Yu Di didn’t dare breathe under the gaze of a high priestess of the third realm looking down at him. How did she know? Who told her? It couldn’t be Vimala, as she told him not to say anything. Or did he just have a sign on his back or something that told everyone that he’s the most hated man in the entire city?

  “You looked confused.” High Priestess Faouzia continued to walk. “It’s your speech that gave it away. Your accent and the words you use. A voice I’ll never forget, despite not seeing the fight itself. Your proclamation reached far and wide.”

  Curse his choice to speak in the same language. He should have pretended not to know and acted ignorant. But what could he do now?

  “Don’t worry, the Goddess has great mercy,” Faouzia said. “Watching you suffer as a mortal with such a limited lifespan is the most entertaining thing I’ve seen since the degradation of our city.”

  Yu Di didn’t respond. It would almost be laughable if it weren’t true.

  “So tell me, how did the Menace of Miryana, the former Demigod that dared threaten our city, end up with the failure of a former Goddess?”

  “I don’t know,” Yu Di said. “I thought I sacrificed myself to save my daughter and my sect, but I’m not sure what happened. I’ve been trying to escape this city and find out since I woke up in Vimala’s camel den. I don’t even know if it worked and if there is anything you can do to help me, I’d be forever in your debt.”

  Faouzia frowned. “If I could help you, why wouldn’t I help my people? You think those people behind us suffered any less than you? Or any less than that girl you’ve been carrying this whole time?”

  Yu Di carried the girl for so long that he forgot she was there. It reminded her of when he carried Yu Lin like that all day after her mother abandoned her.

  “I completely understand,” Yu Di said. “What’s the plan after you get them all into tunnels beneath the city? Won’t they starve there? We’ve met Arzu and her people. They didn’t look like they were doing well.”

  “Anywhere is better than up here,” Faouzia said. “I’m not a Demigod like you. My powers are limited in how much I can use to protect these people.”

  “Then might I propose a different solution?”

  Faouzia hesitated before nodding.

  “Why don’t we bring them into the middle section of the city? They have food and other necessities, from what I could see. They also have high walls to protect them, not to mention the constantly firing cannons.”

  “They won’t let us in,” Faouzia said.

  “What if Vimala can show you a way in that would bypass their security?” Yu Di pulled the woman until she stood beside them. “Tell her what you told me.”

  Vimala bit her lip. “I know a secret tunnel that leads directly into the city. It bypasses any soldiers on patrol and is far away from most of the temples.”

  “How did you find this tunnel?” Faouzia asked.

  “Ying Fusu made it when he came into the city.”

  “How did he figure out where to create a tunnel to the outside?”

  “I told him.” Vimala mumbled the last part.

  Faouzia turned on Vimala. “You see, this is what I mean. You are not worthy of being the Goddess. How can you tell a foreigner where to dig and how to get into the city undetected? You bring calamity to the city.”

  “It was to transport food into the city to help the poor,” Vimala said.

  “I’m sure that’s all he transported.” Faouzia shook her head.

  “But that means we have a way in,” Yu Di said. “It’s a good thing for us especially as the city’s forces are fighting the Shah’s army. They won’t stop us from entering the city. Your people will have a better chance of surviving.”

  Faouzia sighed. “Where is the tunnel?”

  Vimala pointed toward a section of the inner city wall underneath the cannons that Faouzia had destroyed. “There is an entrance near there. It connects a former temple that goes into a bar within the city that Ying Fusu owns.”

  Faouzia frowned. “I never thought I’d see the day when foreigners own property within our city. They bring their filth with them and leave us to clean up after them without so much as a thank you.” She continued walking in her unhurried pace toward the location Vimala pointed out.

  “I have another question while we’re slowly making our way there,” Yu Di said.

  “Speak Demigod,” Faouzia said. “Stop your false manners.”

  “Never false, but I will get to the point. Why don’t you help Vimala get her powers back? In the third realm, I doubt anyone in the city could stop you from doing so. She could save the city with one technique. Or is it because you still think her unworthy?”

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  Faouzia grimaced. “No. If it were that easy, I’d fly her right into the heart of the Pavilion of Goddess’ Grace and force her to regain her powers. I know she’d at least do the right thing. Except in her current condition, she can’t hold on to the power of the Goddess for long. It would burn through her entire life force faster than she could use the powers to save anyone.”

  Yu Di didn’t respond. He had a feeling that was how it worked as neither Vimala nor Arzu had the practiced body of a cultivator that would allow them to withstand the Qi running through their bodies.

  “Wait, so is your body like theirs?” Yu Di asked.

  Faouzia nodded. “I hate to tell a foreigner this, especially one that tried to steal our secrets, but the power we are bestowed is one that spends our life force in exchange. I only lasted so long because I had been sharing a lot with Reis and his men.”

  “You took it back,” Yu Di said. He was fascinated by how their power system worked. While their powers were like his own cultivation system in the Celestial Jade Empire, this ability to empower others was a great boon. It had a major drawback of killing the host, but he was sure there was a way to work around that aspect. The applications were endless.

  Yu Di paused his thinking and took a long deep breath. This was the same way he got when he used to think about stealing a sect’s secrets to increase his own cultivation. He couldn’t keep going back to that, although even in that short time he felt more invigorated than he’d felt for a long time. It wasn’t just gaining the levels that gave Yu Di that high, but also thinking about how he would get it.

  Yu Di risked retribution and glanced at Faouzia’s condition. Her body was on the verge of collapse as it struggled to contain the power. He glanced back at Reis and his men and their bodies also looked like they were about to collapse. He had a new thought.

  “I know you don’t trust me, but what if you could give your power to someone who can handle all of it?” Yu Di asked.

  “If there were such a person, then I would gladly do so,” Faouzia said. “The pressure is too much for one person, but concentrated power is needed.”

  “What about me?” Yu Di gritted his teeth. He knew this was asking too much of her, but this would be the best solution. The high priestess can’t handle Qi, but his body was that of a Demigod. From what he could tell, transferring the power also transferred the realm and stage levels to the recipient. Despite everything, Yu Di was still Miryana’s Menace.

  Faouzia paused for a moment.

  Was she actually thinking about it? Because if she was, he’d use those powers in ways that they couldn’t imagine. The entire system of passing down powers was great for continuing to protect the city, but it lacked the finesse and training of a true cultivator. The techniques and things Yu Di could use would make their true Goddess blush, even if it was only in the third realm.

  “I don’t think so,” Faouzia said. “Vimala might trust you, but I certainly don’t. You might flee, leaving us all defenseless.”

  “I thought I’d ask,” Yu Di said.

  Vimala looked aside at Yu Di. She looked as if she were considering something.

  “We are close to the temple,” Faouzia said. “Reis, prepare the people to shelter inside as I reinforce the buildings.”

  The shirtless muscle head gave instructions to his followers before they began splitting up into groups. They corralled everyone to crowd closer to the front. Up ahead, the hands shortened and faded so they protected less.

  Faouzia waved her hand over the temple and a new curtain of Goddess Qi wrapped around the entire building. Its glimmer was at the third realm with many protective wards against bombardment. However, it didn’t ward off any invaders on the ground.

  “We should be able to hold out here before we all escape into the city,” Faouzia said.

  Yu Di felt a needle poking inside his head. It was a sharp killing intent that came from afar as if from someone finally finding their prey after a long search. He already knew who it was.

  “Apologies High Priestess Faouzia, but I might need your help soon,” Yu Di said.

  “That’s coming for you?” Faouzia looked off into the distance toward Shah al-Rahman’s army. “I feared it was for me, but the hatred coming from that power couldn’t be.”

  Yu Di nodded. “It’s someone from the invading army I angered.”

  “Angered? From the way she’s throwing her power around, it feels more like pissed off beyond all redemption. What did you do?”

  Yu Di grinned sheepishly. “I took off her mask to see her face.”

  Faouzia’s eyes opened wide. She gently touched her own mask before putting her hand down. “As I suspected. You are a good-for-nothing scoundrel who deserves death.”

  Yu Di winced. Those words blasted against not only physical senses but also spiritual senses. “I didn’t kill her. I thought that was payment enough.”

  “For that type of insult, death would be preferred. Anyway, she only wants your head. This has nothing to do with me or my people. Why should I help a foreigner?”

  Yu Di opened his mouth and then closed it wordlessly. This was true. He was the one who pissed her off.

  “Please Faouzia, protect him,” Vimala said.

  That got a raised eyebrow from Faouzia. “The little mouse is asking me to help him?” She scoffed. “The little mouse dares to even talk with me?”

  Vimala brushed out the wrinkles in her clothes and stood up to the high priestess. “Yes, I am asking you to… no, I am demanding you help her as your Goddess.”

  Faouzia looked Vimala up and down, but the former Goddess didn’t back down. “I’ll help him on one condition. You regain your powers in the secret tunnels beneath Miryana and save our city and its people. It’s the least you could do.”

  “Yes, I will,” Vimala said. “But I’m not sure how. Abbot Lokenatha has the entrances locked down.”

  Faouzia smiled. “Not every entrance.” She reached out and tapped Vimala’s head with her finger.

  Vimala glowed from head to toe for a moment.

  “Now you can fix this.” Faouzia hugged Vimala. “I know I’m hard on you, but I only wanted you to be the best Goddess of Miryana.” She turned to Yu Di. “I’m going to protect you Menace of Miryana only if you promise to—”

  “Protect Vimala? Already doing it,” Yu Di said.

  Faouzia knocked him on the forehead. “No, push her to be better. She doesn’t need a weakling like you to protect her. She won’t admit it, but her defeat at your hands all those years ago has made her tougher than she’s ever been.”

  Weakling? He was near the second realm. Compared to Vimala, he was a god. Besides, Yu Di had a feeling it was less about the loss and more about Ying Fusu’s influence. That brat was very charming. He truly was his father’s son.

  Yu Di cupped his hands and bowed. “I will try my best.”

  “Now get out of here with the rest of them before that force of nature arrives.” Faouzia made a fist and a bright sword composed of light formed in her hand.

  Yu Di shielded his eyes from the blinding light. He saw the technique for what it really was: a last stand. Faouzia had poured all her strength and power into that sword. One swing could cleave mountains.

  Such a shame. Yu Di could have used that power way better than the high priestess ever could have .

  “Yu Di! I’m going to kill you!” Fatima shouted from the distance.

  It was time to go.