Sera and Dera slid from the upper part of the mountain, almost drowning their friends in a wave of snow.

However, Ariana was fast and immediately waved her hand. The avalanche was swatted aside, and the twins lost their footings.

"Ah!"

Dera tumbled and collapsed right on top of Ariana, meanwhile Sera slid gracefully, stopping just a few inches from Seraph.

Her eyes were wide open, and it was as if she was looking at a ghost.

"Get off me!"

"Ow! Ow! You just squeezed my breast!"

"I didn’t!"

"You did! Hehe, Yuri!"

"Ack! Just get off me! You’re embarrassing me!" 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

"Eh? From who?"

The two that had toppled to the ground argued, until Dera finally looked around.

Her expression froze when her gaze landed on Seraph.

"He... he..."

Seraph chuckled and helped Ariana and Dera up. "You two are very close."

He said, ruffling their hair with his hands. Then, he turned to Sera who was still frozen, and pulled her cheeks fondly.

"Hm? Why are your eyes moist? Don’t tell me you want to—"

Sera suddenly rammed into him, tears pouring from her eyes as she cried like a child.

Seraph’s expression froze, and he looked around in confusion. The other girls immediately looked away, not willing to explain.

Other than Ariana, the person who worried most about Seraph was this nineteen years old girl, Sera.

As for the reason why, well, it was obvious to everyone except Seraph who had just woken up.

Smiling bitterly as he realized everyone was avoiding his gaze, he hugged Sera back and patted her back to help her relax.

"It’s okay, I’m here now."

However, instead of helping her relax, his words even brought more tears, stunning and exasperating him.

’Seriously? This is damn unreasonable.’

He couldn’t help but lament. Since words proved to be ineffective, he decided to keep his mouth shut and just pay her back.

After about five minutes, the girl finally stopped crying, though she still clung to him.

Perhaps, she was too embarrassed to show her face to her friends suddenly after becoming a crybaby.

Seraph didn’t mind, so he just lifted her in a princess carry, while they went to sit at a restaurant.

Sera pretended to be asleep, so Seraph had no choice but to continue carrying her even as they sat around the table.

"So... when are you going back again? You’ve been disappearing frequently, after all."

Dera asked, munching on steak with a sulking expression. Although she was the fiercer one of the twins, her reaction to Seraph was still better than her sister’s.

At least she didn’t become a crybaby. Seraph felt the girl in his arms twitch.

"I will be going again after a week, and that will be the final time."

He answered, not touching the food before him.

"Oh?" Tamar was surprised. "The last time, you didn’t even spend up to two days before disappearing again. What’s different this time?"

Ariana was also curious, and so was Dera. Even Sera who was pretending to sleep was very curious.

"Well, it’s just that I have a few things I need to get done before going for the final lap. I heard that things outside the sect aren’t shiny and peaceful anymore."

Ariana, Dera, and Tamar nodded.

Ariana sighed and lowered her head. "I went home a month ago. Everyone is doing fine. Toma has grown powerful now. He’s already at the Initial Advanced Stage cultivation. The others are growing too."

Seraph was pleasantly surprised to hear all these news.

"How about my family? My sister?"

Ariana paused, then smiled. "They’re all fine. Your family is living well off with the light bulb invention your father made."

She glanced around the restaurant. Light bulbs were installed on the walls, though they were currently off. Just as Seraph had expected, the story about the light bulb spread from Sylvia’s room to the whole of Soul Peak, and then the entire sect.

This was why he became the mass-producer of the light bulbs in the sect.

Ariana continued. "Also, you now have a younger brother."

Seraph froze, his eyes wide. "Ehhhh?!"

He almost stood up, but became conscious of the girl in his hands and remained rooted on the chair.

"Seriously? A younger brother?"

Ariana nodded, beaming with a smile. "Unlike you, he has black hair and black eyes like your dad. He’s going to be one year old soon."

Seraph couldn’t help but smile. "I should visit them, then."

"No." Ariana’s reply came sharper than expected. The air stilled, and she immediately corrected herself.

"I mean, not yet. I want us to go back together. And I think you should finish the last lap, okay?"

Although Seraph was confused, he still nodded.

"Alright. We’ll go back together when I’m done. How’s the Patriarch, though? And Elder Cassius."

Ariana’s smile brightened. "Dad has grown stronger. He’s now in the Core Master Stage of cultivation."

"Oh?" Seraph was pleasantly surprised, and he couldn’t help but smile. The clan was growing. In his heart, he swore to visit the clan once everything was settled.

Suddenly, the restaurant doors were pushed open, and someone rushed in.

"Brother Seraph!"

Fellin ran straight at Seraph with the intention to hug, but was forced into a halt when he saw Sera sleeping peacefully in his arms.

’When did this ice-faced girl become a cat in his grasp?’

He smiled bitterly, then patted Seraph’s shoulder.

"How have you been doing, Brother?"

He asked, pulling a chair from a different table and sitting beside Seraph.

The rainbow-eyed young man turned to him with a smile.

"I’ve been fine, Brother Fellin. Thanks for the care. What about you?"

Fellin leaned back and chuckled. "Me? It has always been about training. Soon, I will be able to reach the Core Master Stage."

Seraph was surprised and congratulated him heartily.

"Thank you, thank you."

After the two young men greeted each other, Ariana looked at Seraph and asked.

"Big brother, so what’s your plan for now?"

Seraph paused, considering the order of events for the week.

"Hmm, let’s see. I need to correct some people, and then we can go on a joint mission in the next two days. What do you all think?"