Ethan Lockwood and Master Unrestrained journeyed on foot together—Ethan found it peculiar how the monk had forbidden him from riding horses earlier, insisting walking would suffice.
Initially, he'd assumed their destination must be near the Stellar Ascent Sect.
But as they progressed, the scenery along the path began shifting dramatically.
The sect's territory lay in parched highlands of rugged hills.
While the area around Stellar Ascent had sparse vegetation with scattered groves, Ethan knew its barren earth-and-stone mountains well.
Those poetic vistas of dense forests and mirror-like lakes—the kind poets rhapsodize about—vanished beyond ten miles from the sect's grounds.
Yet now, they kept passing rolling hills, shimmering ponds, and babbling brooks. The transformation was so comp
