At the moment, three figures were standing inside a temple atop a mountain. The lush green forests and the waterfalls made the scenery magnificent while giving them a soothing feel.
"If my guess is not wrong, they are planning to ambush us at tomorrow's prayer ceremony" the one who said this was a young man in pure white robes. On the youngster's shoulder, a golden furred monkey sat relaxedly and munching on juicy red fruit. He was none other than Noah and behind him, Alicia was standing in silence.
"It seems Uncle Levi has no idea. Should we tell him?" The youngster beside Noah said.
"We cannot alert anyone because that will also alert the assassin. He may be an enemy of the Cooper family from a long time ago. The Cooper family is one of the prominent families in Kethen and they built this temple here. So I think the Cooper family would have some kind of protection for such a grand ceremony" Noah shook his head and explained.
"Quit worrying Abel, we will take care of everything, just keep these juicy treats coming" The golden babaroo on Noah's shoulder swallowed the last fruit and said as it turned its gaze at Alicia with the wicked grin on his face.
"I don't have anything for you to eat" Alicia coldly said but it didn't stop the golden babaroo from jumping onto her shoulder.
Ding!
Ding!
Ding!
The ringing of a large bell resounded as soon as daybreak began. Warm sunlight shone on the big piece of land, the lights that struck some parts of the temple reflected off the building, as though a layer of the golden shield had covered it.
The ringing of the large bell lasted longer than usual. It was because today was a special day, a day of the annual prayer ceremony.
The second head priest of the temple, Levi who was middle-aged and with red hair and a red goatee came in-person to invite Noah and his friends. The three of them followed him to the front of a big hall and stood beside a group of monks, waiting for the Cooper family members to arrive.
Soon, a harmonious cloud appeared in the sky. On top of the cloud, seven to eight people were standing, each of them was wearing a luxurious robe. The person standing at the front-most was a little girl who was merely about thirteen years old. She was wearing a silky red dress and her hair was tied into two pigtails. She looked extremely cute in her attire and had a face of an angel.
Despite her little figure, she radiated a noble aura. It wasn't only because of her cute-looking face, but her cultivation level. A girl as young as her had already reached the Body Refining stage level 5, she was a god blessed child.
"Holy! This girl is a Body Refining stage level 5?"
Abel's eyes widened, unable to believe what he had just seen. A Body Refining stage cultivator at the age of twelve or thirteen? There were only a few of them like her in this continent. She must have started cultivating while she was still in her mother's womb.
"This is Lord Cooper's daughter, Maisy Cooper. She is thirteen years old this year and has just reached Body Refining state level 5. She is recognized as the Prodigy of the Kethen" Levi explained as his words were full of pride and joy. Having a dazzling young genius in the Cooper family was truly something to be proud of. In truth, a Body Refining stage cultivator who was as young as her, not only would be a genius in Kingdom Kethen but also across the entire continent.
"The Cooper family is very fortunate to have such a genius," Noah said.
Maisy Cooper and her family landed outside of the temple. It was a rule that they had to walk from outside of the temple to the temple, they were not allowed to do the opposite, which was landing on the internal part of the temple. The rule was set to show respect to the God of Peace.
Lord Cooper and his wife who were both Core Formation warriors had gone to seclusion. Today's prayer ceremony would be led by the Cooper family's genius and the heir to the Copper family, Maisy Cooper. It was the family's honor to have her represent the Cooper family and she would be the most eligible to lead the ceremony in front of the Head Priest.
Maisy Cooper along with six others, three of them were the same grade as her and three Body Strengthening stage level 3 and they all reached the top of the mountain after a few minutes of climbing the steps.
Maisy Cooper bounced in the direction of Levi and hugged him the moment she saw him, "Uncle, I missed you so much!"
For a little girl, she possessed an inhuman strength. After wobbling her uncle for two rounds, Levi almost lost his balance.
"Maisy, don't mess around, this is the temple"
Levi gave Maisy Cooper a fond and affectionate look. Although he had become a priest, he couldn't help growing very fond of this descendant of the Cooper family.
"huh? why are there so many outsiders here today?"
Maisy Cooper glanced at Noah and the others in surprise. She didn't notice the monkey on Alicia's shoulder because the mountain and the temple were home to hundreds of monkeys.
"These are guests. Maisy, go, kneel and bow down in front of the Head Priest. I will introduce them to you later, I believe you will like them," Levi said.
"Alright…"
Maisy Cooper hid her smile and returned to her serious face. She took big steps towards the statue. She was only twelve years old, but she was a lot more thoughtful than the other kids who were the same age as her.
Boom!
When the little girl made her first step and was just about to make the second, a rumbling as if from thunder was heard outside, which shook the entire mountain.
"They are here"
Noah squinted. The planned assassination was for the Cooper family or perhaps only for Maisy Cooper. Yesterday Noah couldn't figure out the real intention of the assassination, but after seeing Maisy Cooper today, it all made sense to him now. An exceptional talent like her should be eliminated to clear off any obstacles in the future.
"Who is it?" the smile on Levi's face disappeared as his face turned serious.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
As soon as Levi's voice faded, silhouettes of different people flew out from multiple directions towards the temple. There were about twenty of them. Many of them were at the Body Strengthening stage and the rest of them were all Body Refining stage level 10 except the leading man who was a Core Formation level stage 1 warrior.
"Haha…It seems today will be the last time of Cooper family's annual thanksgiving ceremony."
A person laughed. He seemed to be in his forties or fifties, he had a sturdy body behind his blue clothes.
"Stefan, what is the meaning of all this?"
An elder of the Cooper family gritted his teeth and said as hatred filled his face.
"What is the meaning? You stupid old man, we are here to end your pathetic lives. The surrounding areas are all sealed, so don't even think about getting help from the Coopers outside"
Stefan announced without trying to hide his true intentions and the killing intent in his eyes. There were two major powers in the city of Oxfell in Kethen, the Cooper family and the Lane family. As the saying goes 'a forest cannot be ruled by two lions', these two families had been in a power struggle for so long, but the Lane family had never intended to raid the temple of Peaceful valley before. This was the reason that the Cooper family permitted Maisy Cooper to lead the prayer ceremony and did not send powerful warriors as her protection. They hadn't expected that the Lane family would launch a surprise attack on the temple as this place was always considered a neutral area.
"Humph you gathered all these men just to attack a little girl, Lane family really has no shame"
"Maisy Cooper, the little genius of the Cooper family. You have grown fast and I have to admit, your existence is a threat to the Lane Family. Also, the Guardians are recruiting disciples, they have only one slot remaining, thus only one can join the Guardians guild. If you're alive, they will definitely choose you and the Coopers will be untouchable but if you're dead before joining the Guardians, the Lane family will have one less problem in the future"
Stefan smiled maliciously. Apparently, the Lane family had been preparing for this very day to come. They were informed that Lord Cooper and Lady Cooper had left for seclusion leaving Maisy to attend the thanksgiving, therefore they would be able to get rid of Maisy Cooper in the temple while she was vulnerable to attack.
Noah's eyes glittered when he heard of the recruitment to join the Guardians. He and Alicia were told not to reveal their identities as the Guardians trainees while they were in Kethen because Peyton already had enough mess to clean and didn't want Noah to make more. Therefore, if Noah wanted to save the little girl from getting killed, he had to do it without using the Guardians as his shield.
"Despicable!"
Levi's eyes were full of rage. "You people of the Lane family are really despicable to come to the peaceful valley with such ill intentions!"
"Fuck you and your God. After I'm done with this place, there will be nothing but ashes. Then while the Coopers were searching for their lovely daughter, we'll make our move and finish the Coopers, once and for all"
Stefan was extremely cocky, today, he wouldn't let anyone from the temple escape their deaths.
"Go! Kill everyone!" Stefan shouted. The warriors of the Lane Family unleashed their auras, one of the Lane family's Body Refining stage warriors broke the parts and decorations of the big hall and stepped on the head of the statue of the God of Peace.
"Haha…You all worship this useless God, this is ridiculous." He mocked and landed on the statue of a man, the God of Peace.
Boom!
A powerful aura suddenly rushed out from Abel's body and shot out in all directions. Both of his eyes turned red and stared at one of the Lane family members who was stepping on his God's head. He had crossed Abel's line, it was totally unacceptable.
"Get down this instance!."
Abel's voice sounded like a clap of thunder and his words carried a horrifying murderous aura. No one had expected that a calm and insignificant youngster would suddenly step out to fight. All the attention was shifted to him, including Maisy's, Stefan's, and especially the one who was stepping on the statue's head.