CHAPTER 66
Secret High Order: Martial Guide
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Vikram's voice dropped to a whisper.
"When I looked at that dying girl... I could sense the Daos stirring frantically around her. It was as though the laws of this world abhorred her very presence. They were rejecting her existence."
"That was intriguing to me. So, to be careful, I snuck into her mind to spy on her memories while she was unconscious."
He paused for dramatic effect.
"But all that was there... was an overwhelming Chaos and Emptiness."
"Such a mental state is only possible under two specific conditions."
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"Firstly, her soul was more powerful than mine. Or secondly, she had lost her memories entirely."
Sage Vikram paced the sand-covered floor, his voice rasping like dry wind.
"This made me wary. While it is common for a traumatized soul to lose memories, the world does not lack oddities, and I had to be sure. I probed deeper, I watched her for a month and it turned out that she had really lost her memories."
He turned to the High Priestess, a triumphant gleam in his white eye.
"That is why I used the Beguiling Mind Pearl. I overlaid her chaotic mind with the identity of Alia. I gave her a new past, new memories."
He spread his hands. "Are you satisfied with this explanation?"
Isha bowed her head slightly. The logic was sound, terrifyingly so. "Now that you have explained it, I no longer have any concerns. However... do you have any instructions on whom I should assign to Alia as her Martial Guide?"
"I will leave that for you to decide," Vikram answered, waving his hand dismissively as he turned to his carving.
However, Isha frowned a bit before asking the question that lingered on her tongue.
"Sage... what do you intend on doing with her in the end?"
Vikram paused. A slow, cryptic smile spread across his face, illuminated by the pulsing light of the White Eyeball.
"You will see in due time."
...
~The Next Morning — The Seventh Courtyard~
It was unknown to Lu Xie when she had actually fallen asleep. She had spent most of the night tossing and turning, her mind scrambled with thoughts of the "Secret High Order" and the missing memories.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
A soft series of knocks against the wooden door awoke her to the glare of the morning sun.
Feeling tired and too lazy to move, she answered, her voice thick with sleep and frustration. "What is it?"
Trisha, her maidservant, quickly stepped in before giving a courteous bow.
"Seventh Miss, you have been requested to be present at the Hall of Wonders. Do you need any help getting ready?" she spoke politely, though her eyes darted nervously around the room.
"No need. I will be out in five minutes," Lu Xie replied groggily, trying to pry her eyelids open.
True to her word, in a few minutes, Lu Xie stepped out of her room. She wore a casual white attire that had been prepared for her—a flowing tunic and loose trousers suitable for training—and a white face veil to match. Since there was no official event today, she didn't have to wear the formal uniform.
Adorning a small identification jade ambrosia with the insignia of "seventh." she was ready.
"Let's go!" Lu Xie commanded begrudgingly, stifling a yawn.
Along the way, as they navigated the winding paths of the Coven, Lu Xie suddenly stopped.
"Why are we heading to the Hall of Wonders exactly?"
Trisha blinked, returning a strange, puzzled look. It was a look that said, 'How can you live here and not know that?'
Lu Xie immediately realized she must have asked a very silly question. However, she was too mentally drained to bother racking the implanted "Alia" memories for an answer. She decided to spin a lie.
"I have just recently regained my memories," Lu Xie said, her voice taking on a pitiful tone. "It has been stressful recalling many things, and my mind is still foggy. There are gaps... basic things I can't recall. So I have to bother you for an explanation."
She sounded convincing—natural, even.
"Oh! Pardon me, Seventh Miss! I had forgotten about your... condition." Trisha was quick to apologize, clearly buying the story hook, line, and sinker.
She cleared her throat and explained.
"The Hall of Wonders is the Coven's repository of knowledge. It is where disciples pick the Skills and Arts they are interested in, or those best suited for their Innate Spirit. Due to its diversity of Arts—a truly wondrous collection collected over thousands of years—it was given the name 'Hall of Wonders.'"
Lu Xie listened attentively to every word, her interest piqued. She was anticipating what kind of "Otherworldly Arts" existed in this realm. Would they be similar to the cultivation manuals of the Nine Heavenly Realms? Or something entirely alien?
The trip to the Hall was short, but it felt like a lifetime to Lu Xie.
Everywhere they walked, disciples stopped to gawk. Fingers pointed. Whispers hissed like snakes.
"That's her..."
"The Quadruple Honorary Genius..."
"I heard she made Bavna cry..."
The matters of yesterday had reached even the tiniest anthill in the Coven. Lu Xie was no longer a ghost.
Arriving outside the Hall, Lu Xie took a moment to appreciate its architecture. Although it wasn't grand in size, it was unique and strange—a type of structure that couldn't be found back in the Nine Heavenly Realms.
The colorful stone floor and beautiful floral carvings stood in stark contrast to the dark materials and massive golden pillars the structure was made from.
The building resembled a flat tree top, supported by several arched pillars that curved upward like ribs. These pillars converged at the center, forming a ring base that held up the flat roof, defying gravity in a way that suggested powerful formations were at work.
Lu Xie and Trisha went in, the guards quickly—and respectfully—opening the door for the duo.
"Alia!"
Just as they stepped into the cool interior, a familiar voice called out.
Upon facing the caller, Lu Xie quickly identified the person. It was Demoness Menlela—Lela—the same woman who had dragged her to the induction yesterday.
Lu Xie sighed internally. 'What now!.'
With a courteous, barely-there greeting, Lu Xie quickly got to the point.
"Why did you call me here? I could really catch up on some rest, you know."
Lela ignored the attitude and grabbed Lu Xie's hands, beaming.
"There is no time to rest! You should know that I am now your Martial Guide!"
Lela squeezed Lu Xie's hands excitedly.
"As you have been inducted successfully, you would naturally be allotted a Martial Guide to teach you the ways of cultivation. And that person is me, your Big Sister! Isn't that great?"
Lela sounded genuinely happy to have been selected. She was basically bouncing up and down, her long wavy white hair bobbing along, she was vibrating with energy, while holding onto a hardly interested Lu Xie.
Lu Xie pulled her hands back.
"Great," she deadpanned. "If that is all, I will be heading back to my room now."