Seeing Tian Shen turning into a sculpture of ice caused Wei Mei Rong to feel extreme relief. But at the same time, she had a feeling of dread. What was that power, the white light that emblazoned all in ice? While these thoughts ran through Mei Wei Rong's head, she caught a glimpse of her own reflection from the ice on the floor.

It no longer had the serene and peaceful image like earlier; Her hair was disheveled with some parts dyed crimson from blood. And in the middle of her forehead; the small, blue nearly translucent dot was emitting a faint, glimmering shine. Upon discovery, a pleasant coolness enveloped her body, making her feel very relaxed.

Somehow, she could sense every pore of her body breathing in and out, it was truly strange, never before had she felt like this. And at this time, the flickering light in her vessel returned. This time, it was much smaller than before. Focusing her mind trying to move the it to her finger, a white, light blue flame emerged.

“Wait.” Her pupils expanded, “Is this energy, can it be true?”

From what her brother, Wei Min, explained before he left for the academy, she knew that when one created an astral path, one would feel as if though the whole body was opened, purified from the foul mortal air. At that time, she hadn’t understood what he meant. But now, she knew. Her astral path finally revealed itself. She could at long last enroll in the Star seeking academy, the one that her brother studied inside.

However, most important things come first; she had to escape from where they had taken her, quickly at that. If they discovered her having killed Tian Shen, they would be more cautious and send in a few warrior to capture her. It wouldn’t be strange – all five great clans had more than hundreds of grade 1 warriors, and tens of grade 2s. Hopefully, they wouldn’t deploy a grade 2 warrior merely for her. After all, she was only an ordinary woman without any talent for martial arts, or so they thought.

Looking for the door and quickly finding it, she slowly pulled the handle and stretched her head out. Luckily, the corridor was empty. Exiting the room, she made her way down the hall very carefully and tried to make as little to no noise possible. Just as she was about to turn at the corner, she heard two voices, and as fast as she could, slipped behind one of the pillars standing to the side.

Two men came walking by, dressed in the average garment for outer disciplines of the Tian clan. Wei Mei Rong understood their perception ability should be quite low, therefore decided not to worry too much about being found out. After all, only the weakest in clans would patrol the clan’s mansion. When they passed, similar to a small mouse, she sneaked out of the building through an open window. Once outside, she quickly made her way through the thorns and bushes, climbing over the wall and into the city.

It was still night, so the time passed from being kidnapped to now should be relatively minuscule in comparison to what it could have been. Strolling through the city without purpose, she finally remembered where this was, and rejoiced within herself. This was the city district where the star seeking academy lay, the school she planned to enter!

Mei Wei Rong knew that it was impossible for the school to be open and conducting enrollment exams at this time, so she scrolled the nearby buildings with her gaze for somewhere to sleep. She found an inn, entered and gave the innkeeper 1 tael of silver, renting a room for the night.

The room was not very expensive – only the lowest quality room available. One of the reason why she rented it was to not garner attention. Since a young, fifteen year old girl taking the most precious option at the inn would not end good. Either it was being robbed, raped or kidnapped or possibly all three. This world was tough, especially for women.

With a low thud, she jumped into the small, but soft bed and closed her eyes. It had been one hell of a day. First, gaining recognition with a moon, the first moon nonetheless. Secondly, dancing and slightly getting interested in a man, only to be betrayed and kidnapped. Well, at least she bit off his manhood, preventing him from having future kids. And thirdly, creating her astral path. Now she could barely wait until dawn, when she would take the enrollment test for the star seeking academy.

…

“Sir.” Mei Wei Rong’s two personal guards tried to get their young missus third uncle’s attention. The taller guard, named Chuan Mo, an outsider who had climbed the ranks from outer disciple to personal guard, spoke with a shaky voice, “Sir, we can’t find the young miss anywhere...”

“Eh?” Wei Lang, drinking merrily with the four clan heads of the great five, used his hands to wave it off, “Haha, don’t worry. Chuan Mo, right? I’ve heard about your accomplishments, you truly serve the clan good. Come, drink with us.

“Hehe.” Chuan Mo laughed, a bit embarrassed, instantly forgetting for what reason he had come, and got seated beside Wei Lang who gave him the whole jar of alcohol. “A reward for your service to the clan, hick!” Wei Lang yelled loudly, clearly affected by the alcohol.

“But sir…” The other guard scratched his head, “What about the young miss. If she disappeared under out watch… when the clan head comes back he will punish us–”

“Shut up.” Chuan Mo said to his fellow guard, “Can’t you see that sir and I are drinking?” The man angrily retorted Rei Xu, gesturing for him to leave them alone.

Rei Xu took a few steps back, stuttering, “W-what? Chuan Mo, you…?”

What was his friend doing? He was always dutiful and very friendly to him How come that just a couple of words from the clan head’s fourth brother completely changed his entire personality?

Drops of sweat ran down from Rei Xu, he nervously swallowed and cleared his throat. Getting answers from his friend was a matter to take on later. What truly scared him was what the young missus father would say when he returned. He had to find the young miss. His life depended on it!

Hey guys!

A slightly smaller chapter than the usual. This will be the end of the "background arc", whereas the next will be the beginning of when she enters the academy, and all what that encompasses. I hope you're all looking forward to it.

Regards, Mister X