344 Ch 344 - The Chosen One

"Yes," a priest agreed. "Should we inform the Clifton family and ask for their help?"

The Black Orchid cult had been established hundreds of years ago. At one time, there had been many branches spread throughout the continent, but now only this one branch remained.

Long ago, the Clifton family had been entrusted with the Phoenix jade pendant, which was sacred to the cult, and the Cliftons had always been important to them.

But twenty years ago, the chosen one, Cynthia, had secretly gotten married, which had broken all the rules. The cult's leader had been furious, and he had almost killed the entire Clifton family.

The jade pendant had been lost, and no one had known what had happened to Cynthia's daughter. If the baby had survived, then she might be the new chosen one.

So the cult leader had allowed the Clifton family to live and had urged them to look for the jade pendant and the baby girl.

But twenty years later, the Clifton family had found nothing.

"No," Cassius said.

The fourth priest was surprised, but he knew that the Clifton family had almost completely lost touch with the Black Orchid cult over the years. Their last contact had been eight years ago when Rufus Clifton had traveled to Canada to visit.

"I think the chosen one is probably Cynthia's baby girl," Cassius said. "If the Clifton family found her, then it's possible they've betrayed us and hidden her!"

"That is a great sin," one of the priests said, his voice hushed. "The gods will be angry, and it won't just be the Clifton family who will be punished. We will all be held responsible. Are the Cliftons crazy?"

"The Clifton family no longer seems to be sincere in their devotion," Cassius said, sighing.

"If we discover that they have indeed betrayed us, then how should we deal with them?" one of the priests asked.

"They have violated our sacred laws, and they have provoked the anger of the gods," Cassius said, frowning. "We must destroy the Clifton family to appease them."

"Yes, to appease our gods," the four priests responded together. Then they bowed to Cassius and left to track the whereabouts of the chosen one.

"Please be patient with us, honored gods," Cassius prayed, lifting his hands to the sky. "Your people have gone to look for your chosen one, and I believe we will soon be able to provide you with a beautiful, kind-hearted woman."

**

News of the decisive battle at Silver Lake had spread throughout the martial arts communities and beyond to ordinary people.

Of course, many of the details had been exaggerated, but the basic story was accurate.

It was well known that many famous people in the martial arts world had gathered at Silver Lake, and Lee had defeated them. But then a young man called Alex arrived and killed Lee.

Alex's name was on the lips of many people, but no one knew what he looked like or where he had come from. In the absence of facts, people began to invent their own theories. Some said that Alex was a descendant of a strong martial arts family, while others said that he was a nomad who wandered the world.

The more powerful families knew Alex was a security guard who had helped the Cliftons win their fight against the Steadman family.

No matter what version of the story people heard, Alex was big news.

Even the security guards and students at Johns Hopkins University were discussing the fight at Silver Lake. Of course, they didn't realize they were talking about the same Alex who was a security guard on campus.

Jessop wanted to see his granddaughter. Now that the fighting was over and Alex's reputation had grown, Jessop felt secure in his position as the overlord of Baltimore's underworld. He decided to invite Alex for a celebration dinner. After all, it would be suspicious if he didn't invite him after everything Alex had done for him.

And, as a bonus, Jessop would be able to see his granddaughter without arousing suspicion.

"Dad, is it really a good idea to host a dinner for Alex?" Rufus asked, worried about his father's plans. "Won't that draw too much attention?"

"Rufus, you're being too cautious," Jessop said, smiling at him. "Relax. It's just a simple celebration. There won't be any trouble."

"Yes, Dad," Rufus said, knowing he wouldn't be able to change his father's mind.

Rufus made some arrangements, and then he called Alex to tell him that Jessop wanted to hold a celebration dinner the following night. All the upper-class people in Baltimore would be invited. Rufus asked him to bring Debbie with him as his girlfriend.

Alex understood Jessop wanted to see Debbie, so he promised to be there.

When Alex told Debbie, she was thrilled, as she wanted to spend some more time with Jessop.

**

The next evening, Alex and Debbie took a taxi to the street corner where the Clifton family home was located. Callisto hadn't been invited, so she had stayed on campus.

Alex and Debbie began to walk along the street when they saw a few young people standing by a car, talking about the fight at Silver Lake.

"Hey, did you hear about the meeting at Silver Lake? The Sunrise, Black Swallow, Iron Fist, and Tiger sects were all there. But they were beaten by Lee Harshaw, and Brody Kent was killed."

"Yes, and not just Brody. Lee killed several leaders of various sects. The martial arts community was almost destroyed."

"I know! The situation was really dangerous, but then a young man called Alex appeared and fought with Lee. Everyone thought Lee would destroy him, but then the unexpected happened."

Another man picked up where his friend had left off.

"Alex was extremely skilled in martial arts. He held off Lee and then kicked at him, breaking his neck and sending him flying into the water."

"Lee smashed into the lake, sending water everywhere," another man joined in, embellishing the tale. "The lake was dyed bright red with Lee's blood. When Lee was dying, he couldn't believe it and said, 'Oh, the martial arts community is too strong for me.' Then he died."