Once again, the Holy Maiden conveyed her command, summoning Kris to appear at the Holy Temple.

To Rody's surprise, the valiant female knight who delivered the message also said, "Her Eminence has ordered, Mr. Rody, please come along for the audience." Without Kris, Rody would never, even dare not, step into the temple, as it was almost synonymous with a death sentence. But he trusted Kris. Although Kris's identity was dubious, as he himself said, he would never harm Rody.

If Kris were an enemy spy sent to be by his side, he had plenty of opportunities to eliminate Rody in the Evil Forest.

Moreover, without his natural magic amplification and blessings, Rody couldn't claim to be invincible without any casualties.

"Let's go! I'll take you to see the beauties! Not one, but a group!" Kris's words made everyone drool, but he chuckled, "If your leader wins over the highest Holy Maiden, then distributing ten beauties each from the Prayer Guard Corps would be no problem."

"Leader, for our brothers' happy future, you must give it your all!" Stanley and others implored Rody to seize the opportunity.

"Get lost!" Rody responded with flying kicks to these unprincipled fellows who were willing to push him into death for the sake of beauties. If he were to covet the Holy Maiden, he would be making enemies with the Church, all believers in the world, all the young people, and even the angels in heaven. He would not do such a thing even if he were kicked in the head by a donkey.

"Come on, put on some nice clothes, and spray some passion perfume. Maybe the Holy Maiden will be moved and seduce you!" Tommy, the little fatty, was even more optimistic, thinking he had a great chance of getting ten beauties, depending on his choice.

"Drag him out and beat him! Beat him into a pig's head!" Rody commanded everyone before leaving.

"Leader, no need to beat him, he already has a pig's head. Beating him would make him look less like one! Don't glare, we'll definitely beat him, definitely follow your order! You guys go ahead! We can handle such a trivial matter ourselves, I assure you, when you come back, you will see a pig's head standing in front of you!" Stanley patted his chest and promised.

"..." Rody realized that this bunch was indeed a perfect match for each other in terms of their quirks.

The Holy Temple was grand and majestic, with a huge holy cross on top, shining with pure white holy light.

Outside, there were massive statues of power angels and a fountain with little angels playing music magic. Although this was not the main temple of the Holy Mountain, it was one of the nine great temples in the world, magnificent in scale. Not to mention, just the Holy Mother Hall and the Holy Maiden Hall, and the Prayer Hall where the Holy Maiden lived were as big as Rody's magic academy in Filik. Even the Praise Guard Residence, where the Prayer Guard Corps lived, was bigger than the Iron Blood Knight Camp.

Kris seemed quite familiar with the female knights of the guard. Many of them greeted him, and he responded with greetings along the way.

After arriving at the Holy Temple, to Rody's surprise, Kris left him behind and went inside alone to meet with the Holy Maiden.

Rody was annoyed in his heart. Despite his jealousy towards the unprincipled Kris, he couldn't deny feeling a tinge of envy. Although he had no connection with the Holy Maiden, seeing Kris freely go in and talk to her stirred some unpleasant feelings in him. The female knights brought fresh fruits and holy water for Rody, along with a few magic books, showing that the temple was well aware of Rody’s interests.

As Rody was looking around, the valiant female knight came over and said, "Mr. Rody, Her Eminence invites you."

"Where's Kris? Is he here?" Rody wanted to know if Kris had been melted by beauty.

"He's gone to the back to bathe in the Holy Spring. He said you could join him if you wish!" The female knight saluted slightly and added, "Do you need us to prepare clothes for you? Her Eminence has ordered that Mr. Rody may first join Mr. Kris for a bath before seeing her."

"No need," Rody replied with a smile, but he wondered why Kris would suddenly want to take a bath in broad daylight.

"Please follow me," the female knight led the way without further conversation.

The Holy Maiden's Hall was immaculately clean, a place of sacred purity. Rody felt somewhat out of place walking in but, being a proud person, he didn't feel the need to bow and scrape like others. So, he walked in with his boots on, leaving a trail of footprints that left the female knights somewhat stunned.

In Rody's mind, the Holy Maiden should have been sitting high upon a throne, wearing a holy crown, and holding a diamond-studded scepter. Speaking with divine meaning, her eyes never looking directly at people, showing as much arrogance as possible.

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However, when he saw the actual Holy Maiden, he couldn't help but be taken aback.

The Holy Maiden was not sitting high above on a throne. Instead, she was kneeling in front of the statue of the Compassionate Holy Mother. Her head was not adorned with a shining holy crown, but her hair was loose, hanging down to her waist. In her hands, there was no diamond-studded scepter, just her hands clasped together, seemingly praying softly to the Holy Mother.

Her nearly transparent frosty long hair seemed extremely delicate, her slender body as if a gust of wind could blow her away.

"Welcome," the Holy Maiden turned her head and smiled slightly at Rody. Her voice was so soft and gentle, like a frail grass in the wind. Rody felt as if his footsteps, even slightly louder, might hurt her soul.

"Are you the Holy Maiden?" Rody was very surprised. He found that this world-famous Holy Maiden was even younger than himself, about the same age as Jill.

"I am the Holy Maiden of this generation. The previous Holy Maiden retired five years ago to become the Daughter of the God's Descent of the Holy Mother. The ever-young Holy Maiden in people's eyes is actually a position renewed every ten years," the Holy Maiden said, still kneeling in front of the Holy Mother statue, slightly turning her body to talk softly to Rody. She seemed more like a devout ordinary girl than a Holy Maiden.

However, she possessed all the characteristics of a Holy Maiden.

Her fragrant holy body, unique to the Holy Maiden of this era, was unmatched by anyone else.

What surprised Rody the most were the Holy Maiden's eyes, like ice jade, colorless, without pupils. Could the previous Holy Maiden have been blind? How could that be possible?

"My eyes cannot see, but I have a pair of heart eyes. Not only can they see the colorful world, but they can also see into people's hearts. Just like your hidden heart, I can see a little bit of it..." The Holy Maiden's words greatly startled Rody. If she could discern his secrets, wouldn’t he be chased and killed as soon as he left the temple? The Holy Maiden seemed to see Rody’s inner thoughts and smiled, "Don't be afraid, I cannot see into the deepest secrets of others' hearts, and I am also a person who can keep secrets very well. If you still don't feel reassured, then let me tell you, I am the same as you."

"What?" Rody asked, not understanding.

"Like you, I am also one who has drunk the forbidden magic martial arts," the Holy Maiden said weakly. "All Holy Maidens are like this, or rather, any man or woman in the world who may potentially surpass four-star potential is fed the forbidden magic martial arts potion soon after birth."

"How do they determine potential?" Rody paused slightly, then asked.

"Prophecy," the Holy Maiden replied with a smile. "The ancient divine laws dictate that a human being born with potential surpassing ordinary people must be accompanied by a prophecy."

"But prophecies can never be accurate. If they could be, then by preventing what is to be done in advance, the outcomes predicted in the prophecies would not exist," Rody said, knowing well that prophecies are rarely accurate, and most people believe in them more for peace of mind.

"Prophecies are not accurate, and all prophets know this. For every hundred prophecies they make, only one is true," the Holy Maiden explained, and Rody understood that it was intentional.

"So, anyone with a prophecy is made to drink the forbidden magic martial arts potion?" Rody finally understood why he had drunk it. The reason was simple: a star astrologer prophet once said, 'Within the younger generation of the Laine family, there is a very high chance of a once-in-a-century genius magician appearing.'

"No, only children who are secretly protected and cause concerns are fed the forbidden magic martial arts potion. Ordinary children without protection are killed in their swaddling clothes or die in the womb. Children who are allowed to drink the potion are the lucky ones," the Holy Maiden explained, leaving Rody astonished.

"When I was little and was fed the potion, if my family knew, why did they only tell me when I grew up? No, they didn't know at all... No, that can’t be!" Rody couldn’t believe the pained and desperate faces of his parents were those of early informants. If that were the case, they would not have doted on him so much before then. Especially his father – if he had known that Rody had been fed the forbidden magic martial arts potion, how could he have been so affectionate and hopeful towards him?

He couldn't understand, completely baffled by it.

"Especially, if his father knew beforehand that his son would be a magical genius, why would he have him with a mother who was a maid?

Why didn't his father choose someone else? Why didn't he have another son before or after him? Besides, with his strength just being a Sky Warrior, he wouldn't possibly be able to oppose those powerful figures in the shadows. How could he protect himself?

Moreover, the subsequent events also proved that his father was completely unaware. He wasn't the one protecting Rody.

And his mother had no power and wasn't the one protecting him either.

Father Cedo, the one who fed him the forbidden magic martial arts potion—if he were the protector, he would surely have switched the medicine or tampered with it somehow. It’s impossible that Rody was protected by someone else... Why is the Holy Maiden telling me all this? What else does she know? Could she be using my thoughts to probe my secrets?"

Rody was startled by this thought.

"Your heart is in turmoil now, filled with grief and resentment. Even I can feel immense pain just sensing it a little," the Holy Maiden said with tears streaming down her face. "It seems you live in more pain than I do, who lacks freedom, and have suffered much more."

"Why are you telling me all this?" Rody asked.

"Because I am the same as you, as well as Kris, Annebelle, and two other unnamed stars of hope," the Holy Maiden said, tears flowing continuously. "We are the hope of the earth warriors of this millennium. For our sake, countless guardians have silently died in battle. Rody, especially you, you are the most secretive one. Apart from a very few guardians, only our Holy Maiden lineage would know about you."

"There are guardians protecting me?" Rody was shocked and could hardly believe it.

"All your previous generation's guardians have died in battle... In the younger generation, only a few remain, including Kris, Annebelle, and me, who are your new generation of guardians. Perhaps others know your secret, but they are few, and I believe they are either well-meaning or kind-hearted people! I can sense your soul, a kind attention, but it is definitely not from one of our guardians," the Holy Maiden spoke softly. "Rody, what's most important for you now is to find a way to unlock the potential of the star... The first step is very difficult, maybe Annebelle has a way, but I think you need a trustworthy demigod to help you, because once you unlock it, you'll be easily discovered by others."

"How can potential be unlocked?" Rody urgently asked.

"I don't know. Through some kind of perception, I only know that it's very difficult... The key lies with a girl who is very close to you, or with a woman who dwells in darkness. She might be Annebelle, but I cannot sense it clearly. Once you complete the first step of unlocking, you can come here to find me, or I will wait for you in the Wishing Temple. Once all your potential stars are unlocked, then you will know what to do..." The Holy Maiden coughed out a spurt of crimson blood, her brow furrowed in pain, "Prophecies come at a cost. I can only see so much. You must hurry, I don't have much time left."

"Are you alright?" Rody was shocked that the Holy Maiden had to pay a physical toll to prophesy for him.

"In your journey through hatred and pain, you must maintain your reason and clarity, Rody. Always remember, you are everyone's hope. You bear more, and that's why you feel such pain. You are a man; bear more for us girls, okay? There's very little we can do for you, but we will do our best," the Holy Maiden gently shook her head, "Hurry to find Annebelle. She's in the Thunder Hidden Mist Land or Zefeng Forest."

"I..." Rody had many more questions, but seeing the Holy Maiden's pale and exhausted appearance, he found it difficult to speak.

"Once the first star of potential is unlocked and you have the ability to protect yourself, then I can tell you more," the Holy Maiden said weakly. "Go back with Kris. We have kept everything from you, but one day you will understand our painstaking efforts, and hopefully, you can forgive our secrecy. Go now, and remember to find Annebelle soon!"