In a Grand Palace Inside one of the buildings. There was a board hanging outside the Puppet Master hall. The building was made of white-colored jade. while different Monoliths standing at the entrance. On the inner side of the hall in a hidden room.
The room had many Crystal Orbs. They were placed very neatly All of them were white-colored like pearls but much larger than them.
While at one corner in which seemed like an array formation A lady was sitting cross-legged while holding a crystal orb in her hand.
Suddenly, The lady suddenly spurted blood from her mouth.
Her hair also felt like strands made of silk.
She was wearing a long blue colored gown.
while her hair was tied up neatly in a ponytail.
She was holding a crystal Orb.
" You DAMMED SCOUNDREL. " cursed the lady in her mind.
" Senior sister are you alright. " suddenly a middle-aged man appeared beside her. It looked very odd watching a middle-aged man calling a little girl senior sister. But the mad deep respect for this lady in front of him.
" Where is the Master " asked the lady immediately grabbing his shoulder. Her face looked pale and exhausted.
" He is in his Library, while you were secluded here Master had gone out" the middle-aged man replied hastily. She saw senior sister had a look of urgency in her eyes. Her senior sister had specifically told him to tell if the master leaves the palace he must inform her.
" Senior sister did you found another candidate for succession. " asked the Middle-aged man. He saw she was holding a crystal orb that was used to control the soul puppets.
The sould puppets were different were normal puppets the soul of the original stays alive but they would subconsciously follow the commands. These soul puppets were able to live as they lived before dying believing they are still alive.
He knew his Senior sister even though she looked younger, she was much older than him it was because her cultivation was much higher than him. His Senior Sister was a Well known Puppet Master in the whole Mortal kingdom.
" That Old fogy still couldn"t sit at his own place and I am working so hard to find the successor while he loitering around " The lady showed an indignant expression. But her eyes showed a concern deep inside.
" Senior sister he is still our master though, we shouldn"t speak bad behind his back. You know even though he couldn"t interfere with the Kingdom much but he still likes to keep an eye on Sect alliance." replied the Middle-aged man.
" I am sorry it"s just that I am very angry at someone, THAT b.a.s.t.a.r.d " The lady replied she had a flame of anger burning inside those eyes. Even though she didn"t get a clear picture of Bai Jie. She still remembered his voice and added it in a must teach a lesson list.
" Let"s not talk about it I have something very important to confirm I need to go to meet the master. Little w.a.n.g, take care of the Puppet Master hall. " The lady replied hurriedly.
Before little w.a.n.g could even reply He saw his senior sister disappeared.
" Who could be so daring to anger senior sister he must be someone courageous who doesn"t even fear death. I must meet him " mumbled little w.a.n.g. He knew his senior sister wouldn"t just kill, she would make a puppet out her enemy, which would always send a shiver down his spine.
******************
Inner palace
the lady put her hand on what seemed like a circle opening in between the door.
Creak
The Large door opened by itself with a loud sound.
The Lady entered what seemed like a library. There were thousands of aligned bookshelves. The library was also very s.p.a.cious.
The lady didn"t wait around she used her spirit sense to find her Master and used her movement technique.
While at the corner an old man was reading a book. If Bai Jie was here he would have definitely recognized this old man. he was the same old man he saw in the cage with him and Yi Ying.
" That youngster was very interesting though. " mumbled the old master with a long sigh. He was thinking about Bai Jie. He noticed the young man had a very open view. He viewed others the same as him not like a haughty and hotblooded youngster.
" I even thought he noticed me " the old man sighed.
" I think he didn"t even know that he was dying " mumbled the old man. He could sense a very weak life force from him but he knew that the young man would die inevitably. He suddenly noticed a familiar aura coming towards him.
" Master why are you out of your chamber." The old man looked towards the voice. He smiled.
" Ahh isn"t it"s my little disciple Aiko. " said the old man watching the lady coming his way.
" Master please don"t joke around I am not little anymore, and why are even out of your chamber you know your body can"t " Aiko wanted to speak more but she couldn"t. She lowered her head. She knew her Master"s body was deteriorating and he needed a large number of resources to sustain his life. but even with the best resources nothing seemed to work.
" hehe, no one escapes the cycle of time especially those who cultivate mortal arts. forget about me why do you look so pale your soul also is very exhausted. Didn"t I tell you even your soul is tangible you should not control more than 5 puppets at the same time? Didn"t you say you can make them autonomous working by themselves " said the old man with his eyes creased, He sensed his disciple, her soul force was very drained?
Her disciple had sent many puppets to find the successor and it was a great help for him. But he didn"t want his disciple to suffer permanent soul damage. Soul damage was far more severe than any other physical damage.
" I just had little accident master. " Aiko suddenly felt anger rose up again. She suddenly remembered the phrase he was shouting at her. She couldn"t reveal that she was angered to suffer such damage.
" what was it Aing Kreem Khim Khichi Khim Khim Phat dammit why am I even thinking about it. "thought Aiko. She didn"t even know what it meant.
" cough " the old man coughed. he saw his disciple dozing off in her thoughts. He tried to wake her up.
"Ahh" Aiko suddenly felt ashamed. She had such an important thing to tell. She suppressed her thoughts.
"Master The trial formation the range of gra.s.slands represents the higher talent right. " Aiko asked in a serious tone. She had done many talent a.s.sessments over these years she had only seen a maximum of up to 100 meters. She belived there is no one who could meet such a requirement.
" Yes, that"s right Did you find another candidate, Did his range exceed 150-meter mark " The old man"s breathing suddenly hastened. It felt like his eyes suddenly gained life.
" Well no. " Aiko suddenly saw her Master getting excited. She didn"t want his hopes too high because she herself have belived it to be impossible.
" It could just be because the puppet malfunctioned " thought Aiko. She still remembered the gra.s.slands formed far into the horizons. She also knew what it meant immeasurable Lifeforce. It was impossible She herself had taken the a.s.sessment herself even with her strong cultivation it barely reached 60 meters.
The trial judged the candidate based on the cultivation. Because with every breakthrough of a major realm would also increase the life expectancy of the person and the trial offsets the cultivation.
Her Master had told her that there are special people who had evolved themselves their life force is much stronger than others of the same realm which makes them stronger.
" Well, thank you for your effort. " The old man sighed. His eyes dropped again hearing her reply.
" Master, why there is such a need, aren"t normal cultivators could also cultivate the mortal arts. we even use it in the military. " Aiko asked confused. The mortal arts her master had provided could almost be used by anyone.
" That is different it isn"t even 1% of the true technique. Its also my limit " said the old man his face had a complicated look.
" Master what do you mean didn"t you make the mortal arts," asked Aiko confused.
" follow me. I might as well tell you about it. " said the old man with a fierce resolve on his eyes.
Aiko followed him they went straight towards her master"s chamber.
The chamber had a simple stone slab while different kinds of herbs were present in the room. Every herb emitted a strong amount of life force.
The old man went straight towards the end of his chamber. He pressed on the wall a few times and formation shown itself what seemed like a wall turned in to a transparent formation many golden symbols were flying around.
" This " Aiko felt it was ridiculous. She had lived in this place taking care of her master but she never has seen this place. " Master does mortal sage, I mean senior brother Mu Li know about this place. "
" No after I pa.s.sed my t.i.tle to him I have thought about telling him but I was never been able to make a decision. I feel he isn"t ready for such responsibility. " replied the old man. While he walked ahead and Aiko followed.
Aiko saw what seemed like a sculpture with a heavy sword. The sculpture had a very domineering presence. While 7 sculptures were bowing towards the one with the heavy sword. She recognized one of them.
"It"s you, Master " Aiko looked at the last bowing sculpture. She looked back towards her Master. The shock was written all over her face. Her Master was the strongest person she had known until now.
The old man nodded. But she had never heard of anyone rank above her master.
" He is Arthur the First emperor of the legend you read and while we are the seven guardians. But only one remains now. " replied the old man with a self-deprecating smile. His eyes showed endless regret and resolve.
Aiko who was listening felt thunderstruck.
**†**************