The loud boom echoed again as imperial soldiers flew away from one of the tents. A short moment later, it exploded in a blast of fire, engulfing it in orange and red flames.

  A large phoenix spirit burst forth from the flames and flew over the imperial soldiers. The imperial summoners shot at it with their spirit techniques, but every one of them was deflected. Every soldier on the battlefield shifted their stance to deal with the phoenix spirit.

  “Time to run again,” Nugua said in her head.

  Lu Na grabbed Sun Ren and dragged her away from Xun Zheng and the other soldiers. It didn’t take much effort before Sun Ren began running herself alongside Lu Na.

  As soon as the two women were away, the phoenix spirit launched a devastating fire bomb where the imperial soldiers and summoners were. The flames washed over them and through their shields, burning the very ground they walked on.

  Only, none of the soldiers or their equipment burned at all. The carriages that took the brunt of the attack looked like it had gotten a bit of drizzle of rain as it gleamed in the sun.

  The phoenix spirit hovered in midair as it looked down upon the imperial forces.

  Xun Zheng raised his right hand in the air.

  “Powerful phoenix spirit, we’d like to parley with you.”

  The phoenix spirit screeched before landing in front of Xun Zheng. She fell like a meteor, crashing into the still burning ground. When she stopped, a large plume of hot smoke rose all around.

  Lu Na and Sun Ren hid behind a tree a little closer to the labyrinth itself.

  “If anything happens, we should go back into the labyrinth. It should be safer in there,” Lu Na said.

  Sun Ren nodded, her face already back to its usual calculated thoughts. She had two daggers in her hand as she shifted back and forth.

  “We should head in there now before this is resolved. We don’t want to get caught up with powerful summoners flinging their techniques around.”

  “Wait, I need to get my mother.” Lu Na pointed in the general direction of the tents. With the explosive entrance of the phoenix spirit, the rebels’ camp was in disarray. Most of the tents have blown over and collapsed. Many of their belongings were now rolling around or piled into a mess away from the original blast site.

  “I’m sorry Lu Na. If she didn’t die from the phoenix’s blast, she won’t survive for long when they fight,” Sun Ren said.

  “That’s my mother’s spirit.”

  “Oh. Then when we see an opening, I’ll create a distraction and you get your mother. But don’t take too long. I doubt I can do much against imperial soldiers and summoners.” Sun Ren narrowed her eyes, already sizing up the enemies.

  Lu Na nodded, always grateful that she had a friend to help her.

  When the smoke finally cleared, a woman stood at the center of the crater. She wore a simple orange tunic that matched the color of the phoenix. She had a long ponytail that reached all the way down past her waist.

  Did Lu Na’s mother learn how to shape herself into human form like Jie’s spirit? That wouldn’t be surprising if she was so strong, but why would she do that?

  “We are the imperial army of Emperor Ling of Han. Do you dare interrupt official business?” Xun Zheng asked.

  She raised her right hand and a ball of flame formed around her hand. Even from this distance, Lu Na could tell how powerful the technique was. It made the very air sizzle all around the woman, but she didn’t react to the rising heat.

  With a casual wave, she launched the fireball at the soldiers.

  A large spirit wall formed in front of the soldiers. Xun Zheng held a round metal device that glowed red when the fireball hit. He pressed a button on it and turned it.

  “Still not at full strength yet,” the woman said.

  “That’s my mother!” Lu Na said.

  “Are you sure? It’s been years since you last saw her,” Sun Ren said.

  Lu Na nodded. It was definitely her mother. She would never forget her voice, especially not the last words she said to her. But did this mean they were saved? Or did her mother need help?

  “Kill her,” Xun Zheng ordered.

  The imperial soldiers and summoners moved as one to attack Chen Su. The soldiers raised their shields while the summoners used techniques to create spirit shields in front of them. They had other techniques forming behind them.

  In the back, Xun Zheng continued fiddling with the round metal device. He pressed and tapped on different symbols and it glowed with spirit energy.

  Lu Na recognized the spirit device right away. It was a more advanced version of her own devices where it used the ambient spirit energy to power it.

  “My mother needs help,” Lu Na said. “I’m going to stop that official from using his device.”

  “How? I don’t know what it does, but it’s stopped your mother’s attacks.” Sun Ren pulled Lu Na closer to her behind the tree. “It’s best to leave your mother to deal with those imperial summoners and we should run away while we still can. There’s nothing we can do.”

  Lu Na pulled away from Sun Ren.

  “No, there is something I can do. It’s nothing special, but even summoners have a weakness.”

  Lu Na clenched her left fist, feeling the spirit energy gathering in her null metal bracelet.

  “Are you planning on throwing stones at them?” Nugua asked. “They stopped that blast from your mother that could level a city. Your stones are going to only piss them off. You should run as your friend suggests.”

  Stolen story; please report.

  “No. I’m not going to do something so silly. I’m going to move the very ground they’re standing on.” Lu Na flicked her wrist left, focusing on sinking the earth in her mind. She pushed as much spirit energy into the technique as she could, while simultaneously cycling as much of the spirit energy in her bracelet into her spirit realm as she could. She held onto the technique, stopping it from being released.

  “Oh that’s too much child. You’re going to hurt yourself.”

  “I’ve done this many times before in the labyrinth without you. I can do this.” Lu Na breathed in really slowly and then finally with one large breath, she pushed out the technique.

  The very ground underneath the carriages and the soldiers sank into the ground. It was almost as if the earth turned into water and the soldiers fell into the pit. The summoners lost their footing and canceled their spirit techniques.

  Chen Su summoned a larger fireball that covered the sky. It looked like a second sun hanging above her head. With a flick of her hand, the fireball hung over the imperial soldiers and summoners. It slowly descended onto them, getting hotter every second.

  The nearby trees burned. The soldiers and summoners all held onto their necks, choking from the lack of air. It felt like all the air was being sucked into the large fireball.

  The fireball glowed black for a second, before disappearing.

  All soldiers and summoners were unconscious. Xun Zheng was the only one that was semi conscious, moaning on the ground with burns on his face and arms from where he tried to block it.

  The carriage door opened and a man stepped out into the burning air. He was dressed in a blue-green imperial official’s robe. It had a phoenix embroidered on its front with its wings spanning down his sleeves. He also had a round spirit device, but this was smaller than Xun Zheng’s and it was strapped on his left forearm. He put his right hand on his spirit device, pressing two buttons that lit up black.

  “I apologize for my subordinate’s lack of manners,” the official said. “My name is Ji Ling and I am the official Spirit Instrument Architect for Emperor Ling. I can see that you’re a powerful summoner. Please spare us. We didn’t know.”

  “So it would be okay if I was weaker?” Chen Su asked.

  “No, of course not,” Ji Ling said. “It was never my intention to oppress others. I just found it easier to do so to get on with it. Everyone has to give at least a little respect to the Emperor.”

  Lu Na got closer to the pair talking.

  “Mother.”

  Chen Su turned to Lu Na, her eyes narrowed. Fire irradiated from her body, making her look like she was on fire. Yet it didn’t burn.

  “Na Na, I knew you would save me. My intelligent little girl.”

  “This is your daughter?” Ji Ling asked. “She must be as powerful as her mother if she could use that spirit technique on my men.”

  Ji Ling glanced at Lu Na. His eyes became large and round.

  “No wait, she’s not a powerful summoner at all. She uses devices, powerful devices.” Ji Ling pressed another set of buttons on his round metal device. The air around the group became thin. It felt like when Chen Su used that giant fireball and sucked the air into it.

  Lu Na clenched her left fist and punched out at Ji Ling. Her tiger claws technique flashed out with full force, striking the official. It did nothing.

  Just like her own spirit skin, he had something similar except it was more invisible. If she hadn’t struck him, she never would have known something like that was possible.

  Lu Na collapsed to her knees before looking to her mother. She tried to say something, but there was no air.

  Chen Su crossed her arms and stared at her.

  “I think she’s telling you to solve this yourself,” Nugua said.

  How? How would Lu Na solve this? She couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t think. She was about to faint.

  Lu Na clenched her left fist and flicked it left. The spirit skin formed around her. It did nothing. The air had now become so thin that she couldn’t breathe at all. Her hand went to her throat, clawing at it, trying to get air.

  She blacked out.

  Lu Na awoke to the gentle rocking of a carriage. Her head laid on something soft and warm.

  “It’s a shame you won’t join my cause,” Ji Ling said. His voice floating somewhere above Lu Na. “With your power, we could fix the government’s corruption and restore the Han dynasty to its original glory.”

  “You know that summoners have made the pact to never interfere with the dealings with of the government in return for them doing the same. Otherwise, where would it end?” Chen Su said.

  “But Lady Chen, wouldn’t your duty be to the people of this country and not to some summoner code?” Sun Ren said. Her voice was the closest. Lu Na felt her shift as she spoke. So she must be laying on her lap.

  Lu Na was tempted to join the conversation, but she had nothing to add. She didn’t care much for politics. She only ever wanted to free her mother. Now that she’s done it, all she needs to worry about now is going home to face her father.

  “There’s no summoner’s code when the imperial government can murder your entire family down to the dogs and chickens. No matter how strong the summoner, they can’t fight the government,” Chen Su said.

  Lu Na opened her eyes to look up at Sun Ren’s face. She had some dirt streaks running down it from the tears earlier. Her mother sat on the other side of Sun Ren. Ji Ling sat on the opposite bench from them. The bench was made of beautiful polished wood, covered in soft pillows.

  “Where are we?” Lu Na asked.

  “The emperor’s official inventor has been kind enough to give us a ride home, Na Na,” Chen Su said.

  Lu Na sat up and her hand went to her left wrist. Her null metal bracelet was gone. Ji Ling had it in his hands.

  “Don’t worry, I’m not taking it or stealing your secrets. I’m just fixing it for you,” Ji Ling said. He had a small metal instrument where he tapped on the null metal bracelet and white sparks came off the null metal. “I’m surprised you were able to make something like this. I’m more surprised it hasn’t burned off your wrist yet. Do you know why null metal is banned?”

  Ji Ling handed the null metal bracelet back to Lu Na. She took a look at the modifications he made. It was similar to the same patterns the Xia used on their inventions to prevent the null metal from burning its user.

  “Is it because null metal is dangerous?” Lu Na put her bracelet back onto her wrist.

  “Yes, but not the way you think. If you hadn’t put a limiter on how much the bracelet could absorb spirit energy, it would have exploded and it would have been a fantastic explosion.” Ji Ling waved both hands in the air above his head. “Think the size of the imperial palace even with only that much null metal.”

  Lu Na twirled the bracelet a little. She hadn’t thought it was that destructive. The most it would do is burn her wrist.

  “I told you it was dangerous,” Nugua said. “But you humans always think you know better than spirits that have lived for thousands of years.”

  “But you were the one that told me to use it, Nugua,” Lu Na hissed.

  “Well, with my basic understanding of Xia technology, the least I could do was stop it from exploding.”

  Chen Su laughed.

  “Is that little demon spirit still trying to get you killed so that it would release her from her bonds?”

  “Let your mother know that I would never do that,” Nugua said.

  “Anyway, I’d like to take this opportunity to recruit you to my office, Young Miss Lu,” Ji Ling said. “You show great potential and I’m sure with your mother’s approval, we can train you to be a more adept inventor. We’ll also provide you with every resource imaginable. Of course, that comes with the caveat that anything you make will have to be shared with me and potentially used by the Emperor.”

  Lu Na looked between her mother and the official. She had just gotten her mother back and she would want nothing more than to spend time with her. However, this was an opportunity too good to pass. Never in her wildest dreams could she imagine herself being taken in as the apprentice to the official Imperial Inventor.

  “If it’s alright with mother, then I would love to study under you,” Lu Na said.

  “It would be my privilege Young Miss Lu,” Ji Ling said.

  Sun Ren sat aside on her own, arms wrapped around herself.

  “Would you like to come with me, Sun Ren?” Lu Na asked.

  Sun Ren shook her head.

  “I have to go back for my father’s funeral. I wish you luck though, Na Na.”

  Lu Na felt sorry for her friend, but there was nothing she could really do for her as Sun Ren had done for her. One day, she’d return the favor of everything she’d ever done for her.

  Chen Su wrapped her arms around Lu Na. It was a feeling that Lu Na had missed so many years ago, the last time she saw her mother before she left. Now it might be a while longer before she could be wrapped in that feeling of safety and warmth again. Lu Na had to enjoy this moment of peace for as long as possible.

  The Cursed Demonic Cultivator Must Do Good!

  Cursed to die as a mortal

  Yu Di can’t cultivate. Forced to escape from his enemies, he waits for death in the village of his birth, surrounded by strangers. He has tried everything to break the curse.

  But time has run out.

  He has spent his life chasing the next level, next stage, next realm. Every hit has brought ecstasy. Now every day is torture.

  One day his ex-lover flies in on a cloud and drops off his three year old child. Though he can’t cultivate, nothing stops him from teaching his daughter. Yu Lin tries hard to please him and excels.

  Life slowly becomes bearable.

  That is until the local Immortal sect comes to recruit his daughter. More like kidnap. Yu Di fights back. The Immortals threaten to burn down the village if he doesn't comply. His daughter begs him to save the village and he agrees. That’s when a voice enters his head:

  Curse unlocked: 0.3% lifted.

  What?