(Lian Li POV)
I relaxed my shoulders, allowing my lightning to disperse into the air.
All of us looked down at the charred, decapitated and half frozen corpse laying at the side of the room. I doubt he can come back from that one.
Surprisingly, even the princess had chipped in with her lightning to punish this little trash a few moments ago.
But now she maintains her distance with us, though there was no fear in her eyes .
"So that's it huh? All of you taking advantage of Master Lin's kindness and benevolence for your own gains… All of you deserve a fate worse than death!" The princess roared defiantly.
I admit, we were going to see how far we can take this little joke just to see her sincerity towards Master but I think she had already shown enough by now.
"Ufufufu~ Relax princess, all of this was just an act to get the little trash to talk, we are not part of that despicable group of trash," Manami assured her.
I nodded, "Yes, it is completely unthinkable for us who have known Master's light to ever turn against him."
"Kukuku~ Anyone who does so definitely deserves a fate worse than death," Diao Chan finished.
The princess still seemed a little skeptical, not that I don't understand why. I would've tagged her as naive if such a simple thing would convince her so easily.
"How do I know if whatever you're saying now isn't the lie instead?" She asked.
"Would showing you my memories help convince you?" I suggested
The princess narrowed her eyes at me, "This wouldn't be an attempt to brainwash me, would it?"
I raised my palm, "I swear on my Master's name."
That seemed to put her a little at ease.
"In that case... How are you sure that all this while I am not putting on an act to get closer to Master Lin as well?" The princess pointed out.
Manami lifted a finger, "You will show us your memories at the same time as Lian Li, if you agree to it."
She hesitated for a moment but nodded, "Very well. Show me."
I stretched out my hands to her and she held them in hers. Giving a nod to Manami, my fox sister activated the Technique that will let her see my memories, starting from my childhood.
What the princess doesn't know is if it was revealed that what she told us was a lie, I would not hesitate to kill her depending on what the truth is.
Scenes of her childhood flash past my eyes, most of them seemingly innocent and carefree. As expected of a princess I suppose.
Being the only girl in the Royal Family, she was treated with great care in her younger years. Everything that she needed and wanted was provided for her, though she showed great interest in the study of Practitioners despite not being one.
Everything seemed like a fairytale for her until she woke up in a room completely unfamiliar to her while numerous strangers crowded around her. It was such a sudden change since she had gone to bed as per normal the previous night and she had even spent some time talking with her brothers about her Coming of Age in a few months.
She had been stripped nude and strapped to a table with metallic restraints, unable to move an inch.
What followed after that were the worst days of her life.
They stuck her with needles and directly grafted inscriptions on her skin with a blade, sometimes the torture would go on for days without giving her time rest.
Once or twice a few of those scum would give in to their lust and use her for their own entertainment.
The only silver lining was that they did not go all the way with her, since apparently she needed to stay a virgin to ensure her blood's purity.
In addition to that, all the experimentation seemed to have some kind of effect on her Cultivation Point as it matured in a short span of time, giving her the capabilities of a Practitioner.
She found out about her powers when she used them on instinct once, frying a few nearby Dark Sect members into ashes with her Divine Lightning.
They were quick to subdue her and kept her constantly drugged afterwards, the drugs having the effect of keeping her Cultivation Point constantly drained and limiting her mental capacity.
Being underground, she could not tell if days, weeks or even months had gone by, her mind a complete mess and her body nearing its limits from the constant torture.
She had almost given up all hope until she felt the entire place shake, as though an angry God had been awoken from its slumber.
The Dark Sect members that had been around her immediately rushed out, following one of their brethren's shout of alarm. It was fortunate that this prevented the administration of her usual drugs and it allowed her to wake somewhat.
None of them bothered to free the princess when they left however, leaving her to whatever fate had in store for her.
Fate manifested itself as a part of the ceiling dropping down from above, smashing right at the edge of the table she was on and breaking it into pieces.
Her restraints shattered from the force of impact and she was now suddenly free.
That crash managed to bring her back to her senses, the princess finding the strength she needed to hobble her way towards the exit.
She escaped from the laboratory and followed the commotion up a set of stairs, picking up a spare robe to cloth herself on the way.
It was there she found our most glorious Master, throwing the last of the decapitated corpses into the pile to set it ablaze.
Master seemed to look down at his feet for a good while, as though checking on the floor below him.
That must be what gave it away that Master had intended to free her from the start.
But because of her drained Cultivation Point, she did not emit much of a presence which must be the reason why Master had not sensed her hiding in the shadows.
As though satisfied with what he had seen, Master nodded before turning away, leaving the bodies to burn behind him.
The princess was not sure if she should call out to Master but opted to follow a distance behind.
It wasn't long before she saw Master return to our little camp, watching from a distance as we greeted Master on his return.
A wave of nostalgia hit me when I saw myself there, still naive and blissfully unaware of the scale of taint present in this world.
I still remember that the night before this happened, I still regarded Manami as a rival of mine and was afraid she would steal Master from me.
But now we know… Master belongs to no one and it is us who belong to Him.
Such a simple answer allowed us to receive all the love we could ever ask for from Master, sometimes even a little bit afraid that we were undeserving of such love.
Through the princess's eyes, I saw how Master showed us his smile that we loved where moments ago he had been in anguish and pain.
No one can claim to be more divine than Master.
If anyone were to dare say otherwise, I would definitely gut them and hang them with their intestines before having them watch me purge their entire family and burn down their home.
The princess also decided to make herself scarce here, her mind a whirl of emotions at that time. Most of it was thinking about how she had no right to approach Master in her current state and she would definitely clean herself up before approaching Master again.
She returned to the palace in her ragged form and was almost thrown out by the guards because of her appearance. That would have been her fate if her own personal maid hadn't passed by then and recognised her, bringing her back into the palace with her.
Though there were some complications with her family on her return, such things were already of little importance. She had set her mind on reuniting with Master again, whatever the cost.
That began her own training where she sought to better control her new capabilities, seeking out instruction manuals and teaching herself the basics.
But learning alone can only get one so far.
She needed a teacher, and there was no one she would bow her head to other than Master.
That kept her in a dilemma as she did not know how she could learn under Master with her position, especially when Heaven Sect was not subordinate to the Royal Family.
Fate was still on her side, however, when she used her Lightning in a fit of rage. She had thrown one of her Lightning bolts at the fat noble who her father had been intending to marry her to, taking off one of his arms effortlessly.
In order to protect the daughter from the noble Houses' ire, it was decided she would be learn under a strong Practitioner that would keep said nobles from touching the princess lest her Master takes offence.
The princess had taken the opportunity to send an invitation to Master but no one actually expected Master would accept the terms to her bout so easily.
Of course we found out later that it was the third scumbag's doing, but that's beside the point.
The memory ends at where she saw Master again during her parade, his visage shining so brightly in the crowd that it was impossible to miss.
Both the princess and I released our hands before staring at each other.
Nothing needed to be said as we pulled each other in a hug, comforting each other on our own pasts.
The other girls also came in for a group hug, all of them had seen what I saw as well and welcomed her as a fellow sister.
Brendan still stood to the side awkwardly twiddling his thumbs.
In the absence of Master, I will teach her all I know to guarantee her position as a sister of ours!
Then together, both the princess… No. Both Guiying and I will bathe this tainted world with our cleansing Divine Lightning in Master's name!
We will make sure this world will finally be suitable to host Master's divinity!
