A Will Sovereign Chapter 23: Chapter 23— First night at martial peak.

Read chapter 23 of A Will Sovereign by Sloche on NovelPedia.

--- Soldret remained silent for several seconds. The mountain summit was deathly quiet. The night wind drifted through the bamboo courtyard, causing the emerald stalks to sway gently. Even the Peak Master didn't speak. He simply stood there with his arms folded. Waiting. Watching. The pressure emanating from that single remaining eye felt heavier than the mountains themselves. Eventually — Soldret released a slow breath. "...Fragments." The Peak Master nodded. "Fragments." Soldret looked toward Zephyr. The young man stood quietly nearby. Unlike before, the smile had left his face entirely. His golden-white hair swayed gently in the wind as he observed the exchange in silence. Soldret looked back toward the Peak Master. "How much do you know?" The old man scratched his beard. "Not much." Then added: "More than you would like." Soldret's expression darkened slightly. The Peak Master laughed. "Hahaha!" "Don't look at me like that." "If I knew everything, I wouldn't need to be asking." The laughter faded. He spoke calmly. "The person who told me about you only revealed a few things." He raised one finger. "That I should make you my second disciple — even if you arrived at Martial Peak without expecting to become one." A second finger. "That you would possess fragmented memories of the future." A third finger. The Peak Master's gaze darkened slightly. "..." "That is all you need to know for now." Silence. Soldret was curious about the third thing. But something told him not to ask. Not yet. He slowly relaxed. The Peak Master genuinely didn't know everything. That was a far better outcome than he had initially feared. But something else surfaced. "Aren't you going to ask about it?" The old Peak Master raised one eyebrow. "Why would I?" "Whether you possess memories of the future didn't matter to me to begin with." "The only reason I wanted to see you was because I heard you would become my second disciple." "And I needed to judge that for myself — whether the one who carries those memories actually deserves to." "And I do?" The old Peak Master was silent for a few seconds. Then Zephyr spoke quietly. "You have his aura on you. You must have crossed paths with a bald, neatly dressed practitioner on your way here." Soldret immediately knew who he was referring to. Though the San Zheng he had met wasn't exactly what he would describe as neatly dressed. "Yes. I met him." "San Zheng, right?" Zephyr's expression brightened slightly before settling back into composure. "Yes. Him." "If you encountered him and didn't die from it, you've already proven something." He paused. "As for the incident at Vareth —" "Many lives were lost. But you are not a designated savior of this world simply because you possess memories of the future." "Not being able to save everyone is understandable." Soldret wasn't entirely surprised that they knew about Vareth. An incident of that scale would have sent ripples through the Academies regardless. But hearing it said plainly — without judgment — settled something inside him. His decisions at Vareth were all he could have done at the time. The Peak Master suddenly broke his silence. "Enough of that." He glanced sideways at Zephyr. "Are you that eager to speak with your junior brother?" Zephyr smiled lightly and jabbed back without hesitation. "As if you weren't the one staying up all night wondering what he looked like and whether he would make it here safely." "You almost had me go and collect him yourself." "As if he was too weak to get here on his own." The Peak Master rubbed his chin and turned his gaze back to Soldret, studying him more carefully. "Speaking of which — you do seem rather weak." "How exactly did you survive the journey here with a body like this?" "Or did your pathway do all the work?" He raised one hand and began casually inspecting Soldret's physique as though appraising livestock. Hearing the word pathway, something suddenly struck Soldret. Since arriving at Martial Peak, he hadn't felt his p