“Uncle De, what gave you your power?” I asked curiously.

Uncle De rolled his eyes. “Take a look at me. Do I seem like someone with noble blood?”

Not really.

So it must be sheer willpower, then.

“Willpower comes in many forms—even the examples you just mentioned,” I pressed on, insatiably curious. “Uncle De, what specific willpower granted *you* your strength?”

The stroller slowed. Uncle De unconsciously stroked his beard and hedged, “Well… nothing grand. Not worth mentioning.”

“No worries. Caring for nature isn’t grand either. Small thoughts count too.”

“Aiyah, stop asking! You youngsters just have too many questions.”

Sensing his reluctance, I switched topics. “Then, Uncle De—do you know someone from the Holy See named An Li? The *really* powerful one?”

“She’s a heavyweight,” Uncle De said. “Level 18+. Naturally, I know *of* her. She doesn’t know me.”

“Level 18?”

“The strength classification once published by the Holy See and the Illuminati. Only twenty levels total.”

I paused. “So… what level qualifies as Transcendent Realm?”

Uncle De blinked in surprise. “You know about the Transcendent Realm? Huh. Not completely clueless. But there’s no grading *within* it. Level 20 is this realm’s peak. The entire Holy See has zero Transcendent Realm powerhouses… though their backers in Haiwen Heaven have plenty.”

“What about the Queen of Night?” I pressed eagerly. “How strong is she? What’s her level?”

His expression darkened slightly. “You mean that recent emergence—the Holy See’s sworn enemy? She’s even stronger than An Li. Rumor says she’s nearing Transcendent Realm strength.”

He glanced down at me. “Why’s a little girl digging into these names? Don’t get foolish ideas about provoking them.”

I shook my head helplessly. *I don’t want to provoke them—they’re the ones coming after me.*

One wants to capture me as evolution material. The other wants to imprison me.

Life… no, *ghost* life is tough.

“Anyway,” Uncle De rambled, “the Holy See may lack a Queen-of-Night-tier powerhouse, but they’ve got plenty of experts. Any one could handle this Level 13 evil spirit. They *did* send someone—back at Dingsheng Square, the spirit’s main torso got blasted off. Pity I missed who it was.”

I smirked smugly. *Finally, intel superiority.* But I wouldn’t tell him it was An Li—the very “Holy See powerhouse” he’d just described.

“Blasted the torso, but didn’t kill it. It escaped,” I murmured. “Even with that level gap… still couldn’t finish it.”

Uncle De pushed the stroller up the steps. “Unavoidable. This evil spirit draws power from Hell—from the demon Mammon. Tricky. Without uncovering its patterns, even stronger fighters are helpless.”

He stood before the building, rang the bell. “I’ve been on this case over a month. Slowly pieced together some patterns.”

“What are they? Tell me!” I exclaimed, thrilled.

This sneaky outing paid off. Bringing this intel back? An Li won’t scold me—she’ll praise me. *But Luo Xiaoxiao the Great won’t forgive her that easily. She must steal a few vials of “Loli E Xue” first.*

*How dare you underestimate me.*

“No rush. We’ll talk later. Key patterns still need verification,” Uncle De said, heaving the stroller inside. “First—Benefactor Li’s place. Take the coin, solve the curse.”

“Says the guy who hasn’t solved it yet.”

“I’m *working* on it! Decode the spirit’s patterns, get Holy See experts to handle it—that’s solving the curse *macro*-style.”

I froze. Huh. He wasn’t wrong.

Li Guanggui lived on the fifth floor. Uncle De huffed and puffed the stroller up. The door opened. The bandaged man greeted us warmly:

“Master Zhengde! Please, come in! We’ve been waiting. Trouble hit the hospital—I rushed home with my wife and kids, worried sick. Thank goodness you’re here!”

He chattered on, then his eyes landed on me. His whole body stiffened.

“What is it, Guanggui? Guest’s here—invite them in!” his wife called from inside. “Sigh… a little fuss is fine. These times… hard to understand…”

She stepped out, nudging him. “Spacing out again? What’re you staring at?”

Li Guanggui jabbed a finger at me, joy bursting forth. “Wife! Look! This is the little girl who took down that leather-suited monster—in *one move*!”