Yu Di woke up the next morning with a stiff back and sore arms. He sat up and took a deep breath in. The Qi in the air cycled through his body to lessen the pain.

  It was easier today.

  He pulled out his jade tablet to look.

  Current Power: Realm 1, Stage 1, Level 1.7 (Qi condensation)

  Remaining Lifespan: 18 years, 10 months.

  Current Status: Cursed (1.1% lifted)

  Overall Power: Fourth Realm, End Stage, Peak level

  Yu Di’s power rose by a bit from unlocking the curse. The best part was that he didn’t have to use any of his life force to do so. Maybe there was a way to break this curse without dying in the process.

  Bai Feng threw two buns at Yu Di’s head.

  He caught one with his right hand while the left hit him in the face.

  “What was that for?” Yu Di asked. He took a large bite from the one in his hand. It was warm and there was meat inside.

  “It’s to celebrate if that grin on your face is any indication.” Bai Feng sat opposite Yu Di on the matted ground. “It seems that something positive happened yesterday. Did someone pick on little Lin and you stepped in to unlock your curse?”

  Yu Di shook his head, focusing on swallowing. He didn’t want to choke again.

  “Something else entirely, but by heaven, this bun is so good. What’s in it?”

  “The leftover meat from the last two days. I didn’t want to waste it.”

  Yu Di took a smaller bite this time. The juicy and oily duck hit his tongue with a splash of salty flavor.

  “I’m not sure. We helped one of my fellow servants last night on the way to your home and it unlocked.”

  Bai Feng’s eyes widened.

  “Could it be that simple?”

  Yu Di couldn’t help smiling.

  “I’m hoping so. I’m going to spend most of the morning sweeping while helping anyone I can find. I’m going to go high and low until I’ve helped everyone I can. I might need to borrow my daughter again for today.”

  “Take her for the rest of the week. I think it’s time for me to start working on my own cultivation if I am going to be an Elder.”

  “I almost forgot about that.” Yu Di reached into his spatial ring and pulled out a manual. “This manual is one that will help you reach the upper limit of Core Formation right before Qi Wielding where you ascend to the next realm. Then you would go back to my other manual.”

  Bai Feng’s eyes tracked the manual like a tiger.

  “You’re just going to give it to me?”

  “Of course.” Yu Di handed it over to her. “I'll admit I'm a little frustrated as I had to fight an entire sect off with nothing but a paper fan to get it, but if it gets you to the next level, then it will be worth it.”

  Bai Feng flipped through the book for a few pages, looking more and more confused. She stopped at one of the pages and had to turn it sideways.

  “I don’t understand any of this.” Bai Feng flipped through to the end.

  “You have to pair it with the other manual I gave you.” Yu Di got up and stretched. He knew that Bai Feng would be spending most of the day pouring through both books. Once she understood the concepts, she would be well on her way to reaching the second realm.

  Today, he had a goal in mind.

  Yu Di took out his map for the fortress. While it was mostly straight forward, there were a few pockets that he could use for his tests. There were many servants who struggled to finish their tasks.

  He was going to help every single one.

  Yu Lin was finishing her own buns. But the way she was eating it slowly by peeling off the skin and taking small nibbles told Yu Di that she had eaten a lot already.

  “Come on little Lin, we’re going out to help people,” Yu Di said.

  “Let’s go!” Yu Lin placed the bun into her tunic’s chest pocket.

  “No, take that out. It’s time I give you something to hold your stuff.” Yu Di took out the spatial ring he prepared for his daughter from his chest pocket. “Put this on your finger.”

  “But Baba, that’s too big.” Yu Lin held it in between her fingers.

  Yu Di took the ring and placed it over her pointer finger on her left hand. The ring dropped down her finger and then shrank to size to fit her little finger.

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  “Wow, that’s like magic.” Yu Lin looked at it from the front and then the back.

  It was a simple, silver ring. A cheap one by comparison to Yu Di’s own ring. But by the looks of the sect, this simple ring was worth more than all the few Qi artifacts in the whole fortress combined.

  “Make sure not to show that to anyone,” Yu Di said. “People might take it if they know what it is.”

  “Not even auntie Bai?” Yu Lin glanced at the mesmerized woman.

  “Only if you two are alone.”

  “Okay. How does it work?” Yu Lin took off the ring and then put it back onto a different finger. It resized itself accordingly.

  “First, don’t take it off. Keep it on one finger. Next, all you have to do is push your Qi into the ring and it will reveal to you what’s inside. I made it so that it only works for you and no one else, not even me.”

  Yu Lin closed her eyes for a second. Her mouth opened and closed. Then her brows knitted.

  “Baba, there’s so many things in here. This is all mine?”

  “Yes little Lin. I was going to give it to you when you got older, but since we’re stuck in this sect I thought I should give it to you earlier. Be careful with the things inside and don’t take them out unless you have to save your life.”

  Yu Lin’s eyes widened.

  “I won’t need that. Baba is going to always be with me, right?” Yu Lin grabbed Yu Di’s forearm.

  Yu Di wanted to promise he would be, no matter what. But now that he has a way to break his curse, the life out there might be too dangerous for the both of them. Not only that, there was no telling if he would die from some stray political wrangling in this silly little sect.

  No. His child needed him to assure her.

  “Yes, I will, but I can’t be here all the time,” Yu Di said. “When that happens, I want you to listen to Senior Bai, okay?”

  Yu Lin nodded.

  “Now Baba, how do I take things out or put things in?” Yu Lin showed the half eaten bun in her hand.

  “All you have to do is push your Qi into it and think about putting something in or taking something out.”

  Yu Lin looked between the bun and her silver ring. She squinted for a moment and the bun disappeared. A second later, it reappeared in her hand.

  “Baba I did it!”

  Yu Di smiled.

  “Yes you did. Now put the bun away. It’s time for you to help Baba.”

  Yu Lin nodded, putting the bun away again.

  “Senior Bai, I’m going to do my duties then. I’ll see you tonight.” Yu Di picked up Yu Lin and placed her on his shoulders before leaving Bai Feng’s home. He didn’t hear a response. Probably too engrossed in the manuals. He didn’t eat for a week when he first got it.

  Yu Di wasn’t the only one that was obsessed with getting stronger. However, he could tell Bai Feng's desire came from a more academic understanding when compared to his all encompassing addiction.

  It was still early morning and the chirping birds sang in the quiet. The soft breeze ruffled Yu Di’s gray tunic, making him feel like he was flying. He took slow deliberate steps, wondering how it had become so hot so quickly.

  For the first time in so long, he had a clear mind. Lifting the curse was not the same as gaining a new level or breaking through a realm. It was more like being impaired and finally being able to use your body like it was before.

  Yu Di started to feel like his old self again.

  “Baba, look. That person needs help.” Yu Lin steered her father by tugging at his hair. They walked toward the servant that had spilled his apples.

  “Let me help with that,” Yu Di said. Together with his daughter they picked up the two large baskets of apples. This felt good, helping another person.

  Curse unlocked: 0.1% lifted.

  Yu Di smiled. This was going to be a good day.

  By the end of the day, he did only a few more things to help other servants. He ended up with another 0.5% lifted. This was more than he could have ever imagined.

  It didn’t matter that he walked back to Bai Feng’s home utterly exhausted again. Yu Lin jumped off his back the moment she saw the building.

  “How did it go today?” Bai Feng asked. She was sitting on the large rock outside of her home.

  “Oh, Senior Bai,” Yu Di said. He took off his shoes before walking into the home. “I thought you would still be busy reading over the manual I gave you. Unless of course you already understood it all.”

  “No. You can’t study all day without caring for your health. Being obsessed, even with cultivation, will only bring you madness. You have to balance everything in your life. I thought you would know that, being a demigod.”

  Yu Di chuckled, dragging his tired body across the floor. He wished that someone else told him that before he binged on his cultivation and drove most of the powerful cultivation sects after him. Even the demonic ones were after him at this point.

  “You’re right Senior Bai,” Yu Di said, collapsing onto his bed roll. “It’s too late for me. Make sure to teach that to my daughter. Instead, I’m going to try and break this curse as fast as possible.”

  “What’s the rush?” Bai Feng brought a tray of buns to Yu Di. Three were missing.

  “Thank you.” Yu Di took a bun and took a small bite. The taste was better than anything he had eaten in a long time. The fragrant smell coming from the pork made him take a larger bite.

  Had he eaten all day? He remembered his daughter eating the leftover bun from this morning.

  “Anyway, the rush is two fold,” Yu Di said after downing a large cup of tea. “I’m so weak in this sect that even Elder Li can bully me. The last thing I need is for some disgruntled child to end me.”

  Bai Feng nodded as she took a bite from her bun.

  “And the other reason, you know why.” Yu Di took out his jade tablet.

  Current Power: Realm 1, Stage 1, Level 1.8 (Qi condensation)

  RemainingLifespan: 17 years, 5 months.

  Overall Status: Cursed (1.7% lifted)

  Overall Power: Fourth Realm, End Stage, Peak level

  “What happened to your lifespan?” Bai Feng asked. “It was 10 months yesterday.”

  Yu Di winced.

  “I was testing to see how much I can wield.”

  “Oh, did it work?”

  “Nope.” Yu Lin grabbed another two buns off the tray. “Baba was so upset too. He was helping this really mean person who was attacked by a spirit animal. Not only did the mean man not say thank you, he chased us off.”

  Yu Lin took a bite and then did a cartwheel.

  “Does your daughter know what you’re doing?” Bai Feng asked.

  Yu Di shook his head.

  “It was hot when baba flared his Qi,” Yu Lin said from across the room. “He taught me how to do it too.”

  Yu Lin cycled the Qi through her body, going through all the meridians in her body. A faint green glow traveled up and down her body. She pointed her fingers at the two adults and Qi splashed harmlessly off their bodies. She hadn’t focused it, but if she did, Yu Di might have been in trouble.

  “How did she get so strong already?” Yu Di asked.

  “You’re not the only one practicing, you know,” Bai Feng said. “What did you learn today?”

  “Quite a few things, actually. And I’m hoping that you could help make sense of it all.”

  “Of course.”