With the four wounded prodigies branded as treasonous fugitives across the entire empire and forced to flee north into the freezing, lawless badlands beyond the imperial passes to tend their shattered bones, a deep, peaceful calm settled over Alaric's rapidly expanding domains.
Autumn faded into the biting frosts of early winter, and then the heavy snows of the twelfth month blanketed both the northern mountains of Azure Fall City and the central valleys of Cloud-Mist Province.
Nearly a full year had passed since Alaric first stepped onto the soil of the Eastern Continent with Lin Ruoli, Lilliana, and Ceanna.
During these snow-draped winter months, Alaric's personal cultivation remained fixed at the absolute pinnacle of Level 69 Peak Archmage. Because of the strict mandate of his system, he could not break through the mortal threshold to Level 70 and the Elder Mage realm until he completed all ten rungs of [The Emperor's Ladder].
