Yu Di bore the looks the others gave him. He paid them no attention and kept going to work for the next two days.

  This was different from the isolation he had at his home village. There, people avoided him as he was an unfamiliar curiosity. None of them cared whether he lived or died.

  Here, their eyes glared at him everywhere he went.

  Yu Di had to remind himself over and over, these were just children. They can do whatever they want. It didn’t bother him.

  After Bai Feng won the duel against the Elders, they would go back to living their peaceful life. Maybe he could convince Bai Feng to take trips outside the sect so he can focus on lifting his curse. All he’d need to do is apply to be a direct disciple of Bai Feng along with his daughter and no one would bother them again.

  What a dream.

  On the day of the duel, all the servants and disciples became actively hostile toward him.

  Yu Di walked behind Bai Feng as they slowly made their way through to the dueling stage at the center of the fortress. Servants and disciples alike jeered at them. Some threw small rocks at them. They stopped when Bai Feng glared at them as they were also hitting Yu Lin.

  His daughter hid within Yu Di’s arms, head avoiding the gaze of anyone.

  The stage rose from the ground from hand cranking wheels somewhere below the fortress. It would have looked like an awesome Qi construct if not for how the stage shook whenever a disciple lost their grip. The entire stage glowed bright yellow, lit from below using some sort of glowing rock. A large wooden stage laid on top of everything.

  They also did something that they had never done before. In order to illuminate the entire fortress, they lowered the giant floating diamond down until it was just above the stage.

  This was the main event that everyone looked forward to. For the first time in the sect’s history, all the outer sect Elders denied an inner sect disciple’s bid to become an Elder. It would be the fight of the century.

  Yu Di made his way to the far east corner of the stage to set up. For this fight, he was excused from work in order to assist Bai Feng. Here he set up a bamboo divider that he made into a makeshift tent. That way it doubled as a shield from the children still throwing pebbles at him.

  Inside it was large enough for a sleeping roll and a small cabinet where they kept an assortment of medicine and pills.

  Of course it was all for show as Yu Di had his spatial ring. He could store everything within the sect and still have enough room for desert.

  The ground shook from the stomping. Many of them jeered or booed from all around. The audience were getting restless as Yu Di stood next to Bai Feng.

  “This is getting uncomfortable,” Bai Feng said. “I’ve never had so many people screaming at me like this.”

  Yu Di passed a cup of tea to Bai Feng.

  “Drink this. It should help calm your nerves. At the end of the day, don’t worry about them. Do what you have to do to win this and all of this will just be another memory.”

  Bai Feng gulped the hot tea down.

  Yu Di mixed in a little bit of Qi enhancement into the tea that would allow Bai Feng to have an easier time to focus and use her Qi. He felt wrong for dosing her like this, but it wasn't just her future on the line here.

  A strong hand grabbed Yu Di by his gray tunic and threw him onto the stage. The whole world turned end over end for a moment until he collapsed onto the stage.

  “Junior Yu!” Bai Feng yelled.

  Three others in purple tunics stopped her from moving onto the stage.

  Yu Di stood up.

  An old man in an emerald tunic floated in the air upon a wooden cane. He glared down at Yu Di with old eyes that flared with rage. If his brows could knit together any further, he would have a unibrow.

  He slowly landed onto the stage in front of Yu Di.

  “Yu Di, servant of ‘Forgotten Spirit Sect,’” the man said. His voice projected throughout the fortress. “I am Grand Elder Fu An. I have come to pass judgment on you.”

  Judgment on Yu Di? What the hell did he do that would require judgment? Didn’t he fix the situation with his granddaughter already?

  “You have been accused of heinous crimes throughout the sect by many people.” Fu An raised a hand and pushed a lot of Qi down onto Yu Di. “Kneel.”

  The rush of Qi smashed into Yu Di’s body, forcing him to drop to his hands and knees. This old man was definitely in the upper reaches of the Core Formation realm.

  “Baba!” Yu Lin yelled.

  Yu Di forced his head up to see his daughter approach the stage. He shook his head. Luckily Bai Feng was there to stop her. Well, stop her from climbing the stage to him.

  Instead the little girl broke off from Bai Feng and ran the other way.

  Yu Di had a bad omen about that, but he didn’t have the luxury to care. The Qi didn’t let up from the old man and it threatened to crush his bones as he pushed against it.

  He was the ant that pushed against a bully’s rock. He wasn’t going to break.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  The Qi dissipated.

  Yu Di sucked in a gasp of air. This old man had great control of Qi, if a little sloppy. If he managed to break through to the next realm, he could easily be a monster. But by the looks of it, Fu An would die before breaking through.

  Fu An bent down to Yu Di’s head.

  “Give me the Qi contract now and I will let you go with a warning.”

  Yu Di flashed his most serious smile. The same one he gave to all his victims before he either stole from them or killed them.

  “Let me go now, or I will order your granddaughter to do the most depraved things throughout the sect until her body and mind are broken.”

  Fu An kicked Yu Di right in the midsection, making him fly across the stage.

  The old man definitely had strength. He broke at least two ribs.

  The crowd cheered.

  Yu Di curled up, using his Qi to heal himself. He doubted he could reset his ribs, but at the very least he could prevent them from puncturing his lungs.

  This situation wasn’t so bad.

  Fu An underestimated him. Yu Di still had a few things he could do and they might even work. The problem however was that it would curse him harder than anything he’d ever done so far since coming to the sect.

  He was going to incinerate the entire sect.

  Yu Di looked around at all the servants and disciples. He could easily pick out the few he’s helped or mentored. Yet they cheered Fu An on with the same fervor as the rest of them.

  This sect was not worth his time or effort anymore. The game was done.

  The Qi smashed down onto him again. This time, it was more uncomfortable than painful.

  “Who has been wronged by this man?” Fu An asked the crowd.

  A section of servants and disciples shouted louder than the others.

  “Step down and deliver your own justice,” the old man shouted.

  Four female servants and two disciples came on the stage. They wasted no time in attacking the curled up Yu Di. They were mostly kicks.

  Yu Di laughed internally. Their small feet and poor cultivation couldn’t break through his own defenses. This sect was truly trash.

  The crowd’s jeering reached a deafening roar at this point.

  SILENCE

  The large diamond reverberated with that word, forcing everyone mute. The girls stopped kicking Yu Di.

  A powerful gust of wind pressed down onto the stage from above. A large golden disk landed right next to Fu An.

  “What is going on here, Grand Elder Fu?” Gu Zi demanded.

  “We were disciplining a member of the sect who has committed heinous crimes.” Fu An cupped his hands and bowed his head low. The old man's hands were shaking.

  “Who?” At this point Gu Zi was screaming, despite the entire area being dead silent. No one dared to breathe too loud. Sect Leader Gu Zi was not using his Qi to suppress anyone, but his aura. It was just like when a child made a mistake and the parent became furious.

  “I apologize Sect Elder Gu, but it's Yu Di again." Fu An's voice quivered. He pointed at Yu Di's prone form. "I know you told me to take care of it, but the boy has gone out of his way to cause disharmony among the sect. He seemed to use the grace you have given him as license to do what he wanted. I came to administer judgment after reviewing the allegations personally. We Elders knew better than to bother you during closed door meditation."

  “You?” Gu Zi flew over to Yu Di in an instant, grabbing the man by his tunic collar and lifting him up off the ground.

  Yu Di felt his ribs set, but not in the right way.

  “Why does it always have to be you?” Gu Zi spat. “I was so close this time. I almost broke through. After all these decades, I was finally going to achieve my goal despite you and your…”

  Gu Zi dropped Yu Di like a sack of rice.

  “I get it now. You didn’t want me to ascend before and you don’t want me to ascend now. That is why you’re back here in the sect. You have always been the roadblock in my way.”

  “Sect Leader Gu, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Yu Di spat out. Blood leaked down the corner of his mouth. That either meant he bit his cheek somewhere or his lungs were now punctured. He focused everything he had to cycle his Qi to protect his vital organs.

  Gu Zi took out a sword from his spatial ring. It gleamed gold just like the disk he rode, but it was a Qi artifact. It had multiple spirit stones running up and down the sheathe.

  “I’m going to end you once and for all. I’m going to finally ascend and this heart demon can finally die.”

  “Sect Leader Gu, please stop!” Bai Feng yelled from the sidelines. She was still held back by the three disciples in purple.

  Yu Di readied himself for the sword. He focused as hard as he could on two people, his daughter and Bai Feng. When he unleashed his full power, he had to make sure those two survived. The rest?

  They can burn.

  “Uncle Gu, stop!” Yu Lin wrapped her tiny arms around Gu Zi. “Don’t hurt my Baba.”

  Gu Zi looked down and for a moment, his gaze softened.

  “Little Lin, why are you holding onto me?”

  “You want to hurt my Baba. Stop.” Yu Lin let go of Gu Zi and wrapped herself around Yu Di. “Baba are you okay?”

  “Yu Lin, go over to Bai Feng,” Yu Di said.

  “No.”

  “Fu An, did you do this to Yu Di?” Gu Zi asked. His eyes softened. He looked around as if he just woke up from a nap.

  “Reporting to Sect Leader Gu, I was punishing a wayward servant who had committed multiple heinous crimes,” Fu An cupped his hands and bowed his head. “These female disciples and servants can attest to this.”

  Gu Zi glared at the six children still standing on the stage. They all shrank away.

  “Is this true Yu Di?”

  “I have never met these people in my life,” Yu Di said.

  Gu Zi took a deep breath, dissipating the Qi he held in his body.

  Yu Di estimated that Gu Zi had at most a few minutes before his heart demon ate him up and made him kill everyone here, starting with him. Luckily his daughter stopped that. She really was his lucky star.

  “Everyone, on the authority as Sect Leader of ‘Forgotten Spirit Sect,’ I hereby clear Yu Di’s crimes as unsubstantiated,” Gu Zi said. “If anyone, Elder, or faction brings this up again without proof, I will make sure they disappear from the sect forever. Is that clear?”

  The entire fortress shook when everyone answered, “Yes, Sect Leader Gu.”

  “But what about the continual disrespect?” Fu An asked. “This servant dared to disrespect an Elder and myself. I would have no place here if he goes unpunished.”

  Gu Zi frowned.

  “Then we shall settle this the old fashioned way with a duel.”

  Elder Li flew onto the stage with a massive jump from the front.

  “It would be my honor to teach this fool a lesson.” He cupped his hand and bowed his head toward Gu Zi.

  “I will allow it.” Gu Zi narrowed his eyes at Yu Di.

  That was a death sentence. There was no way Yu Di could fight the Elder, not unless he used his lifespan to fight him. Holding Yu Lin, he knew he couldn’t afford to. He looked around and saw no one willing to come to his aid. Why did the once generous sect leader become his enemy?

  Gu Zi leaned in close to Yu Di’s ear.

  “I know who you really are. In my moment of clarity, on the cusp of breaking through to the next realm, I saw who you are. To think a demigod can fall so far. But don’t worry. I won’t harm you or expose you. I want you to see that I don’t need you. I will ascend.”

  Yu Di felt his stomach sink. That or his ribs punctured something else.

  Someone else knew his secret.