Chapter227 – Returned to Starfell

She gave Briar a thumbs-up. “Impressive.”

Cute, hardworking, absurdly capable. Such a sweet little thing. And yet those idiots in the upper realm had branded it a monster.

Briar flushed at the praise. “So… can we go back now?”

“Yes. Wait here. I’ll go carve out two ice beds.”

With her current cultivation, she still couldn’t snap the Eternal Ice loose barehanded like her master once had. But with proper tools, cutting two sections was easy.

One would be returned to Starfell Summit’s Ice Cave—for future disciples born with Immortal Ice Roots. The other would remain in her inner space. Maybe one day she’d raise some small spiritual creatures that thrived in icy spiritual energy.

After finishing the job, Lauren retraced her path through the frozen cavern. The ice cave was silent.

Even after expanding her spiritual sense to its limit, she couldn’t detect a single trace of human presence.

Three years had passed. Freya and Tyler were long gone.

......

When Lauren returned to the sect headquarters at Starfell Summit, she immediately noticed something was different.

There were people everywhere. Strange faces. Young ones. The smallest looked five or six. The oldest were in their late teens, maybe early twenties. …Did Senior Brother really recruit this many inner disciples?

She had just stepped into the main courtyard when a child blocked her path. “Who are you looking for?”

The little brat clearly didn’t recognize her. Lauren was momentarily speechless. “I’m looking for your Master Tarot.”

“Oh. Please wait here. I’ll inform him.”

She was led to a reception hall that had been abandoned for years. Now it was cleaned, furnished, and properly arranged. It actually looked respectable.

Huh. Tarot really did something productive for once. Before long, Tarot strode in. The moment he saw her, he snorted. “I knew they were talking about you. Didn’t you say you’d be back soon? Why the hell did it take three years?”

Lauren laughed shamelessly. “Nonsense. Senior Brother practically raised me from infancy. Of course I learned from him. Didn’t you say you’d be back soon when you left? And that took you over three years too.”

Tarot: “…”

“Hmph. You never pick up my good qualities. Only the bad habits.”

He eyed her. “So? Did you get the ice bed?”

“I did. I’ll move it into Ice Cave now.”

In Ice Cave, she shifted the old, nearly depleted Eternal Ice Bed aside. There was still a long slab attached to it.

She carefully set down the new 1.8-meter ice bed she’d carved out from the Far South.

Then she moved the remaining long slab beside it like a footrest. The two pieces fit together surprisingly well. She stepped back, clapped her hands, and admired her work. “Looks pretty good.”

Then she added casually, “I saw Big Senior Brother in the Far South.”

Tarot’s expression changed slightly. “Oh? Did you ask him about what happened with Master?”

“I did. He was vague as hell. Now I’m even more curious.”

“What did he say?”

“He said he entered Sky-covering Valley on his own initiative. To make amends. To atone for a mistake.”

Tarot was quiet for a while. “I heard some rumors years ago,” he finally said. “Senior Brother once had a very close junior sister. He clashed with fellow disciples over her. There were deaths. Injuries. Maybe that’s what it was about.”

Lauren waved it off.

“You only heard fragments. I know even less. Forget it. Senior Brother’s right—it’s ancient history. Most of the people involved are long gone. There’s no point digging it up again. Right or wrong… Master must’ve had his own judgment.”

Tarot nodded slowly.

“He said he’d return to the sect someday,” Lauren added. “Has he?”

“No.”

She didn’t press further. Instead, she changed the subject. “By the way… I remember I took a disciple before I left, right? Where is he? I’ve been back for ages, and he hasn’t come to greet me.”

Tarot gave her an annoyed look. “Oh? You remember you have a disciple?”

“Yes, I remember.”

“He advanced to Foundation Establishment. After that, I sent him out for training. He should’ve gone home for a visit too.”

Lauren blinked. “What? When will he be back?”

“How would I know?”

“Did he win first place in the Qi Training competition?”

“Of course he did.” Tarot snorted. “You made it a condition. How could he not win? His cultivation was high enough, but his combat experience was lacking. There were a few stubborn brats who’ve been stuck at Great Perfection of Qi Training for years. Strong as hell. Tons of experience.”

“He won by a narrow margin. But he was seriously injured. Spent half a year recovering.”

Lauren imagined Wallace gritting his teeth, forcing himself through the final match. She should’ve been there. Instead, she’d been cultivating comfortably in an ice cave.

…She really wasn’t a very competent master.

She waved a hand dismissively. “We’ll talk when he’s back. I’m going to see the sect leader.”

The moment she saw Gerald, she launched into complaints. “That map you gave me was wrong! Completely wrong!”

Gerald frowned, thinking hard. Then his eyes lit up. “Ah. Yes. There’s a tunnel that leads directly to the seabed.”

Lauren stared at him. “So you forgot?”

Gerald puffed up indignantly. “I’m old! That was thousands of years ago. Isn’t it normal to forget?”

Lauren: “…”

“I’m the sect leader,” he continued, getting louder. “Do you know how many things I handle daily? Three thousand disciples to support! Countless matters to manage! Something from thousands of years ago—of course I won’t remember it clearly!”

Before she could even argue, he had already scolded her preemptively.

Fine. She’d never blindly trust his maps again.

“I saw Freya,” she said instead. “He said he’ll come back if he has the chance. And told you not to send people looking for him anymore.”

Gerald froze. “You saw him? Where is he?”

“I don’t know. And he probably doesn’t want us to know. He said he’ll return when the time is right. So stop sending people after him.”

Gerald sighed deeply. “It’s been thousands of years. What’s the big deal? Why hasn’t he come back?”

“He will.” Lauren looked at him seriously. “He said he would. And he told you not to send anyone looking anymore. Do you remember?”

“You’ve said that three times already!” Gerald snapped. “I’m not deaf. I remember. I won’t send anyone. Stop nagging.”

Lauren folded her arms. “You said you’re old. I was afraid you’d forget. Repeating it three times shouldn’t hurt.”

“…” Gerald suddenly squinted at her. “You’re at mid-stage Spirit Transformation?”

“Yes.” She smiled smugly. “The spiritual energy in the Far South is incredibly pure. Three years of cultivation and I reached mid-stage. Sect Leader, you’d better work harder. Or I’ll surpass you.”

Gerald felt a stab of jealousy so sharp it was almost physical.

Recently, he’d been envious of far too many people. Herbert had ascended. Herbert! He wanted too.

Herbert had drained an entire secret realm to fuel his cultivation.

Gerald only had endless sect paperwork and three thousand mouths to feed. How was he supposed to win against that?

Tarot had Starfell Summit running like a well-oiled machine. The place was thriving.

He managed the children flawlessly and personally lectured them every three days, answering questions about cultivation and correcting their techniques.

Lauren wasn’t idle either. At Tarot’s suggestion, they took turns instructing the inner disciples. She agreed without hesitation.