Yu Di pushed Yu Lin out of the spotlight and into Bai Feng’s arms before jumping into the blue light.

  Curse unlocked: .4% lifted.

  “How dare you circumvent our distinguished guest’s choice?” Gu Zi yelled. In a blink of an eye, he appeared in front of Yu Di, holding him up by the neck.

  Yu Di struggled for a second before relaxing into the grip. There was no point unless he planned to wipe this man from existence with his full power. But since Yu Lin was so close, he wouldn’t be able to control the burst of power, at least not as he was.

  The worst part wasn’t the inability to breathe, but how gravity pulled his neck down into Gu Zi’s grip. The blood wasn’t moving into his head, making him feel light headed.

  “Even a thousand deaths won’t be enough for you,” Gu Zi shouted.

  The man in the dark navy military uniform pulled Gu Zi’s hand down.

  “Enough. I don’t care. I just want to get to the next sect before nightfall. He can go in the little girl’s place.”

  “Of course.” Gu Zi released his grip.

  Blood rushed into Yu Di’s head. He could feel the headache coming on.

  “Baba,” Yu Lin whispered. She held him up with the help of Bai Feng. She glanced at Gu Zi with fresh eyes. One of absolute fear.

  Yu Di coughed and rubbed his neck. He hadn’t felt like this in a long time. Not near death, but at someone else’s mercy. It appeared that in this life he was cursed twice.

  His daughter was his weakness. And he would take it every time.

  The man in the dark navy uniform glanced at Yu Di before flying off on his sword out of the fortress. He didn’t look back as he picked up speed. A sonic boom was heard afterward.

  “You almost destroyed our sect,” Gu Zi said. “Do that again and I will squeeze you like the pimple you are.”

  Gu Zi flew back to the stage of the amphitheater.

  “Are you okay, Baba?” Yu Lin asked.

  Yu Di hugged his daughter tight to his chest.

  “I am now.”

  “Those of you who have been chosen stay in the amphitheater. The rest of you go back to your quarters. Grand Elder Fu will have specific assignments for you.”

  “I don’t want to leave you,” Yu Lin said.

  “Go with Elder Bai. She’ll take care of you.” Yu Di deposited his daughter into Bai Feng’s waiting arms. “Elder Bai, remember what we discussed.”

  Bai Feng held Yu Lin in her arms and nodded.

  “Come on little Lin. I’ll make you some buns.”

  Yu Di kissed Yu Lin on the forehead before they left the amphitheater. All that were left were a handful of disciples and servants. At a glance, they were a mix of levels from the highest of core formation to the lowest of level one in the Qi condensation level.

  The worst part was that he recognized at least two faces. One of them was Fu Homei. She was probably the strongest of the competitors. The other was Elder Li in his perfectly creased green tunic. The others he recognized from Bai Feng’s new faction.

  “It’s a good thing you took your daughter’s spot,” Fu Homei said. “I’m not sure if I could protect the little one in a competition such as this despite my promises.”

  “I would have loved to see the brat fight her own battles,” Elder Li said. “She has been coddled ever since joining. She’s cute now, but wait until she grows older without having to face any of the horrors we have. I doubt any of you would want to be fighting alongside her.”

  Yu Di hated to admit that he was right, but then again, she was four. And she was close to Elder Li's level. If they fought, with a little coaching, he doubted his daughter could lose to him in a fight.

  “I hope you all are enjoying this little gathering,” Gu Zi said. He floated down on his golden disk.

  Everyone cupped their hands and bowed.

  “We greet Sect Leader Gu,” they said in unison.

  “Good that you remembered I was still here,” Gu Zi glared at Yu Di. The little mole on his lip twitched. “Although some of you forget your place sometimes. I’ll have to make sure to keep an eye on you all. This time it’s the lifeblood of our sect and I am sad to say, we’ve picked a sad bunch for this festival. I fear we’re going to lose our sect and I’ll have to commit suicide.”

  “Begging your forgiveness,” Elder Li said. He cupped his hands. “I believe that we have a chance to succeed if we allow me to lead our disciples on the battlefield. I’m sure the other Elders gathered here would agree.”

  Yu Di hated to admit it. While Elder Li didn’t have the cultivation or skills, he at least looked the part with his immaculate beard and well manicured nails. He wore a magnificent green robe to this meeting that showed off his prestige.

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  Except he was still an ass.

  Following him would mean their quick deaths for he never cared for anyone other than those with power.

  “Senior Fu, you should say something,” Yu Di whispered. “Unless you want that fool to lead us.”

  “Do we have an issue here?” Gu Zi asked. “If you want to say something, speak up. Unless you’re a coward.”

  Yu Di glanced at Fu Homei, hoping she’d say something. The poor girl looked away, more scared than he was. He didn’t want to say anything, but this was his life on the line.

  “I think that we should form our own groups instead of following one Elder,” Yu Di said. “That way, we will be more flexible when we fight.”

  “That is the dumbest thing I’ve ever—”

  “Fine. Form your groups,” Gu Zi said. “I don’t care as long as you win. If that means one large group or many small groups, I will be fine with that.”

  “But Sect Leader, that would diminish our strength,” Elder Li said.

  Gu Zi turned on the man.

  “Would you trust someone like him to protect you or follow your orders in battle?”

  Elder Li didn’t respond.

  “Anyway, since you were chosen to represent our sect, I plan on providing everyone here a special gift to prepare. Line up.”

  Once everyone lined up on the stage, Gu Zi went to each disciple and Elder and gave them a simple weapon, pill, and wards. When he got to Yu Di at the end, he gave him a simple cultivation manual.

  “This is my most prized possession,” Gu Zi said.

  Everyone peered over at them.

  “This is my original cultivation manual passed down to me by someone I thought was my friend. He ascended with the rest of my sect, leaving me here all alone to ponder the secrets of the manual.” Gu Zi pointed at the title of the manual. “This book will allow you to reach for the heights of the second realm and beyond. He did it, so you can too Yu Di. I believe in you.”

  Yu Di bowed deeply after receiving the book.

  “Now all of you go prepare. The festival is in two weeks.” Gu Zi flew into the sky on his golden disk.

  If Yu Di didn’t know any better, he swore he could see a smirk on the sect leader’s face.

  The irony wasn’t lost on Yu Di when he looked at the title, “Hegemony of Cultivation.” Not only was that such a haughty name, it was also in his own handwriting. This fully proved that this was his former sect and that Sect Leader Gu Zi really knew him.

  But still, he couldn’t think of who it was. A hundred years of jumbled memories and countless people he’d met and forgotten.

  When Yu Di looked up, he noticed he was surrounded by all the other participants, eying his worn manual. Some of them were stronger than he was, while others were too weak to compete. This was going to be a bloodbath.

  That was probably another reason why Gu Zi gave him such a prize. Not only was it useless for him as Yu Di had transcended anything in the manual, but also it became something others might kill him for. Maybe not now, but definitely during the festival.

  “Seniors, might I make a suggestion?” Yu Di asked. “You see, I doubt any of us could use this manual much in the short two weeks we have. How about I copy it for everyone so that you may have it as a prize for after we win?”

  Fu Homei was the first to speak up.

  “I would feel better if you made the copies and passed them out before the festival started. What if you died during the festival?”

  “That would be fine as well. You can all come to Elder Bai’s home and copy the manual to your heart’s content.”

  Many of the disciples paled when they heard that. It was one thing to pressure a servant like Yu Di. It was another to pressure his master. As they say, even if you want to beat a dog, you have to see who the master is.

  “Or you can give the manual to me and I will make the copies for everyone here,” Elder Li said.

  “That sounds like a splendid idea,” another Elder said.

  Yu Di wouldn’t mind doing so, if he wasn’t also very curious about something nagging at the back of his mind. The manual contained a lot of his earlier inspiration and as the stone stele proved, his older work might help him ascend to god-hood today. If that was the case, he couldn’t let that opportunity go.

  “I beg forgiveness from all the seniors here,” Yu Di said. “How about I deliver the manual to Elder Li by tomorrow morning? I would like to report back to Elder Bai first on what transpired and get her permission.”

  “Using your master to suppress us?” Elder Li asked.

  “No, I dare not. But as you say, she is my master and if I don’t pay tribute to her first, then she would take it out on me.”

  Yu Di doubted Bai Feng would ever harm even the tiniest hair on his body. She was too nice and nurturing. But he had to sell it. The bubbling inside him, giving him that last ray of hope that he might finally level up was too great.

  This felt like that time he stole a sect’s cultivation manual right from their worshiping temple. He had to play a servant then too, pretending he was there following orders. Every single Immortal there accused each other and eventually broke out into a fight, allowing Yu Di to run.

  Maybe he could do something similar here.

  “Then we are all at an impasse,” Elder Li said. “There’s no guarantee that you will not run off with the manual, keep it for yourself and create fake manuals for us.”

  “I would never dare do that,” Yu Di said. “To prove my sincerity in sharing this prize with you all, I’ll give it to Senior Fu. She’s the granddaughter of Grand Elder Fu. No one would doubt her reputation.”

  Yu Di handed the manual over to Fu Homei.

  “Hold onto it if you can,” Yu Di whispered.

  Fu Homei rolled her eyes.

  “Thank you junior Yu. I will escort him back to Elder Bai’s home. Elder Li can come and claim it in the morning to make copies.”

  Elder Li narrowed his eyes.

  Yu Di could only guess what he was thinking. He was an Elder with a few others willing to back him up. Not only that, many if not all the cultivators would kill for the manual.

  Fu Homei was one girl.

  Well, that and a Core Foundation cultivator with a grandfather that could have them all hanged by the end of the day.

  All Yu Di really wondered now was whether or not they would kill each other for such a useless manual.

  “Very well,” Elder Li said. “Out of respect for Grand Elder Fu, we will trust in your reputation and leave you to execute his promise.”

  Fu Homei cupped her hands and bowed.

  “Thank you for trusting me.” She took out her large white fan from her storage ring. She stood on the fan. “Come on Junior Yu. Time to go home.”

  Yu Di scrambled onto the fan as fast as he could. It rose into the air slowly.

  The pair flew off some distance over the sect, leaving behind Elder Li and the others to talk amongst themselves.

  “Thank you for helping me,” Yu Di said.

  “It was less helping you and more snubbing that pompous ass,” Fu Homei said. “He wants to run this sect, so he doesn’t give any face to anyone else other than those above him. I saw it in his eyes. He thought he could take the manual away from me. I’m going to show him who’s stronger when we get to the festival.”

  Yu Di didn’t respond. He didn’t need to. The festival was going to be the death of him in either case and he only had two weeks to prepare. The only hope he had was in that manual that Fu Homei had.