Behind the shadow of Cangsen’s stone pillars, Tiyi’s face was like frost.

Her chest heaved deeply. “Qingruo? Is Selys’s next target really Qingruo!?”

Unlike herself, Qingruo’s Sacred Power was no less than Yedi’s. Her combat strength was slightly inferior to Yedi’s, but her willpower was far stronger. A woman like her was impregnable to Selys within the Holy Academy.

So, Selys had to resort to other means to deal with her.

“I never thought such a beautiful woman would take charge of the Holy Temple and slaughter us.”

“Must we fight?”

The kneeling witches, seeing Qingruo’s image in the crystal, found it hard to muster hatred for a moment.

“We must…” The golden short-haired witch kneeling at the back clenched her fists tightly on her robe.

The handmaiden of the Goddess of Night, wearing a moonlight mask, stepped forward. “She is the Empire’s future, a woman destined to devote everything to the Holy Lord. Assassinating her would deal a heavy blow to the Sacred Temple Knights—and the entire Imperial Dynasty.”

For a moment, the witches fell into a heavy silence.

Selys looked at them, stepped back a few paces beneath the massive crystal. Her slender fingers lightly touched Qingruo’s knightly armor through the crystal. This made Tiyi, watching from afar, frown.

The silver mask looked eerie. “But if assassination isn’t easy, there’s another way… seduce her. Use succubus arts to break her vows and make her fall. Without Sacred Power and the Holy Lord’s protection, she’ll be nothing.”

“Hehehe… If we could truly do that,” Selys restrained her seductive laughter slightly, “it would be an even more thorough blow to the Empire and her devout followers.”

To think… Tiyi, hiding behind a distant pillar, felt a tightness in her chest. So it’s true—a succubus would resort to such low tactics when she couldn’t defeat Qingruo? But seducing that woman, pure as snow, would be harder than killing her.

Besides, everyone here was female—how could they seduce her?

Even the Empire’s tallest, most handsome man couldn’t get Qingruo to glance at him. On this, Tiyi was utterly confident.

“Handmaiden,” the small silver-haired witch kneeling at the front asked, “Qingruo Redvini is at the Imperial Sacred Academy. How can we approach her?”

The handmaiden paced on the platform, approaching her. She tilted her head slightly, seeming to smile through the mask. Her alluring body slowly extended a moon-white hand.

Black rays, like higanbana blossoms, coalesced into a ring. Pitch black, it held a gemstone darker still.

“Use this…”

“The Nightshade Ring,” Selys said melodiously, “gathers Night Power to transform its wearer into any form she desires—for a time.”

Dilovei and the other witches looked up at the ring in the tall handmaiden’s grasp, its aura thick with night’s allure.

“Transform into any form? Wearing this, we could infiltrate the Empire’s highest holy institution and war academy—the Holy Academy,” Dilovei marveled.

“Oh… what an incredible thing!” The big-hatted witch licked her lips slightly. The black cat on her shoulder narrowed its pupils to thin lines.

“The Nightshade Ring!”

Tiyi’s heart surged with turmoil. Long ago, she’d heard of this ring—as mere legend. Who’d believe it truly existed?

Right before her eyes?

Tiyi, once lost and near despair, found her thoughts suddenly clear. To others, this ring was just a tool. To her, it could change fate.

If it truly worked as Selys claimed… she’d no reason to lie here.

Then… couldn’t she use it to return to her original form?

Become Yalan Yedi again. Become a man again.

Tiyi had never craved manhood so fiercely.

She knew the ring’s forbidden magic couldn’t truly restore her manhood—only mimic it. It wouldn’t return her strength or the gods’ blessing.

But it was enough.

A huge step from now. With it, she could return to the Holy Academy, to her old life, reclaiming some dignity.

The rest could wait.

This was the crucial first step to reclaiming everything.

If she could get the ring.

“I must get it!”

Tiyi hadn’t reached peak strength by luck. Her decisiveness, speed, and courage flooded back.

Her curvaceous body couldn’t hold that spirit fully—but heat spread through her, her face flushed, fighting spirit reignited.

“Even without the ring, I can’t let them target Miss Qingruo.”

The key was how to get it.

Selys, masked, channeled black magic into a small phoenix. It swallowed the ring.

The phoenix flew to the holy platform’s center—a tall, ancient silver cup before the black crystal, studded with purple gems.

It plunged in, becoming black flames burning fiercely. The ring hovered within them.

Even from afar, Tiyi felt their terrifying power. Taking it by force was impossible.

She turned, leaning against the pillar, breathing deeply. Its hardness and cold against her softness calmed her.

“I can’t force it… Without Sacred Power, I can handle ordinary demons—but not Selys. Not those two witch leaders…”

“So…” Tiyi glanced down at the Witch Mark on her inner thigh—a shame, yet a relief. “I’ll join them temporarily. Compete as a witch. Win the ring!”

“Besides, stealing it isn’t best. Selys might send others to assassinate Qingruo.”

“If I win the selection and approach Qingruo as the ‘assassin,’ I return to my life and protect her.”

“Two birds with one stone!”

Tiyi decided.

The ceremony ended.

The handmaiden dissolved into alluring magic streams, leaving only her robe and silver mask on the platform.

After final prayers, the witches rose to disperse.

“Oh no…” Tiyi startled.

The cathedral’s heavy dark-gold doors creaked open, pushed by several witches.

The blonde and brown-haired witches hurried out first—worried about keeping Tiyi waiting.

“Miss Tiyi?” The blonde witch’s bright blue eyes sparkled.

Tiyi stood right at the entrance.