Jiao Mei closed her mouth upon hearing his question. When she first answered, she did so with surety. Now, however, she was hesitant.
She friends she made here and the comfort she felt were addictive. She didn't want to leave this atmosphere and enter a world of unknowns and enemies. The outside was terrifying, but in this world it was beautiful.
Her eyes clouded over. She thought back to the life she lived. She was born into a prestigious family and adopted into a prestigious sect when that family kicked her out. She was loved by all due to her talent and physique and never experienced the world for what it truly was.
When she met Damien, she realized what true practitioners looked like. They were ruthless and indifferent, killing as they saw fit and demanding respect with their presence alone. For the sake of strength, they were willing to risk everything, even their own lives.
Compared to true practitioners, the people who surrounded her in the Dawn World were dirt. The reason she chose to travel with Damien was that she no longer wanted to be dirt.
If she chose this comfort and security over risking everything for strength, she'd live happily, but she'd never achieve anything. Her path would end here.
But if she chose to explore the wider universe, she'd expose herself to countless dangers that could take her life in an instant. She'd have to be wary at all times and she'd have to face reality without any shelter to rely on.
'No, that's not true.' She realized. While it was mostly true, she wouldn't be without shelter on her journey. The man in front of her had guaranteed a place for her to grow in peace when she was tired of danger.
A definitive decision finally took root in her mind. This path, the one she saw Damien illustriously walking, she wanted to experience it for herself.
"Take me. I choose strength."
Damien smiled. "Very well. Then, allow me to introduce you to Seeking Lotus Palace and the wider Azure Rain Star. As long as you like it, this will be your starting point. From here on, you'll grow limitlessly as long as you have the will and remain alive."
Damien allowed Jiao Mei a few minutes to say goodbye to Elitra and the rest. Afterwards, their two bodies vanished from the Sanctuary.
Seeking Lotus Palace revealed itself grandly to Jiao Mei's eyes. It's beautiful scenery, the stunning amount of mana in the air that was greater than anything she'd ever felt on the Dawn World, powerful disciples that could defeat her without even trying; Jiao Mei experienced a serious case of culture shock as she struggled to take everything in.
But over time, she was slowly able to accept her new reality as Damien took her around the sect. Not only was the atmosphere and ambiance great for training, it was even an all-woman sect where she wouldn't have to deal with nonsensical people who lusted after her beauty and talent. The more she saw of the sect, the more she liked it.
Besides, Damien was the one who chose it for her. Even if she wasn't given the chance to see the sect before joining, she'd still agree in an instant.
Her decision to join was essentially set in stone.
Leona and Sierra arrived near the end of the tour. They truly wanted to see the girl Damien went through so much trouble to enroll in the sect.
And after seeing her physique, they let out a collective gasp of astonishment.
"You idiot!" Leona scolded as she smacked Damien atop the head. "If you told me she had an innate Heavenly Lightning Seed from the beginning, we wouldn't have been forced to deal with all the other nonsense!"
"No, well, the issues were really a you thing more than a me thing…"
"I can't believe this… it's truly magnificent…although it hasn't developed into its true form yet, it's been fed a small amount of Heavenly Lightning and has begun to bud. This is amazing!" Sierra joined her.
"Mm, mm. Real good. I definitely know what an innate Heavenly Lightning Seed is."
"Your name was Jiao Mei, correct? If you join our Seeking Lotus Palace, you won't be disappointed at all. I'll allow you to practice our sect's special Ethereal Seeking Lotus technique without any prerequisites and I'll even let the Vice Palace Master teach you personally."
"No, but the Ethereal Seeking Lotus thing was something we already agreed upon. Also, Sierra is the Vice Palace Master and she's been drooling over Jiao Mei ever since she saw her physique so I think her tutelage would happen regardless as well…"
"Jiao Mei, I am this illustrious sect's Vice Palace Master. And just like you, I am a lightning expert. Under my guidance, I'm sure you'll grow amazingly."
"Since when did you become a lightning practitioner? Also, how long is this going to continue for? Tch, women."
""Hm?""
Three collective sounds of suspicion entered his ears. Damien smiled smugly. "So you finally acknowledge my presence, huh? Stop pressing Jiao Mei so much and let her talk, damn."
The three women stared at him blankly.
"Jiao Mei, how do you feel about becoming a disciple of our sect?" Leona asked blandly.
"I would love to." Jiao Mei responded in the same tone.
"Good. Then, for your first sect mission, aid your Palace Master in punishing a delinquent!" Leona declared.
"With pleasure!" Jiao Mei exclaimed with an evil smile.
"Woah, woah, woah. Let's all calm down a bit. After all, we're all—" Damien immediately escaped Seeking Lotus Palace's pocket dimension and ran away.
He knew he was poking a bear but still made the conscious decision to poke it. There was no way he'd stay around to see the aftermath.
Still, thinking about their faces, he broke out into wild laughter. He laughed harder than he had in a very long time.
Having light fun like this, it really was something he needed to do more often.
Nevertheless, now wasn't the time for it. He looked into the distance at the Seeking Lotus Palace's location with a small smile.
Goodbyes weren't his strong suit. He already made arrangements with Jiao Mei to leave her followers in the Sanctuary and even promised to visit her later so she could reunite with them. Anything more would be excessive.
As for the rest…well, he didn't know them well enough to have a soppy goodbye with them anyway.
"I'll be headed off now. Next time I see you, you better not be weaker than me." He muttered to no one in particular.
On Azure Rain Star's surface, a single woman smiled while looking up into the clouds. In her mind, she heard every word he said clearly.
'Arrogant brat…acting like I'm not already a few thousand years older than him…very well, then. I can't just neglect such blatant provocation. Let's see which of our paths is king.'
Her silent goodbye seemed to be mirrored in by the world itself. Jiao Mei followed Leona's gaze with a twinge of sorrow in her eyes.
Thereafter, Damien's figure vanished, returning to the starry sky to continue his long journey.
The time he had remaining to reach Death Emperor Star was only a little over two months.
