In the dense woods of the back mountain, over a dozen nameless graves stood desolate.

Yellow joss paper lay on each grave.

Ruth Winslow looked at one of the graves, clenching her fists tightly.

She had only intended to follow Aurora Sinclair to gauge her character and see if she was truly worthy of being the Martial God’s successor.

She never expected to find the two children the Winslow Family had lost several years ago on Sunstone: Vera and Ian Winslow.

They were from the same branch of the clan as her. In terms of seniority, they were her aunt and uncle.

Vera Winslow was the older sister and Ian Winslow was the younger brother; they were a pair of fraternal twins.

Of the two, Ian Winslow was the child in the Winslow Clan with the greatest aptitude for the clan’s inheritance.

At a young age, he had not only mastered the arts of Qimen Dunjia, but was also an expert in divination through the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams. If nothing had gone wrong, he was certain to have succeeded Mr. Sterling and become the Elder of the Winslow Clan’s Mystic Branch.

But now, he was just a mound of yellow earth. ’Had he truly pried into heaven’s secrets all those years ago, inviting such a calamity?’

At this thought, Ruth Winslow turned to the man not far away, cupped her fist in her other hand, and bowed. "Sir, where is Vera Winslow now?"

Master Aerion stroked his beard, his expression inscrutable as he gazed at the sky, and said hesitantly, "Well..."

"The Winslow Clan will reward you handsomely!"

"She..."

"There is no Vera Winslow here. Leave."

Suddenly, a clear, cold voice drifted from the open woods.

The two of them were startled and immediately looked toward the source of the voice, only to see a slender figure walking slowly out of the dense woods.

Her face was devoid of expression. Her indifferent gaze sent a tremor through Ruth Winslow’s heart, and an indescribable fear surfaced within her.

Master Aerion looked at his eldest disciple with a complicated expression and let out a soft sigh. "Dawn..."

"Master, there is no one here named Vera Winslow." Aurora Sinclair looked at Master Aerion, her voice firm.

Master Aerion was at a loss for words.

Seeing this, Ruth Winslow immediately bowed to Aurora Sinclair. "Ma’am, Vera Winslow is Leigh Miles of your esteemed sect..."

Before she could finish speaking, a force threw her back, sending her crashing directly into a nearby tree.

Aurora Sinclair stood with her hands behind her back and asked coldly, "If she is one of your clan, why have you not come looking for her for so many years?"

Ruth Winslow clutched her chest, struggling to swallow the metallic taste of blood rising in her throat. She said with difficulty, "My clan has been searching..."

"Is that so? The International Martial Arts Bureau only has a search notice for Ian Winslow, not for Vera Winslow. You simply thought her talent was inferior to her brother’s, so you left her to fend for herself."

Ruth Winslow’s expression froze.

She didn’t know about this.

Back then, Ian Winslow had divined that his sister, Vera Winslow, was facing a sign of great misfortune. He had been constantly searching for a way to avert it. Later, for some unknown reason, the two of them mysteriously disappeared.

Mr. Sterling immediately sent people to search for them, but Howard Winslow told him that both of them had perished.

Aurora Sinclair continued, "Since you already accepted their deaths, there was no need to search further. Leigh Miles is simply my junior martial sister. You should leave."

"Ma’am..." Ruth Winslow cried out as she saw Aurora Sinclair turn to leave.

But she had already disappeared into the mountain forest.

She immediately looked to Master Aerion, but he just shook his head. "You should go back."

"Sir..."

Seeing Sunstone’s attitude, Ruth Winslow shouted in frustration, "If she won’t go back with me, then I’m not leaving either."

But no one paid her any attention. Only her own voice echoed through the mountain forest.

***

「At the foot of the Kaelan Mountains.」

Leigh Miles watched the burning bonfire, sneezed, and rubbed her itchy nose. She pouted and said, "I’m not going back anyway!"

"The Winslow Clan is a family at the very pinnacle of the Martial World, and you still don’t want to go back?"

Master Aerion squeezed the roasted sweet potato, then smiled and handed it to her.

Leigh Miles took the stick, blowing on the potato as she peeled it. "Master," she mumbled, "I figured things out a long time ago. Sunstone is my home. You, my senior brothers, my senior sister, and my junior brother are my real family. Besides, they haven’t looked for me in all these years, so my status can’t be that high. Instead of going back to be an expendable clan member, I’d much rather stay on Sunstone and become a carefree sect leader..."

"Quite confident, aren’t you?" Master Aerion poked her on the forehead.

"Well, Warner has never taken any other disciples, so the Verdant School is definitely going to be left to me..."

Leigh Miles replied smugly, then lowered her head and took a bite of the sweet potato.

Her carefree appearance made Master Aerion sigh in relief.

"I’ll take your junior martial brother back first. You can stay here and have a few days of peace and quiet."

Master Aerion picked up the already sleeping Titus Miles and gradually walked away.

Leigh Miles stopped chewing the sweet potato. In the firelight, two glistening trails slid down her face, and the sound of suppressed sobs gradually began.

Ruth Winslow’s arrival had awakened her long-sealed memories. She pretended not to care only because she didn’t want to admit that she was a pitiful soul abandoned by her own clan.

Although she and her twin brother, Ian Winslow, were of the Core Lineage, their martial arts talents were poor, and they were constantly met with cold shoulders and ridicule from their clansmen.

It wasn’t until her brother’s talent for Feng Shui and metaphysics was discovered by Mr. Sterling, who took him as a disciple, that they finally began to be valued again.

She had thought they would live their whole lives like that, but one day, her brother ran back with a face full of worries, telling her not to go anywhere before locking himself in his room to perform divinations.

When he emerged, he was so weak it seemed he might leave her forever at any moment. Fortunately, he gradually recovered under her care, but he wasn’t happy at all.

It wasn’t until an outsider stumbled upon them that he finally smiled, asking the person to take them away from the Winslow Clan.

She never imagined that this departure would truly mean a separation by death.

That outsider took them from the Continent of Esteros to Veridia, where they were locked in a sealed room.

What followed was endless torture through experiments. But her brother was happy. He told her then, "Sister, the Vitality is here. You must not give up. If you can endure this, you will definitely find happiness in the future..."

She promised him she wouldn’t give up, but he left her forever.

And she had heartlessly forgotten him for seven years...

The figure on the mountaintop listened to the suppressed sobs from below, seemed to sigh, and ultimately did not descend.

’Some wounds can only be healed by oneself.’

’Leigh Miles will be happy.’

The boy who gave his Vitality to her thought so too.

"Save my sister first..."

***

「The next day.」

When Leigh Miles woke up, she found herself lying in bed. On a nearby table sat a pot of her favorite vegetable congee.

"Senior Sister..."

Leigh Miles broke into a smile.

Just as she finished a bowl of the congee, she suddenly heard Ruth Winslow’s footsteps outside.

’Looks like she’s trying to sneak in.’

Leigh Miles rolled her eyes. ’With her level of skill, everyone except Titus Miles probably knows she’s in the courtyard.’

Soon enough, Warner’s barking came from outside.

"WOOF WOOF WOOF—"

"Shhh... I’m not a bad person..." 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

But Warner didn’t care who she was and chased after her, trying to bite. Helpless, Ruth Winslow leaped onto the roof and called to the person inside, "Hey, are you awake?"

The door below opened, and Leigh Miles’s cold voice could be heard. "I am a disciple of Sunstone. I will not return to the Winslow Family. You can go now!"