Chapter 259 - Chapter 258: The First Meeting of the Two Circles (Part 1)

The Celestial Academy entered another season with the specific quality that seasons had when they marked significant changes occurring beneath the surface of ordinary operations. From the outside perspective of any casual observer, nothing had changed. Students still sparred beneath floating platforms with the enthusiasm that training always produced. Hall Masters still argued over the distribution of talented disciples, each one believing their Hall was best suited to develop the potential they perceived. Ancient beasts still wandered peacefully through the sacred gardens that had been cultivated across centuries, their presence a reminder that the academy existed at the boundary between civilization and the wild natural world.