We moved out, a large mass of humans pushing forwards. The cleft is the wall was just spewing beasts.

  Thankfully, they all seemed to be lower tier. It would have been nice to have a flamethrower at that moment. Or like a Laser rifle.

  Ahead of us, I saw a thin female cultivator touch down, superman style and tear into the tide of beasts.

  “My bestie has joined the fight!” Min said. “Do you mind if I go say hello?”

  “If you really must speak to my ex wife in the middle of an active battle, and can make your way over there without getting hurt, then be my guest.”

  “OK, thanks be right back!” She bolted over the crowd behind us as I tried to hold off some beasts.

  Maxine was drawing the most aggressive of the spirit beasts. She has unveiled herself, making her a juicy target for any spirit beast trying to make a name for themselves. I didn’t even know why she was helping. I hated her guts, but damn, she still looked fine as he’ll.

  I felt tempted to speak. Honestly, the woman was both too much and not enough at the same time. Yes, I was grateful that she had appeared. As she bodily tossed wolf sized beasts around like they were toddlers, there was a certain feeling I got. Not one of reconciliation; no, something more akin to the feeling I got after a successful exchange where we got the kids between us without the normal level of it of vitriol.

  Our petty human concerns meant nothing here.

  After all, what were quarrels between former lovers, when you had to fight for your life? In order to survive until tomorrow. These petty things meant nothing here and I can see why the elder kang had been away from his wife for so long. This is what he was stopping from happening all over the world? Then I would how have him work every single day to the bone.

  It wasn’t enough for her to realize.

  That she needed to help me out.

  Maxine doing the right thing was just enough for me to say that she wasn’t a complete waste.

  I Just wish that she could have helped us out a little more. But maybe she was doing her own thing compared. I bet that her shop was still standing. Peri could hear several buildings falling behind us. The outside buildings were mostly stone and wood; however, marble mostly comprised the interior buildings. There was a lot of wood there and I was just thinking about home being terrible with beef. We had to rebuild everything.

  I didn’t want to think about Johnny Cash. That exact moment, but my city wasn’t ruined, and I still had to beat back the beasts.

  At least my team did.

  The girls spread out. I’m trying to make sure that we had a good premiere between the refugees we were trailing and the tide of spirit piece we’re coming in closer and closer.

  I didn’t blame them for doing. What monster wouldn’t want to at least try human flesh?

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  Still, we held the line while the formations team went to work. The elder patriarch’s enthusiasm for finishing this job on time and for our specifications was keeping me going. He would touch one rune, lighting up, then another, repeating an ever-changing pattern.

  I didn’t know how long was going to take the formations guys to fix this. I just knew that I had to hell the line. Rather than me moving into fighting more of them, the beast started approaching us. We formed a perimeter around our refugees. With several dozen people in the front, evidently cultivators, they were trying their best to hold it down.

  Their ranged attacks, given their cultivation level, surprised me. And then it was me punching wolves one after the other. If you’ve ever wrestled with a toddler, you can understand how you want to keep a light touch. But you want to keep it going because the Tyler’s having a good time. The wolves were having a great time, and I wanted them to stop having any time at all. So whenever one came close enough to snap at me, I reached out and hit it with the end of one of my nun chucks.

  I didn’t have time to delve into their dreams or doing anything fancy. It was just a defensive perimeter that I worked , out. I could sense the minutes on one side of me.

  Lee was definitely on the other side. I knew her aura could. But it was when my newest protégé arrived I knew we were going to hold back.

  Duran had been present when we took the group of refugees into the Red Fang compound. And now, she had left a compound, leaving the safety to join us to fight. I hadn’t even seen her arrive. She looked like she was wearing the most generic cultivator outfit ever. For the first time since I’d seen her, well, the first time since I turned her to our side, she was approaching with a smile. She took a position next to men. Behind us, I could sense someone dancing their way through countless Spirit beasts, even if they were not entirely up to snuff. I could feel the hope of the crowd. Crowd. It was their dream that we survived this encounter. It felt like the will of the people was coming up to me.

  And just like that, my core was full. I knew what was next.

  I’d heard countless tiny lectures from Lee and the rest of the Moon playing about how the more you are on your path of cultivation. The closer you are to attaining some specific ideal. I knew just then what my idea was going to be. I might not execute the world of the people, but I could help them dream of a better life. I could help them execute that. In a sense, they told me what they wanted. They wanted to be free to live a life where Spirit boost like this couldn’t come in and invade their homes and take their brothers and sisters and daughters and sons away from them. They wanted to live in a world where the government actually worked for the people and wasn’t stuck doing superhero level fight in the sky against one opponent. Heck, if I was in the fifth realm right now? I might level this whole playing field on my own.

  I was tired of being a pawning somebody else’s game. I was about to flip the table.

  I was packing more into my core than I could carry.

  This whole business hasn’t orchestrated by an evil cult that just wanted to turn these people into shadow. They wanted something that I would deny them every day of the week. And if I had to burn down this city to save it? I might just do that.

  My meridians opened, and I fully unveiled myself, making sure that to not reach out to four of my nascent soul. Touch them directly, like I was touching them with a finger. I could feel them as if I was looking at them. As if I was hearing their essence with my soul.

  And luckily enough for them, I was ready to advance. These people needed me at the next level. I wanted to, if not be the leader that they wanted, then to become the needed that they need needed. I was going to make a Batman quote later to Maxine, and she was going to get it because she was from my world, and then men were going to laugh about it because she could read my thoughts. And oh God, was she going to ruin a perfectly good Batman joke later?

  I knelt on the ground. The force of my will pushed the horde of spirit beasts back. Thoughts split it across my consciousness. I should have left them where I shouldn’t have even gone here. I should have stayed out. I should have not gone after the Red Fang.

  But the man that would do those things was not the man that I had been or the man that I had become.

  I couldn’t rule it out, but I felt like my long path had taken me here with not just a purpose but a kick in the ass.