(Mount Xilean- Holy Sword Sect)
(Fifth Peak)
The sun shone bright in the middle of a clear blue sky. Dozens of cultivators wearing brightly coloured robes flew through the sky on top of shining metal swords.
White cranes with wingspans of over twenty feet in length, small dragons breathing out fire with every breath and other fantastical creatures could also be seen soaring through the air.
The Holy Sword Sect.
One of the four most powerful cultivation sects on the continent.
It was founded by a man named Chang Jiang who would later ascend to the upper realm with his sword skills alone.
Legends say that he singlehandedly drove back the demonic sects and defeated a fallen god who attempted to take over the continent.
In the two hundred thousand years since its founding, the Holy Sword Sect had remained the sacred place and the dream in the heart of every youngster with the slightest bit of talent.
The sword art techniques taught here could not be found anywhere else in the continent.
Because of the prestige of the Holy Sword Sect, those who would be considered as geniuses discovered that they were merely big fish in small ponds.
An outer disciple of the Holy Sword Sect would easily be accepted as a clan elder in a medium sized sect.
The inner disciples were all extremely talented and some even went on to form their own clans or sects.
As for the true disciples…
They stood at the apex. It was said that a single swing from their swords could easily slice mountains in half.
But despite how powerful these true disciples were… there was someone who was above even them.
A person who stood at the peak of the younger generation.
The saintess.
No one had seen her appearance since Master Lei Ying had brought her back to the sect as a small child and declared her as the most talented mortal that she had ever seen.
The clan elders were furious since the position of saintess could not be decided on a whim, but Lei Ying stood by her claims that the baby girl was the future of the Holy Sword Sect.
The sect leader visited the child once and no one is sure what happened in the meeting but afterwards the child was given the position of saintess.
Master Lei Ying named the girl Xu Lu.
She was the future hope of the sect.
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Sui Li opened her eyes and squinted in pain as a harsh ray of sunlight fell on her face.
She looked around cautiously since the horrific torture that she had endured was still fresh on her mind.
She appeared to be lying down on a harsh uncomfortable mattress with only a single white sheet spread over it.
The mattress was the in the corner of an extremely humble looking room where the only pieces of furniture were a wooden desk and a small closet.
The window outside showed a peaceful looking grassland where tiny red flowers gently swayed from side to side.
In the distance one could see massive mountains and rising peaks. Sui Li furrowed her brows in confusion since she could swear that there were people… flying?
And what were those buildings on the mountains?
Massive temples, huge coliseums and spectacular buildings that seemed to be carved straight out of rock could be seen on the peaks and along the sides of the mountains.
Where was this place?
What was going on?
The doors to the room swung open and a familiar looking woman strode inside. Sui Li recognised her as the beautiful cultivator who had saved her from the crazy man.
She wore a pair of silky white robes and had tied her hair into a neat bun.
Her piercing grey eyes swept up and down the length of Sui Li's body and a frown appeared on her lips.
"Master," Sui Li opened her mouth and spoke politely. It was like her body moved automatically as soon as she saw the woman.
A mixture of both fear and respect rose up in her heart and Sui Li had no idea where these emotions were coming from.
"Xu Lu…" the cultivator slowly spoke as she took a few steps closer.
She reached into her pocket and pulled out two items. The first was a small mirror no larger than the size of her palm and the second was a silvery white mask.
"That demon cultist used a strange poison on his blade that I have never seen before," Lei Ying calmly spoke as she handed the mirror over to her apprentice.
"While the wounds on the rest of your body have healed… your face appears to have been permanently disfigured."
Sui Li picked up the mirror with trembling fingers and tilted it upwards so that she could see her reflection.
It was bad.
Sui Li could barely recognise the girl staring back at her from the other side of the silvery surface.
Horrific knife marks, long patches of raised scar tissue and brutal traces of damage destroyed any trace of beauty that this body's face might have once possessed.
Fortunately, her eyes were fine since the Blood Moon elder had wanted to save those for a later torture session.
"I… I…" Sui Li stuttered and a feeling of deja vu occupied her thoughts.
She had experienced this before… she had seen her face in this state a long time ago...
What did this woman call her? Xu Lu?
Why was that name so familiar?
Sui Li frowned in pain as a flood of memories surged through her mind.
She experienced twenty years of memories from the original owner of this body in the span of a few seconds.
The memories ended abruptly and without warning leaving Xu Lu with no idea about what happened after her master had saved her.
It was like the rest of her memories had been purposefully sealed or deleted by the original owner of this body.
"It seems that your dantian wasn't dug out and your heavenly roots are still intact. You must be feeling quite relieved," Lei Ying coldly spoke.
There was no emotion in her voice as if she was speaking about a small matter.
Her words completely ignored the fact that her apprentice was now permanently scarred.
Xu Lu felt a surge of anger in her heart at the callous treatment that she was experiencing at the hands of her master.
She had just survived being kidnapped and brutalised by a demonic cultivator and yet her master seemed to only care that she was still useful.
But it was the words that Lei Ying said next that send a cold shiver down Xu Lu's spine due to the sheer cruelty of her indifference.
"Still… I can't have people seeing your true appearance because it would bring shame to my reputation," Lei Ying frowned slightly, and a trace of disdain surfaced in her gaze.
"Wear that mask so that no one will see what an ugly little monster you are."
"Monster?" Xu Lu sucked in a mouthful of breath and felt as though her world was crashing down all around her.
"Yes. Take a good look at yourself. Do you want the Holy Sword Sect to be considered a joke?" Master Lei Ying nonchalantly spoke.
"How could we possibly have a hideous girl like you as our saintess?"
She handed over the mask and Xu Lu stared at it with a complex emotion in her eyes. Right now, she needed to get more information about this place.
She wanted to scream at the beautiful cultivator who treated her so horribly but memories of being punished flooded her mind.
Lei Ying was a brutal master who would not hesitate to sentence her to the back of the mountain to stand motionless until her muscles burned and her knees were about to collapse.
"Yes… master…" Xu Lu spoke with gritted teeth as she picked up the mask and placed it carefully over her face.
The metal wriggled and squirmed slightly as if it were alive, and the mask adjusted its size so that it fit perfectly.
"Good… now… clean up yourself and head to the field. You have spent two days unconscious, so it is time to resume training," Master Lei Ying ordered in a firm tone.
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