Marcus stepped into the wooden hall and imdiately understood why the place felt so unreal.
A woman stood inside.
Noble, ethereal, and beautiful beyond reason.
Her features were delicate enough to look carved by hand, flawless in a way that almost did not seem human. Her slender figure carried a soft elegance, graceful as a willow branch swaying in the wind, while the faint mist drifting through the hall wrapped around her like flowing clouds. Every movent she made felt light and effortless, as though she barely touched the ground at all.
She wore a pure white gown that blended perfectly with her luminous skin. The loose sleeves and layered fabric floated gently around her whenever she moved, making her seem less like a person and more like a spirit born from the clouds themselves.
Yeah. She was ridiculously gorgeous.
And the craziest part was that she was supposedly from the sa generation as Shadow Panther, which ant she was probably far older than she looked.
"Iris greets Senior Apprentice Brother Shadow Panther. Please, co in."
Her voice was calm and refined as she walked toward them with asured, graceful steps.
Shadow Panther imdiately returned the greeting.
"Junior Apprentice Sister Iris."
Marcus caught the detail instantly.
So she was not Elder Mist.
Still, if she was from the sa generation as the fifty-year-old Shadow Panther while looking barely older than her mid-twenties, then she clearly was not so ordinary disciple either.
As Iris approached, Marcus found himself staring a little longer than he should have. Her movents carried an almost dreamlike elegance, and combined with the drifting white gown and mist-filled hall, she honestly looked like a cloud that had taken human form.
Up close, the effect only beca worse.
Her flawless skin, slender waist, soft lips, and clear eyes all ca together with almost unfair perfection. There was sothing distant about her beauty too, sothing untouchable that made her feel more dangerous than approachable.
Standing here on the Mist Terrace, surrounded by floating black-and-white clouds and ancient cultivation sect nonsense, Marcus suddenly understood why cultivators in stories beca obsessed with immortality.
Places like this genuinely did not feel real.
And won like this definitely did not exist in the normal world.
More importantly, Harmony Peak was one of the nine great sects. A legendary cultivation sect hidden from the outside world. Of course they would have won like Iris hidden away here.
Marcus imdiately wondered whether she already had a cultivation partner. If she did, that guy was blessed by fate itself.
After greeting Shadow Panther, Iris turned her attention toward Marcus. Her beautiful eyes studied him carefully, curiosity flickering across her face.
"And this gentleman is...?"
Her gaze paused briefly on the Corpse Demon armor wrapped around his body.
The dark aura surrounding the equipnt was difficult to miss. Wandering souls, demonic energy, deathly resentnt... the armor practically radiated sinister energy.
Iris frowned ever so slightly. Marcus noticed imdiately.
Yeah. She clearly disliked dark-attribute users. Or maybe she was simply wary of him.
’Fantastic.’
He was not so evil demon lord. Sure, he did shady things occasionally, but he was a perfectly respectable shady person.
"This is Knight Stonehaven, an honored guest personally invited by the King of the Mountains."
Shadow Panther stepped in to make the introduction.
"Sir, this is my junior apprentice sister, Iris."
"You’re Stonehaven?"
Iris looked genuinely surprised this ti.
Apparently she had already heard about him.
"Master ntioned that Liam Windrunner specifically ca to Harmony Peak to wait for your arrival."
Marcus blinked. So even the higher-ups here knew about him now?
"Yeah, that’s right..."
Before he could continue, Shadow Panther suddenly cut in with obvious excitent.
"Junior Apprentice Sister Iris, Liam Windrunner brought Knight Stonehaven here to use the Twin Realms Sanctuary. He successfully unlocked his second class and beca a Mountain Roarer."
"Mountain Roarer?"
Iris’s expression shifted slightly as she looked Marcus over again, this ti with much more attention than before.
Clearly, that class title ant sothing important.
Shadow Panther glanced deeper into the hall.
"Junior Apprentice Sister Iris, is Elder Mist unavailable at the mont?"
"No."
Iris nodded lightly.
"Master entered the mountains earlier and likely will not return for so ti. Is sothing wrong?"
"Knight Stonehaven wishes to obtain a Harmony Cloud so he can travel through the skies. Does Elder Mist happen to have any spare ones available?"
Since Marcus was Liam’s guest, Shadow Panther spoke surprisingly directly.
Iris considered it briefly before answering.
"If he is Liam Windrunner’s guest, then there should be no problem. Please wait a mont."
With that, she turned and drifted toward a side room.
Marcus swore she did not even look like she was walking. The flowing white gown and drifting mist made her movent resemble a floating cloud more than actual footsteps.
Even so, while her attitude had softened after learning his identity, Marcus could still sense a trace of discomfort from her whenever she looked at the Corpse Demon armor.
Shadow Panther suddenly leaned closer.
"Stonehaven, your luck is excellent. Running into Junior Apprentice Sister Iris here of all people..."
His tone sounded strangely envious.
Marcus looked at him curiously, and Shadow Panther quickly continued.
"Junior Apprentice Sister Iris is the sect leader’s youngest granddaughter. The sect leader and Liam Windrunner’s grandfather were sworn brothers in the past, so Iris and Liam have always been close. On top of that, she is Elder Mist’s favorite disciple."
He lowered his voice slightly.
"If she handles this personally, there is a very good chance you’ll receive a high-grade Harmony Cloud."
Marcus imdiately understood. So his luck was not actually his own.
This was pure Liam privilege.
Still, if an opportunity presented itself, Marcus had absolutely no intention of wasting it.
He coughed lightly and looked toward Shadow Panther with the most harmless expression he could manage.
"In that case... do you think Iris could spare a few Harmony Clouds instead of just one?"
The Shadow Panther stared at him silently.
Marcus remained completely serious.
What? He was just thinking ahead. One for Lily and one for the others. Everyone riding through the skies together across mountains and clouds?
That sounded incredible.
Unfortunately, Shadow Panther’s expression beca increasingly complicated the longer he looked at Marcus.
At this point, he fully understood why Liam kept calling this man shady.
Stonehaven’s greed was astonishing. And sohow, he never looked ashad about it either.
After a long pause, Shadow Panther finally sighed helplessly.
"Harmony Clouds are not considered top-tier treasures, but Elder Mist is the only person in Harmony Peak capable of creating them. Producing even ordinary ones requires enormous ti and effort. At most, around thirty are made each year."
He raised two fingers.
"As for high-grade Harmony Clouds... perhaps two or three annually."
Marcus’s expression stiffened slightly.
Shadow Panther continued.
"And Harmony Clouds are consumable treasures. Their spiritual energy slowly fades over ti. After five or six years, they beco unusable entirely."
He shook his head.
"So even our own disciples barely have enough. Spare ones simply do not exist."
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