"I agree with the conditions, but I think is better I raise in natural way." Damon told Sect Leader Hector.

"What do you mean?" Hector couldn’t help but ask.

"I mean that let me be inner disciple and I become core disciple thought the test. That way it less suspicious and make me just a genius newcomer."

"Since the plan make Elder Selene become my instructor, the outside will know that Elder Selene help me grow instead making me become core disciple immediately."

"And there is another talented person as talented as me if sect leader plan to make a team for The Eastern Continent Tournament, you need at least 25 years old or below at Earth Spirit Realm, right?"

"Yes, you right, who is it?" Hector asked.

"Her name is Ariel Aquaria, she was 17 years old and already at First Level of True Spirit Realm. She just passed the inner disciple test with me."

"How about make her come along with me?"

"Hmm... That was a good idea." Hector said.

"Also, just let us stay here in Elder Selene Mansion, that way it will look like that Elder Selene pick a direct disciple, that won’t be a problem, right?"

"Hmm... That was a good idea, with that that won’t be a rumor and the other sect won’t expect it." Hector said while give him a nod.

"Good, I will make the arrangements. For now, wait here until Elder Selene wakes up. It will be better if she sees you first, not me." He turned to leave, then glanced back.

"And Damon. Welcome to the heart of the Azure Dragon Sect." Then the sect leader walked out.

Mei didn’t follow him. She stayed with Damon as her eyes roaming over Damon’s face. "Finally, alone at last, with an unconscious woman and a very awake boy."

She stepped past him and moved back into Selene’s bedroom. Damon followed and lingering in the doorway.

Mei sat on the bed again, but this time she looked at Damon, not Selene. "My daughters are in love with you. They couldn’t stop talking about you when they woke up."

Damon leaned against the doorframe. "They’re strong women."

"They are." Mei agreed.

"And they’re mine. So, tell me, Damon. What are your intentions with them? With all of this?" She gestured vaguely, encompassing the room, the sect, everything.

"I intend to get stronger," he said, the simplest truth.

"And my daughters are part of that plan?"

"Of course not. They choose to be with me. They are my women, I plan to get stronger together with them, I won’t disappoint them."

Mei studied him for a long, silent moment. The playful seduction faded from her eyes, replaced by something harder, more calculating.

"I see... You know that I will protect what’s mine. If you hurt them, or use them as mere stepping stones, nothing will save you from me."

The threat hung in the cold air. Then she smiled again.

"But I don’t think you will. I think you’re smarter than that. And I think we can help each other a great deal."

A soft groan came from the bed.

Selene’s eyelids fluttered. Her pale blue eyes opened, blurred with confusion and pain. They focused on the ceiling, then slowly moved to Mei, and finally to Damon standing in the doorway.

She tried to sit up, but a wave of dizziness made her collapse back onto the pillows. Her voice was a rasp of ice. "You."

Selene’s hand shot out, gripping the frost-encrusted edge of the bed. The air in the room dropped another ten degrees, and tiny ice crystals formed on the blankets.

"You dare stand in my room," she hissed, her voice cracking from strain but sharp as a blade.

Damon didn’t move from the doorway. He kept his expression neutral, watching her.

"Now, now, Selene," Mei purred, not moving from her seat on the bed.

"Is that any way to greet the young man who just showed you a glimpse of the path you’ve been searching for?"

Selene’s furious gaze snapped to Mei. "Lady Mei, what is the meaning of this? Why are you here?"

"I felt a delightful little tremor in the spiritual energy that strong enough to knock a Heavenly Spirit Realm expert right off her feet. I had to see the source for myself."

Mei’s smile was all teeth. "And I must say, I’m not disappointed."

Selene ignored her, pushing herself up again. She focused on Damon, her frosty eyes narrowing. "That technique. That power. It was not Sword Intent. What was it?"

"I already told you, Its was a Sword Aura." Damon answered simply.

The two words hung in the frozen air. Selene stared at him, her porcelain mask completely shattered.

Her lips parted slightly, and for a second, all the anger drained away, replaced by a burning hunger. "Impossible. You are just a child and True Spirit Realm."

"And yet you’re the one who lost." Damon said, his tone flat, not mocking, just stating a fact.

A tremble ran through Selene’s body, and Damon saw it wasn’t from weakness. It was excitement. Her hands clenched the sheets, the fabric freezing and cracking under her grip.

Mei watched the exchange like a spectator at a thrilling play, her deep purple eyes flicking between them.

’He’s full of surprises, this one. That why have I taken quite a liking to him.’ Mei thought internally.

She swung her legs over the side of the bed, ignoring the dizziness. She stood, her body swaying for a moment before she locked her knees.

The regal, untouchable elder was back, but her eyes were different. They weren’t cold and dead anymore. They were alive with a feverish light.

"Sect Leader Hector has agreed to a new arrangement," Damon said, seizing the moment.

"You are going to be my instructor. I and another disciple will be your direct disciple. And we will both stay here, in your mansion."

Selene’s brow furrowed. "Instructor? Me? I have nothing to teach you. But you have something to teach me. It should be you who teaching me."