Chapter 65
Chapter 65
No one could remember exactly when the idea that the First Unity Coven was not to be messed with had taken root in people’s minds, but right now, nobody wanted to cross Linda and her group.
They were tough. They held grudges. And they were super tight.
There was an unspoken, rock–solid connection between the five of them, like some invisible force kept them locked together.
Even the young guy standing way off to the side never took his eyes off his fellow coven members.
They had no doubt. If anyone dared to mess with one of them, the whole crew would gang up in an instant.
They’d hit back so hard, the other side wouldn’t even dare to fight back.
That kind of unity made people a little jealous, but if they were up against them, it was honestly intimidating.
Marietta walked right up to them, and then, out of nowhere, she dropped to her knees in front of Linda.
Everyone was stunned.
Marietta looked up, her eyes brimming with tears, and choked out, “Please, I’m begging you, let my senior go.”
Linda was stunned.
Craig and Rafael shot each other a look and moved in perfect sync. One grabbed Marietta’s left arm, the other her right, and they lifted her up and carried her seven or eight steps away, making her kneel with her head facing the Glimmering Stone
Gate.
Marietta and everyone else were stunned.
Once they were done, the two of them hustled back to Linda and Laura. Rafael put one hand on his hip and pointed at the gate.
He said, “What are you doing, throwing your pleas around at whoever’s nearby? Linda is a sweet girl. She’s not some goddess or immortal. Why are you begging us? Go beg the Abyssal Coven to open the door already!”
Craig shook his head, looking at her like she was nuts. “Hey, girl from another coven, did you get lost or are your eyes playing tricks on you? You can’t just kneel to random people. My junior doesn’t take disciples, but…”
He gave her a quick once–over and grunted, “Honestly, with your talent, even the First Unity Coven wouldn’t take you. Sorry, but you’re not even close to our standards.”
“Exactly!” Someone nearby couldn’t hold back anymore. “She’s not good enough? She broke through to the Gilded Phase at fifteen, and you call that bad?”
Craig looked genuinely confused. “Is that supposed to be impressive or something?”
Everyone was speechless.
Craig crossed his arms. “When we first joined, our senior told us out of all the First Unity Coven’s one hundred and one generations of disciples, not a single one ever broke through to the Gilded Phase after fifteen.“
He continued, “Breaking through within three years since joining is our First Unity Coven’s…”
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Chapter 65
Rafael stepped forward and shouted right after Craig. “Tradition!”
Everyone was so exasperated that they couldn’t help but laugh.
Marietta was still kneeling there, her face drained of all color.
62.85 vouchers
Rafael spoke up without hesitation. “Though I’m an exception. I only joined the coven the year before last, so I’ve been cultivating for, what, two years at most? Compared to her…”
He continued, “Hey, how long have you been training? When did you awaken your spiritual roots? And how many years did it take you to go from Aether–Stoking Phase to the Gilded Phase?”
Rafael’s barrage of questions stirred up a heated debate in the crowd. Now, everyone was busy arguing about how old a regular cultivator should be when they reach the Gilded Phase.
As for why Marietta had knelt before Linda in the first place, nobody even remembered anymore.
She’d been kneeling there for quite a while, and nobody even realized she was still down there.
Rafael was going toe–to–toe with the whole crowd, firing back at every question with swagger and never losing his cool.
He said, “I’m the youngest in my family, and I was a troublemaker growing up. I never bothered to study or train. I didn’t even awaken my spiritual roots until I was twelve. My dad called me a late bloomer, so I was proud that it took me three years just to hit the third level of Aether–Stoking Phase.”
He continued, “But he finally had enough, so he stuck me in a hole in the ground for three days and nights to reflect on my life choices. After that, he kicked me off to the First Unity Coven.”
“The First Unity Coven really is something else. I was just a slacker,” Rafael thumped his chest with a grin. “But now look at me. Gilded Phase cultivator, baby!”
People’s faces darkened, itching to call Rafael a liar, but when he let his cultivation aura loose, there was no denying it. He was the real deal, a Gilded Phase cultivator.
They couldn’t argue with him.
Linda stayed silent the whole time, from the moment Marietta knelt down to when Craig and Rafael took charge. She just watched calmly as her two seniors handled everything, letting them run the show.
Craig noticed her quietness and thought she might be worried. He leaned in and whispered, “People like her are experts at guilt–tripping and moral blackmail. Don’t worry. I’ll crush her tricks for you.”
Rafael caught that and snorted, lowering his voice. “Please, there are so many people here, and plenty of covens with healing specialists. Yet she only comes begging our junior sister? Anyone can see what she’s up to.”
He continued, “Trying to set up Linda to take all the blame, huh? If she weren’t a girl, I’d have slapped her silly just now.”
Linda just stared at them for a long time, and the longer she looked, the more it made Craig and Rafael blush a little. They scratched their heads, feeling a bit self–conscious. “What’s up?”
‘Were we too subtle about it? Should we just go over and give her a couple of kicks?‘ they wondered.
Linda’s eyes were rimmed with red, but she managed a smile. “Thanks.”
Rafael let out a sigh, a little flustered. “Aw, why are you crying?”
His hand hovered awkwardly, wanting to help wipe her tears but afraid he’d smudge her beautiful face or mess up her veil. 2/4
4:18 pm P
Chapter #3
Craig quickly jumped in. “Don’t cry. Don’t cry”
Linda didn’t have to say it out loud. Craig and Rafael both understood perfectly. She hadn’t had anyone to protect her in
Every time Marietta knelt, everyone would instantly point fingers at Linda, saying she was the bad guy.
And the moment Marietta started crying, everyone would say it was Linda bullying her again.
People assumed it was never the junior sister’s fault. The blame always landed on the senior sister.
It was always because Linda didn’t teach Marietta well enough or wasn’t kind enough.
But Linda was barely a year older than Marietta. She was still at the age where she needed someone to have her back. And yet, she had to shoulder all these responsibilities.
Laura took out all the snow fruits she had left and gently pressed them into Linda’s hands. “Here, have some. They’re sweet. Linda accepted them, but she couldn’t stop the tears from streaming down her face. “I… I’m sorry…”
She didn’t want to cry. But she just couldn’t help it.
She went from quietly tearing up to full–on sobbing, her tears falling in big, heavy drops. Laura didn’t hesitate. She wrapped Linda in a hug. “Don’t worry. I’m here. I’ve got you.”
Craig and Rafael’s eyes were misting over as well.
Linda could hide all her pain deep inside and face everything alone. Her coven’s betrayal, her master’s cold indifference, her senior brothers‘ harsh scolding, being cast out and left to wander, and even falling into demonic cultivation all by herself.
Linda could take on anything. Nothing could break her.
Even when those seven swords pierced her heart, she never cried.
But the instant someone truly saw her pain and stood up to protect her, all those emotions she’d been bottling up for so long suddenly came flooding out, overwhelming her like a tidal wave.
No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn’t stop
herself.
Linda had been toughing it out for so long. Way too long.
Linda’s sobs were stifled and shattered, but they carried far enough that the whole crowd in front of the stone gate went quiet.
Nobody really knew what had happened or why she was crying, but her heartbreak was so suffocating and raw that everyone just fell silent without even realizing it.
More than a few people found their eyes getting misty too.
People couldn’t help but think that she had been through so much. More than anyone could imagine.
So much that she finally broke down, clutching Laura and crying her eyes out, unable to hold it back any longer.
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
