It had been four nights since Selene arrived at Great River Bank Settlement.
Since then, Edifice has helped to decorate Selene's room from its modest appearance to something more homely.
Clothing, robes, and shoes befitting Immortal Adamant's signature colours.
Potted flowers, ornate decorations, such as a wind chime by the window, and a paper lamp to brighten her room.
The gift Selene appreciated the most was a display case for the hair ornament left by Dawn.
The lotus flower and stem hairpin.
Besides decorating her room, Selene familiarised herself with Immortal Adamant's monastery, with the help of Edifice.
It was large and mostly desolate.
Immortal Adamant only resided on the top floor; the second floor was for accommodations, while the first floor was for attending meetings and political discussions.
As part of Edifice's relentless chatter, three Mortal Settlement Lords are managing Great River Bank Settlement in the Immortal's places.
This is merely delegates smaller affairs to the capable mortals, such as trade and subsidiary Mortal Settlements.
Larger matters, such as the tides of beasts and Spirits, as well as the recent Demons, are handled by the Immortals themselves.
However, these Mortal Settlement Lords play a significant role in the upcoming competition between the Immortal Seeds of the three Great River Immortals.
Immortal Adamant, Immortal Monolith, and Immortal Blade rule over this Immortal Settlement with equal authority.
The presence of an Immortal Seed not only disrupts this balance but could tilt it towards the respective Immortal.
Immortal Monolith was the first to bring in an Immortal Seed, who would not only inherit his legacy but also shift the power dynamic between the other two Immortals.
Immortal Adamant and Immortal Blade also had plans to take in an heir, but Immortal Monolith's aggressive approach to reigning power threatened them both.
Naturally, they would also recruit heirs to restore the balance between power, but Immortal Monolith gathered another two Immortal Seeds.
Infuriated, the other two Immortals threatened to take action, and after a long debate about their ambitions and actions, they eventually settled on this competition to elect the true heir to the fourth Plateau.
In other words, a competition that dictates who ascends to Immortalhood.
With the presence of five Immortal Seeds at the time, there was naturally great internal conflict between these smaller parties.
To smooth over this pressure, each of the Immortals forbade one another from helping these Immortal Seeds.
This unanimous lack of support promotes peace between the Immortals and allows the juniors to contest against each other while relying on innate prospects.
Edifice was the sole heir and Immortal Seed of Immortal Adamant, it wasn't long until Immortal Blade found not only a second Immortal Seed, but another heir to his legacy.
Immortal Adamant was left in the lowest position, which did benefit Immortal Blade, but further improved Immortal Monolith's stance.
It wasn't until Selene was brought in that this power dynamic shifted in more favourable terms.
Immortal Monolith still has the highest number of Immortal Seeds, at three; there would be no problem for either Immortal Blade or Immortal Adamant to recruit their own third Immortal Seed, but with the limited time at hand, it would be of no use.
Selene was the most recent addition to the competition, but she was only at the First Foundation. Even if she stepped into the Second Foundation, she had little experience and skill in fighting.
The initial steps of this competition will revolve around one's capabilities, within Dao Arts, combat strength, and strategic ability.
However, the criteria to become the sole heir of the fourth Plateau not only relies on cultivation and strength, but political influence as well.
While the Immortals are not reliable for political aid, the three Mortal Settlement Lords are viable candidates.
With their support, the Immortal seeds would have strong backing regarding the political side of this competition. They can also rely on these Mortal Settlement Lords for material aid, especially for their Cultivation.
Those who display incredible political influence and ability are also likelier to become a true Immortal candidate.
Altogether, becoming a true Immortal candidate relies on both physical power and political power.
After the candidates are thinned out, they will further compete against one another.
Then the sole Immortal Seed will inherit the fourth plateau and become the fourth Great River Immortals.
Selene was enlightened by this bombardment of information, she began to feel somewhat grateful for Edifice's unending information.
...
Currently, Selene was readying herself to visit the marketplace with Edifice.
She was due to equip herself with suitable tools and equipment in preparation for the competition.
Selene exited her room in black attire embroidered in crimson silk, which was Immortal Adamant's signature colours, thus a symbol of Selene's status as an Immortal Seed.
She visited their washroom to freshen herself up, walking past the hallways of abundant flowers.
The monastery's second floor carried a natural sweet scent in the air, the air was always clean and fresh.
Selene favoured the use of these plants, she was only familiar with Dao Art mediums, or society's lower district's unfiltered air.
A hint of appreciation flickered in her eyes at Edifice's efforts to make the place more lively.
Before leaving, Selene decided to tie her hair up with the hairpin Dawn had gifted her.
The silvery lotus flower was the most noticeable feature on her otherwise bland appearance, ignoring the status of her clothing.
Selene tended to herself for the moment. After the hour passed, she left the monastery and travelled to the rim of the Plateau.
"Sister, I hope you have everything you need?"
Edifice was already there waiting, hand on the pedestal, as she called out to Selene, who quietly nodded in response.
Chanelling her Qi into the pedestal, black blanks manifested in the air and began to connect the Plateau to the Great River's bank.
A simple, translucent bridge hovered in the air. Twenty meters wide and half a dozen kilometres across.
It would be a long walk, this was one of the closest pillars to the bank.
Selene stepped nearer the edge with hesitation. Edifice noticed this and removed her hand from the pedestal.
Taking a step forward onto the bridge, Edifice turned around to console Selene.
"Don't worry about falling. Even if the bridge were to fall apart, I could bring us back up without danger."
"Why don't you just fly across then? Or rather, fly us across."
Edifice spared Selene a dismissive sigh before reaching for her hand, dragging Selene onto the bridge and forward across without explanation.
"Let us enjoy this moment of respite."
Selene was helplessly pulled along. She stumbled a few times before steadying and matching Edifice's light jog.
She couldn't understand the sentiment of this 'respite', or how this qualifies as respite either.
Traversing under Night's sky, the bright starlight shimmered on the dark bridge.
Sounds of crashing waves and surging waters echoed from below. The surging breeze played with their hair and dragged their robes.
The Great River Bank Settlement stood grandly in the distance in front of them, the five pillars of dark stone imposing from behind.
Their jog paced into a walk. It was very subtle, but Edifice had been looking around, as if this world wasn't familiar at all.
It should be Selene with that look of awe and astonishment, yet her gaze had been focused on her senior Sister's back.
She did not feel inclined to pull her hand away, it was neither tightly held nor loose, just enough to pull her along.
For this moment, she decided to cling to whatever this fleeting emotion is.
...
After half an hour of walking, they finally reached the other side of the bridge, landing upon the solid ground of the Great River's bank.
The bridge would soon fade behind them, but they paid no attention as they followed this stone road into the Settlement.
"Stay close, Sister. The marketplace is usually busy at this time."
"Okay."
Edifice had let go of Selene's hand when they reached the bank.
They walked further into the streets, unaware of another dark bridge manifesting from one of the Immortal's Plateaus.
...
The marketplace was in the outer regions of the Great River Bank Settlement, it was similar to Union Settlement's Commerce District.
Immediately, the smell of foods and wines pervaded the air, assailing Selene's nose.
Surely, the area of the marketplace was crowded.
There was little need to push through the crowds, everyone simply moved out of the way for Edifice.
Some people greeted her warmly, others simply watched quietly.
It was not unnatural for Edifice's status to be so well known, but it seemed like she was a prevalent figure even among Immortal Seeds.
She had never seen Dawn with this level of attention.
With Selene tailing her senior Sister from behind, also sharing the same attire, she attracted some unwanted attention. She simply ignored them, it didn't seem like anyone wanted to directly approach them either.
Instead, there was quiet reverence in their eyes, the same kind of reverence that one would expect from devout followers.
To Selene, this sight was sickening.