Path to Transcendence

Chapter 723: New Arrival

Selena POV

The event was supposed to be held at Lord Tyrian’s estate. Tyrian Zheng was the city lord of Goldmere and one of the elders of the Golden Cauldron Sect. While Goldmere was typically ruled by a council, there were matters when a city lord was required.

She had never met Lord Tyrian herself, but he was supposedly shrewd and cunning. He was also known to be quite fair and reasonable. He wasn’t the strongest in combat, but in business and in keeping all the various merchant organizations in check, he was quite skilled. Selene had heard he had a few weird hobbies, but she didn’t have enough information to speak of them.

It was obvious why the Golden Cauldron Sect had been comfortable with Lord Tyrian managing their city. He was a neutral party, even in the sect. A party that both sides were willing to trust not to abuse the authority of his title. The fact that he’d been in this position for almost two decades spoke of his competence. Goldmere had flourished under his management.

And if there was one thing the Golden Cauldron Sect liked more than anything, it was wealth.

According to her uncle, this meeting wasn’t supposed to be that bad. It was essentially a social function intended to introduce guests to the city’s affluent groups. The only reason it was being held at the City Lord’s estate was that the guests’ status was quite delicate, and meeting at a neutral location, such as Lord Tyrianʼs estate, was in everyoneʼs best interest.

It was likely that Lord Tyrian wouldn’t even be attending. One of his trusted aides would be there to make sure nobody violated any rules or did anything too brash.

Unfortunately, her uncle warned her that Celestine might be in attendance as well. Given the guest’s ties to the Empire, it was highly likely that Celestine would use her family’s connections to make an introduction. But with her uncle beside her, Celestine would have to be truly stupid to try anything.

Several other powerful sects and clans were invited too, though she didn’t know in what capacity. She expected a few representatives from each group.

When she entered the estate gate in the carriage, she was a little taken aback by how grand and formal everything seemed. It wasn’t simply beautiful. Clearly, a lot of effort had been put into demonstrating the importance of this event.

She looked over at Uncle Arthur and gave him a flat look.

He winced and rubbed his head. “I might have underestimated the magnitude of the event,” he said sheepishly.

“Yeah, maybe I should have stayed back,” she said with a sigh.

“No, it should be fine. I’ll be by your side all night. Don’t worry about it. Lord Tyrian will make sure no one causes trouble on his property. He’s not the type of man to stand for it.”

She glanced at the line of expensive carriages and recognized several important people being escorted inside. In fact, she spotted the Clan Patriarch of Clan Kaizen and his wife walking inside.

She elbowed her uncle. “That’s Patriarch Kaizen,” she said in a harsh whisper.

He snapped his head toward where she was looking and scowled. “What is he doing here?”

He tried to hide it, but she sensed he was suddenly a little more worried. She was similarly worried. Why was someone like Patriarch Kaizen coming to an event like this? He wasn’t someone who normally even left Clan Kaizen’s estate, nevertheless, for a social function.

If he were here, it was for a specific reason.

Feeling a lot more unnerved, she walked into the hall with her uncle at her side. She removed her jacket, revealing the beautiful dress underneath. Warm green tones and shining emeralds adorned the lace. Her makeup was simple, but it accentuated her features well.

Her uncle was dressed in a simple black suit. There was a pin on his chest with the insignia of the Verdant Willow Sect, but that was all. He didn’t really need anything else, though. He stood out even amongst the other guests. He was taller than most people here, and while he politely restrained his aura, there was an indisputable weight to his presence.

Something that stood out amongst the guests. Most of the people here were important, but that didn’t mean they were fighters. Her uncle wasn’t just an elder of the Verdant Willow Sect; he was one of their more talented fighters, one of the people who would hopefully become a Tier 6. It was another reason why the sect gave him so much leeway and freedom.

She followed behind her uncle while he made the rounds. He used to hate these events even more than she did, but he’d gotten used to them during these past several years. He made sure to introduce her to everyone, and while everyone was respectful when they spoke to her, she knew it wasn’t because of her own abilities. It was because she was Arthur’s niece.

After almost an hour of small talk with various people, most of whom she would forget by the end of the night. While she was dying of boredom, she perked up and glanced to the side. The atmosphere in the room had changed abruptly, and she tried to find the reason. It didn’t take her long to spot the cause.

“Is that her?” she heard one of the nearby women ask her husband in a soft whisper, looking in the same direction as Selene.

“Hmmph, she doesn’t look like much. Just a young brat,” one of the older women in the same group said with a scoff.

Selene held back a scoff of her own. But instead of retorting, she got a closer look as the small group of people entered the hall. More importantly, the woman strolling at the front of this group.

Blonde hair billowed behind her, and the delicate curls bounced over her pearl-white dress. It was a simple dress with small embellishments, unlike some of the other women who wore flashier, more revealing garments, but it stood out all the same. She wasn’t tall; in fact, she was quite a bit shorter than Selene had imagined.

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But that didn’t make her any less breathtaking. Her face was stunningly beautiful, and Selene observed as she bewitched the entire room. Several of the women in the room had to elbow their husbands when they caught them staring too long.

However, all beauty was completely overshadowed by the vibrant amethysts in her eyes. They sparkled brightly and shimmered with power.

So this was the young genius of House Violet, Lily Violet.

Most people didn’t know much about the Luminous Empire’s noble houses, but many knew of House Violet. They were one of the largest merchant companies on the continent and rivaled the Golden Cauldron in terms of wealth. And the young lady walking through the hall was supposedly one of the greatest talents House Violet has ever cultivated.

It wasn’t just their large business that made them dangerous; they had a bloodline that fostered some of the greatest mind mages. Mind magic was a taboo art and highly regulated across the entire continent. For very good reason, too.

If given a choice, Selene would rather fight an army of trolls than encounter a skilled mind-magic user on a battlefield. Trolls were durable and healed faster than you could damage them, but they weren’t capable of shredding one’s mind into oblivion.

A proper mind mage wouldn’t just kill you, they would take control over your senses and thoughts until you didn’t know who you or your allies were.

And apparently, Lady Lily was one of the most talented of them all. Which was why she didn’t blame the various powers of Goldmere for being hesitant to approach the girl. Unless you had absolute control over your thoughts and mind, the Violet Scion would see through any duplicitous schemes. It was why House Violet had become so powerful. They didn’t make deals with people who plotted against them.

But they were also very fair to anyone they partnered with. It was why so many organizations wanted to work with them. A relationship with someone as powerful as House Violet, not to mention their prized scion, would make any of the clans or sects immediately wealthy. Or more wealthy than they already were.

Reputation was one of the most prized commodities of business, and House Violet was extremely reputable. After all, it was why so many people were here, just to catch a glimpse of the young lady.

Most people wouldn’t approach her today, but they wanted to get an impression of her from afar. Selene expected that Lily Violet would receive many invitations in the coming days.

Selene examined the two people alongside her. One was a slightly older-looking woman. She was also quite pretty, but in a sophisticated and prim way. She wore a large pair of glasses that framed her face and looked at every person who approached her with undisguised judgment.

The man standing behind them protectively was intimidating. He didn’t have an arm, but he looked just as scary as Arthur, if not more so.

While many people held back and discreetly observed Lily Violet, some didn’t. Some of them were clearly overly eager and greedy individuals. They either didn’t know enough about the person they were approaching, or they didn’t care. Either way, Arthur waited until the large crowd had settled and pulled Selene along as they approached.

The lady with the glasses immediately spotted them, and Selene felt mana flow through the woman’s eyes as she inspected them. However, to Selene’s surprise, it was the one-armed man who walked towards them first. The scary, large man closed the distance and soon stood right in front of Arthur.

Selene held her breath while these two men stared at each other. It was only after an uncomfortable amount of silence that they both let out slight grins.

“It’s good to see you again, Marcus,” her uncle said, reaching out to grab the man’s hand and shake it firmly.

Marcus nodded gruffly. “It’s been a while, Arthur. Apparently, you’ve been causing some trouble since I last saw you.”

“Eh, it’s not my fault. Sometimes people can get a bit zealous, and I occasionally need to deal with them,” Arthur said and pointed at the man’s missing limb. “I see you’re still missing a hand. There must be some lousy healers in the Empire. If you ask nicely, I might be able to offer my assistance.”

Marcus was about to retort, but Lily Violet excused herself from her current conversation and made her way over. Selene immediately became a lot more nervous. Her hands started to sweat, and she double-checked her mental defenses, making sure nothing slipped through.

“Is this the person you were talking about earlier?” Lady Lily asked Marcus, inspecting Arthur closely.

“Yes, the blockhead from the Verdant Willow Sect. He’s apparently one of their more prominent elders now, so if you want to discuss things, I’d suggest you do it with him. You can easily swindle him out of a deal, and he’d be too slow to notice.”

“I’m right here,” Arthur said with a good-natured sigh.

“Good to know. I might do that,” Lily Violet said with a sagely nod, as if the idea had some merit.

“Who’s this?” she asked, looking over at her.

Selene immediately curtseyed low. “My name is Selene Verdigras, Lady Lily. It is an honor to meet you.”

“Ah, I assume you two are related then?”

“Yes, milady. He’s my uncle.”

“Interesting, well in that case let’s get together, and maybe you can show me around the city. I’m new here and am in desperate need of a tour guide. Perhaps you can show me some good places to get food?”

Selene froze and immediately turned to her uncle for help. However, he was looking just as confused as she.

“Uhh, I don’t mean to offend you, Lady Violet, but why me?”

Lily Violet smiled warmly at her. “Well, I wanted to talk with your uncle about a possible business opportunity between House Violet and his sect. So I was thinking maybe afterward, we can have some girl time. There aren’t many other girls my age around, and I’d feel a lot more comfortable around someone who was.”

The explanation was reasonable, but Selene had a weird feeling about all of this. Not only did Lady Lily come over and talk to her, but she even offered to hang out. That wasn’t something people like her did. Even if they wanted to talk with her uncle.

“Think about it,” Lily said to her reassuringly, realizing that she was feeling a bit uneasy, and turned to Arthur.

“Would tomorrow work for you?”

“Tomorrow? For what?” Her uncle asked with a puzzled tilt of his head.

“See? I told you he was a blockhead,” Marcus whispered to Lady Lily, though everyone heard it.

“As I mentioned previously, I would like to talk to you about something I think you and your sect would be very interested in. Both parties would benefit immensely. That is, if you are interested.”

Arthur immediately shook his head. “No, no, no. Tomorrow’s great!”

“Wonderful, now I would really like to stay and chat, but I have to go meet some of the other guests,” Lady Lily said with a graceful curtsey, one that made Selene’s curtsey look like that of a fumbling toddler. Then, before either one of them could say anything, she was gone.

She and her uncle looked at each other with perplexed expressions.

“What just happened?” she asked, chewing on her lip anxiously.

“I don’t know. But I didn’t even give her a location or my address.” Unlike her, Marcus seemed anxious about other reasons.

Selene didn’t know what was going on, but it couldn’t be a bad thing, right? Most people would be thrilled that the Violet Scion had extended such an invitation. But for some reason, Selene could only feel extremely nervous and wondered what the young woman could possibly want from them.