One month into the trip, the trio of Sani, Felix and Mateo faced multiple native beasts. They also met up with a few seniors and they established a campsite near a river. They found many spirit stones and acquired many beast cores for credits back at the academy. Things were easy enough until they came across an overgrown structure. They were exploring an area a little further than they previously did, trying to add new things to the map they were making. After an attack from a class 5 beast, they were forced to take cover in the strange structure. There was an ominous aura about the palace, but they could not pinpoint exactly what it was.
In a life and death escape from a Beast Lord, the trio blindly jumped into the nearest opening in the palace, falling 56ft beneath the surface. Just before they hit the ground, Mateo grabs the two, activating his War Body. While Sani and Felix could handle a drop of that height, Mateo's War Body can do so and keep running without pause. When running from a Beast Lord, every second of reaction matters. Fortunately, the beast did not follow them down. Sani conjured a ball of fire with no heat, but with efficient lighting to illuminate before and around them. The Autumn Domain was neither of extreme hot nor extreme cold. It was the perfect temperature no matter where you went.
After walking for five minutes, they came across a staircase leading them back up, into another part of the palace. They cautiously ascend, arriving in a room which Sani's fireball could not illuminate beyond 7ft. As she went up the tiers of fire, the field of view expanded. It was not until she got to the 28th tier that the entire room was revealed. They were in a hall of 35 thrones: 17 on the left and right sides of the room and one at center front upon a seven-stair stage. Upon each of the 34 parallel thrones, were the dead bodies of Celestial Body Masters. Not skeletons, but fully intact corpses, still warm and brimming with spiritual energy.
Upon the grand throne on the stage, the body was that of a master no longer mortal, but not yet Transcendent. It was a Nascent Soul Master at the peak stage. From that master, they all felt a powerful killing intent, invoking the feeling of a death omen. Felix commented awe stricken, "such powerful ones gathered together and died together. Only transcendent bodies and higher shouldn't decay, yet these masters have been preserved so well. Marvelous." Sani then pointed out the ceiling above them. It was not stone, wood or gold, but the starry night sky. The three had seen such a wonder before and it made incredibly curious about the masters of the hall.
The stars on the ceiling began moving rapidly, causing the spiritual energy in the hall to move like the waves of the ocean. Sani's fireball went out, the room now illuminated by the starry ceiling. A strange voice filled the room saying, "The Autumn Hall is neither here nor there, but is also everywhere. Once in the living and once in the dead, The Master chooses his heralds. A Sage, a Sage, the mighty, a Sage. The count is 35, no more, no less. In one hundred years, the hall must be completed. Good or Evil, determined by Fate." 35 stars descended from the ceiling, each orbiting a throne a master.
From the right, star number 3 flew to Felix, leading him to its master. From the left, star number 2 flew to Sani, leading her to its master. The stars entered the body of their masters, then into Sani's and Felix's. Soon after, the bodies of the masters, turned into theirs, matching their current cultivation. The remaining 16 stars on either side, flew to Mateo and orbited him. The Master star on the stage, followed shortly after. Suddenly, a crashing sound came from outside the hall, causing all the stars to hastily collapse into Mateo. With that rush of power, he himself collapsed unconscious. The door of the hall sprung open, revealing the source of the crashing earlier. It was Tavin seniors.
One of the seniors provoked, "Oh? Trash from Kanry and Wang. The Tavin Clan has claimed this palace, so get lost." The others laughed, moving slowly to surround the trio. Each of these seniors had a soul power level of 9/3, which made things very troublesome and there were five of them. Sani and Felix attempted to pick up the still unconscious Mateo, but the senior barked, "no! Leave that one behind. He has to pay for humiliating our Young Masters." Seeing no negotiating would work, Sani and Felix prepared to fight. Despite being outgunned, the two would not abandon a friend. They faced attack after attack but refused to relent.
Even under the powerful suppressing techniques of the Tavin Clan, they still held on. However, the situation got even more dire when Bran arrived. He declared as he rushed in to defend his clansmen, "who dares challenge the Tavin Clan! Kneel!" Sani's and Felix's powerful defenses were no match for a Golden Core Master, but in that critical moment, some images flashed through Sani's mind. As she concentrated, she realized that they are memories from that star from earlier. From it, she is taught an ancient defense technique called 'Rino's Shell'. Quickly repeating the technique, Sani managed to erect a new shield around them, rejecting Bran's advancement.
However, it would not last long. While it is a powerful technique that would keep any cultivator of the same or lower level at bay indefinitely, it can only temporarily delay ones of higher levels than the caster. Sani explains to Felix what happened very quickly, prompting him to search his consciousness. He too inherits a technique, but an offensive one. Sani's Rino Shell is a technique that only someone with a Pure Yang constitution can perform and Felix's would be the opposite. He is taught a Pure Yin technique. His is called 'Unfeeling Flake'. A snowflake big enough for its features to be appreciated, formed at the tip of his index finger, chilling the room.
Felix stepped out the shield and jumped on top of it. Floating in the meditating position, the snowflake flew beneath him like a cushion. Shards of ice shot from the five rotating points of the snowflake, exploding into icy pillars on the ground. As more shards shot out and struck the pillars, they exploded, sending the broken shards of the icy pillars all around the room. The Tavin clansmen did not know what to make of such a technique, so they ran behind Bran. With the full might of his Golden Core power, he uses the Tavin Clan's Suppressing Palm, which overwhelmed the two. Just then, Mateo awakens, War Body activated.
From his body, great power exploded in waves, shaking the palace. With his right hand, he caught the palm and commanded, "BREAK!" The palm shattered, sending a burst of energy back to Bran. The prestige of the Tavin Clan suffered another blow, but luckily there were no witnesses. Bran and his clansmen retreated, but not without screaming fading threats. As Sani and Felix tended to their injuries, Mateo stood guard like they did for him. They were then joined by three cultivators who were not seniors from the academy. As Sani and Felix finished their meditation, they calm a battle-ready Mateo after seeing the clothes of the three fellows.
Felix explained, "they are from the Imperial Clan." The trio bowed respectfully and welcomed them. The girl on the right spoke up, "I am Jodi Finn and this Winston Gud. We are assistants to our Young Master, Niko Rettsal. Our Young Master has a proposal. Are you willing to hear?" Felix chuckles and remarks, "you fellows are from the Imperial Clan. Even our City Lord must obey your commands. We must obey your commands as well. Please say." However, Niko responds, "I will not pull rank here. You may reject the offer if you desire. We are equal in this domain." Jodi and Winston closed the door, and Niko shares a huge opportunity.