He originally came to the Seeking Lotus Palace to find Jiao Mei a new home, but instead…
He was now shopping for a new wife?!
