Yu Di closed his eyes. The immense heat coming from the beam bathed his face in a warm glow. The brightness from the beam could be seen through his closed eyelids.

  Darkness.

  Yu Di opened his eyes to see someone blocking the beam. Could it be Bai Feng? Did she somehow make it in time after all?

  But no, she was exhausted beyond measure. Maybe at her full strength she could have. So then who was it that saved his life and more importantly, his daughter?

  Yu Di's savior wore a dark green tunic. It was an inner sect Elder, one that Yu Di recognized by face but not by name.

  Yu Di cupped his hands and bowed low at the waist to the Elder.

  “Thank you Elder for saving my life.”

  “Hmph, I didn’t do it for you.” The Elder glanced at Yu Lin.

  “You despicable little man,” Bai Feng shouted.

  It was the first time Yu Di saw the woman angry. The middle aged looking woman turned into an eight foot bear protecting her cubs. Qi rolled off her body as she gained a second wind. If they ignited in flames, she would be like a true eight foot bear.

  Bai Feng’s fists shot out at Elder Li. Based on the speed and the strength, she was going to punch a hole into the man’s wrinkle free chest.

  A group of Elders rushed onto the stage in a wave of green tunics. Closest to Elder Li, they formed a protective barrier to take on Bai Feng’s hit. On the other side, four Elders held Bai Feng back, barely.

  They probably didn’t expect her to flare her Qi beyond what she’s normally capable of. She reached the middle of the Core Formation Realm for three seconds.

  For those three seconds, she easily rivaled all the inner sect Elders.

  At the end of the day, she was only one very exhausted and battered person.

  Her punch destroyed the Elders’ protective barrier in a blink. A wave of Qi flowed with the momentum and struck Elder Li full on, tossing him back onto the splintered stage. He rolled a few times before he stopped.

  If Yu Di had to guess, the fool probably had a few internal injuries that would require him to seal himself away for a few weeks, if not months. That would mean at least the foolish child won’t make any more trouble. Yu Di would have time to consolidate Bai Feng’s cultivation and establish her faction within the sect.

  These childish games were beneath him, but if he had to use all his Immortal knowledge to take over this sect, he would. After all, people behave in ever predictable ways.

  “Baba, I want to see,” Yu Lin’s muffled voice came from behind him. He forgot that he shoved her all the way in the back.

  “There’s nothing to see,” Yu Di said. “Bai Feng won. We can go home now.”

  “That was despicable,” an Elder shouted. He stood on Elder Li’s side. “She shouldn’t be allowed to be an Elder.” Many of the Elders shouted in agreement.

  Sect Leader Gu and Grand Elder Fu landed in the middle of the stage.

  “What do you think, Junior Fu?” Gu Zi asked. “Should we allow her to be an Elder?”

  Fu An looked from Elder Li to Bai Feng.

  “I don’t think she is qualified to be an outer sect Elder. Her attacks against her fellow members of the sect were too cruel.”

  Yu Di wanted to scream, “What about Elder Li’s attack on him and his daughter?! Wasn’t that far crueler?” But he didn’t. He knew he was already on thin ice as Gu Zi made that abundantly clear. The last thing he needed was for the man to go back on his word, kill him in one punch, and then take his daughter away.

  One female Elder on Bai Feng’s side stepped forward. She was on the young side, but her Qi foundation was so strong that there was no doubt she used it to make herself youthful.

  At this distance, Yu Di could guess that she was easily almost as old as Fu An. That’s another reason why he hated dealing with Immortals. He could never tell if they were young naive children or ancient monsters with hundreds of years of experience.

  “If I might interject here,” the female Elder said. “I speak for all the Inner Sect Elders when I say we agree with the Grand Elder’s judgment. Bai Feng is not fit to be an Outer Sect Elder. She should be promoted to Inner Sect Elder instead.”

  “What?” the first Elder said.

  The female Elder glared at the man and he shriveled up.

  “We Inner Sect Elders feel that she has proved her strength and her teachings have contributed to the growth of this sect for decades. It’s time for her to be recognized for all her hard work.”

  “Do you have any objections?” Fu An asked Gu Zi.

  “I don’t care. You all decide what you want to do. I’m done with all of you.”

  Gu Zi floated back up into the sky.

  “Disciples of ‘Forgotten Spirit Sect,’ hear my proclamation.” His voice boomed throughout the fortress. “Starting today, disciple Bai Feng will be recognized as an Inner Sect Elder. This includes all privileges associated with this position.”

  Gu Zi spared another glance at Yu Di before flying away.

  Yu Di didn’t like that look. He knew the incident wasn’t over. But that’s something he’ll have to figure out later.

  “Baba, does that mean auntie Bai won?” Yu Lin tugged at her father’s tunic.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  “Yes little Lin. It’s finally over,” Yu Di said. “We can go home now and no one is going to bother us again.”

  Yu Di knew that was a lie. But what was he going to tell his four-year-old daughter? That the sect leader had some weird grudge against him and the rest of the sect has a vendetta against them? This was not how he wanted to spend the rest of his life.

  But for his daughter, he’ll adjust. He’ll figure it out and if given enough time. He’ll also create some escape plans for him and his daughter. All he needed to do now was focus on her growth and make her so powerful that no one could hurt her.

  If only life was so simple.

  Yu Di might not have the abilities of a demigod, but he could still sense Qi from a great distance away. That’s how he sensed Yu Lin’s mother before she dragged him and undressed him in front of his own village.

  “Senior Bai, we have to go,” Yu Di shouted.

  The other Inner Sect Elders surrounded and supported Bai Feng as she stumbled over to Yu Di.

  “What’s going on?” Bai Feng asked.

  “Maybe you should consider a new servant,” the female Elder said. “This one seems defective and disrespectful. I know of a few candidates that would be more suitable for your station.”

  “Thank you Elder Gao, but I respect Yu Di’s opinion,” Bai Feng said. “He has been a tremendous help inspiring my cultivation.”

  “Hmph, you decide what you want then. Just know that if he tries anything… inappropriate I’ll make sure that he becomes a eunuch.”

  Bai Feng cupped her hands.

  “Thank you for your concern, but those rumors are—”

  “We don’t have time for this,” Yu Di said. “There are over a hundred people that have breached the sect walls. Each one is at least in the Core Formation realm if not higher. We have to go.”

  “Not only disrespectful, but also rude,” Elder Gao said. “I’ll teach you a lesson that—”

  “Take Yu Lin and run back to my house,” Bai Feng said. She handed Yu Di a small bronze tag. “Activate this when you get in and only let our fellow disciples inside. Everyone else, we’re under attack.”

  Elder Gao paused for a moment, mouth slightly agape.

  “Are you going to listen to this servant?”

  Yu Di didn’t wait to hear the end of that conversation. He grabbed Yu Lin and ran away from the stage as fast as he could.

  He didn’t get far.

  A loud explosion rocked the gate at the front of the fortress. Alarms went off throughout the entire sect.

  “Sect Leader Gu, the enemy sects destroyed our gates," a disciple reported.

  "How is that possible?" Gu Zi shouted. He glared at Yu Di. "Someone must have let them in."

  "Everyone, run to your assigned areas,” Fu An commanded. The grand elder took to the skies on his staff. "Elders, hold them off at the gate."

  Yu Di watched as dozens of men and women poured in through the gate. They all wore tunics of different colors. The first wave shot Qi blasts at the disciples closest to the gate.

  The disciples went from being audience to victims in seconds.

  Yu Di ran.

  If there was one thing that he did better than anyone in this world, it was running. Even before he was cursed, he practiced this skill above all others.

  How else could he escape those he stole from?

  “Baba, we have to go and help,” Yu Lin said.

  “No. It’s too dangerous,” Yu Di said. He held onto his daughter close to his chest, trying to avoid the blasts coming their way.

  The only advantage of being so close to the center of the stage was that there were more bodies to go through before the invaders got to them.

  “Let me go!” Yu Lin kicked out from Yu Di’s grip. This was the challenge with having a daughter that was physically stronger than you.

  “No, little Lin, come back here. You’re too small. They’re going to kill you.”

  Yu Lin paused for a second, then turned around.

  “I don’t care. I’m helping auntie Bai.” She ran off as fast as she could toward the invaders.

  Yu Di gritted his teeth. He had lived long enough, right?

  Regardless, he couldn’t allow his daughter to die.

  Yu Di ran after Yu Lin.

  Curse unlocked: .2% lifted.

  Not now. Yu Di had a daughter and friend to save.

  Curse unlocked: .1% lifted.

  Bai Feng stood near the gate in front of a bunch of injured disciples and servants. The green, purple, and gray tunics mixed with blood red. Those conscious were moaning while others laid very still on the ground.

  Her two flying swords danced in the air. It blocked many of the attacks raining down on her from the enemy.

  The other disciples ran away with their Elders, ignoring her desperate plight as she fought to protect the injured.

  Yu Di knew that she was exhausted from the duel. He didn’t know how Bai Feng was still standing.

  Yu Lin dove in and joined Bai Feng by creating shields with her Qi. When did she learn that? Together with Bai Feng, they made enough of a gap for the able bodied disciples to run away.

  That was not enough.

  Yu Di ran with all his speed, but it would still be a while before he reached the two. He couldn’t believe how fast his daughter ran ahead of him. He was too old for this.

  Yu Di reached into his storage ring and pulled out his own weapon. A three pronged trident appeared in his hand. It wasn’t flashy or as deadly as swords or spears, but it did the job mostly as a utility and defensive tool.

  Case in point, as a flying sword flew at Yu Lin’s face, Yu Di was able to pin it to the ground with the trident’s prong. With a swift stomp, he snapped the flying sword in two.

  “Yu Lin, you almost died,” Yu Di said.

  “Sorry Baba,” Yu Lin said.

  “Get her out of here,” Bai Feng said.

  “No. Little Lin is right. We have to protect the disciples.” Yu Di slashed with his trident, taking out three more flying swords. With another quick stomp, he broke them. “Yu Lin, if we are staying here, you must listen to me. Do you understand?”

  His daughter froze for a second, but then she nodded.

  Yu Di stopped thinking of the little girl as his daughter, but as another member of this sect. He needed to command her in a strict tone because this was no game.

  “Yu Lin, drag all those aunties and uncles into that building over there.” Yu Di pointed at the welcome hall. It was a long building that greeted visitors. It was also very easy to defend as it also had a cellar that held food and drinks for visitors.

  “Yes Baba.” Yu Lin stopped her Qi shield and dragged a woman away.

  Yu Di used his own Qi to create focused strikes to protect Bai Feng when a flying sword or dagger got too close.

  “We can’t stay here, Senior Bai.” Yu Di pinched two daggers with his trident.

  Sweat rolled down Bai Feng’s face. Her body was shaking.

  “You’re about to hit Qi exhaustion. You have to stop,” Yu Di said.

  When Bai Feng didn’t move, he stepped in front of her. He gently pushed her back with the butt of his trident, breaking her concentration.

  Curse unlocked: .3% lifted.

  Bai Feng stumbled backwards onto the pile of injured disciples.

  “Drink the Qi refreshing elixir I gave you,” Yu Di shouted. He twirled his trident like a staff, blocking everything he could. Loud tings and clangs created sparks on his weapon. The shock waves traveled up his arms.

  Yu Di wasn’t sure how long he could keep this up. He took a deep breath, the deepest breath of the day, and pushed his Qi into the surrounding air, creating a small net. It was a technique he had used many times in the past against multiple opponents.

  That should buy them a few moments.