Zhou Ming didn't even have the decency to wait for a signal to begin.

  The moment Senior Sister Liu stepped back, he charged at me.

  I barely had time to bring up my defenses as his fist was traveling toward my face.

  I tilted my head to the side, feeling the air displace as his fist whizzed past my nose.

  My heart was pounding in my chest.

  He was fast. A lot faster than the outer disciples I'd trained with.

  I tried to create some distance between us, stepping two times backward quickly.

  But, Zhou Ming quickly closed the gap with masterful footwork that left behind afterimages.

  He kicked at my leading leg with a low kick.

  I checked the kick with my shin, and the force sent a shockwave of pain upward through my leg.

  Checking leg kicks had been drilled into me back on Earth until it was almost an unconscious reaction.

  The muscle memory saved me in this situation.

  However, Zhou Ming did not stop. He followed up with a direct punch to my solar plexus.

  I twisted my torso and allowed the punch to graze off of my ribcage rather than take it directly on the chest.

  Even though the punch grazed off of me, it still hurt.

  The power behind the punch was significantly greater than any of the outer disciples at Qi Condensation Stage 1 that I had been training with. This was not merely technique; this was the raw physical power of someone at Qi Condensation Stage 6.

  I needed to think.

  Since I could not keep up with his speed or match his physical strength, I had to find a different way to succeed.

  Zhou Ming attacked me once more, this time using a combination of punches.

  I dodged the jab, blocked the cross with my forearm, and ducked underneath the hook.

  My forearms were already beginning to ache due to the multiple impacts, and each block felt like I was blocking a large wooden club rather than a fist.

  To everyone watching, they probably thought that I was getting destroyed, and they were right to think that – I really was.

  But I was also learning his rhythm.

  Zhou Ming liked to work in combinations of three that were predictable.

  Jab, cross, hook.

  Low kick, mid kick, high kick.

  Punch, punch, kick.

  He probably didn’t think it was worth mixing it up against a Stage 1 Qi Condensation Realm cultivator.

  And that was his mistake.

  He used another set of three to attack me. Jab, cross, hook.

  I slid past the jab, blocked the cross, but instead of ducking beneath the hook like last time, I closed in on him very closely. So close, that the hook passed over my shoulders harmlessly.

  Zhou Ming's eyes widened ever so slightly. He did not expect me to close in on him.

  I drove my elbow up toward his chin.

  It was a dirty tactic, a maneuver that was common in a real fight but probably not accepted in sparring. But I did not care. If he was going to try to bully me, then I would use every resource I possessed.

  The elbow connected.

  It wasn’t a clean hit.

  Zhou Ming was able to pull his head back at the last moment, so I wasn’t able to strike him squarely on the chin, and instead I hit him on the jaw.

  But I felt the impact. It was a solid hit.

  The courtyard went silent.

  Zhou Ming took a step back, his hand going to his jaw. He touched it carefully, then looked at his fingers as if checking for blood. There wasn't any, but that didn't matter.

  I had landed a hit on him.

  A Stage 1 outer disciple had just successfully landed a blow on a Stage 6 inner disciple.

  Zhou Ming's facial expression changed instantly. His smirk disappeared, and was replaced by something ugly. His eyes grew cold.

  I realised the mistake I made instantly.

  I had humiliated him.

  And even though he deserved it, I didn’t have the ability to protect myself from the retaliation.

  “You little—,” Zhou Ming said and charged forward. This time, he had no restraint.

  He moved much faster than before, driven by anger. His first punch came at me like a sledgehammer. I attempted to block the punch, but the force behind the punch knocked my arm to the side, and his follow-up punch slammed into my stomach.

  The air was forced out of my lungs.

  I bent at the waist, gasping for air, and Zhou Ming grabbed the back of my robes. He pulled me toward him while simultaneously kicking out my legs from under me.

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  The world spun.

  Then, I hit the ground. Hard.

  The back of my body slammed into the stone courtyard with enough force that I saw stars. Pain shot through my spine. I tried to take a breath, but my diaphragm still had not fully recovered from the gut punch.

  Zhou Ming stood above me, his fist raised as if he was about to smash it into my face.

  “Zhou Ming.”

  Senior Sister Liu spoke, her voice slicing through the courtyard like a knife.

  She did not yell. She did not need to. The authority in her voice was absolute.

  Zhou Ming froze with his fist still raised.

  “Step away,” Senior Sister Liu ordered.

  Zhou Ming gradually lowered his fist, but the anger still burned within his eyes.

  Senior Sister Liu walked toward where I lay on the ground, then turned to face Zhou Ming. Her expression was blank, but there was something terrifying in the way she looked at him.

  “This is a training exercise,” she said quietly. “Not a fight on the streets. These outer disciples are here to learn, not to be injured by someone who can't control their temper.”

  “He disrespected—" Zhou Ming started.

  “He landed a hit on you,” Senior Sister Liu interrupted. “And that shows he has skill and awareness. Which is exactly what this sparring session is meant to test. Your role as his sparring partner was to challenge him, not to punish him for succeeding.”

  Zhou Ming's jaws clenched tight, but he didn’t say anything.

  “If you are unable to manage your composure during these training sessions,” Senior Sister Liu continued, “you will not receive the contribution points that you are doing this for. Do you understand?”

  Contribution points. Now it made sense why inner disciples were taking time out of their cultivation to help with our training.

  Zhou Ming's expression shifted. Anger remained, but calculation joined it. He was weighing his options. His pride versus the potential resources that those contribution points might provide.

  Finally, he bowed stiffly.

  “I understand, Senior Sister.”

  “Good.” Senior Sister Liu said. “Return to your position.”

  Zhou Ming backed away from me. His face was expressionless.

  I heard footsteps approaching, and I turned my head to see Wei Lin and Lin Mei rushing toward me. They each grabbed one of my arms and helped me up onto my feet.

  “Are you okay?” Lin Mei asked, her brow furrowed with concern.

  “I’m fine.”

  It was a lie. My back throbbed with pain. My stomach felt like I had swallowed rocks. Each breath I took was difficult.

  However, I was not about to display weakness here. Not in front of Zhou Ming, who was still scowling at me. Not in front of the other disciples, who were watching to determine how I would respond. So, I straightened up, trying my best to ignore the many painful sensations all over my body competing for my attention.

  "That," Wei Lin patted my shoulder, "was either incredibly brave or incredibly stupid. I'm still deciding which, but either way, I made a fortune betting on you lasting more than two minutes!"

  Of course he did.

  But I couldn't think about spirit stones right now, my thoughts were still on how badly I got beaten.

  If Senior Sister Liu hadn't intervened when she did, Zhou Ming probably would have put me in the infirmary.

  And this was just the beginning. There would be more Zhou Mings. More people who were stronger than me that could potentially abuse me if they wanted to.

  I was powerless, and I hated feeling powerless.

  On Earth, I was average at everything. Average grades, average job opportunities, average life. But I at least decided what I wanted to do (for the most part). Here, strength defined everything. And at the moment, I was weak.

  That needed to change.

  Quickly.

  ***

  After class, Wei Lin suggested that we go out to eat like we normally have been doing the past month.

  “I don't think I'll go today,” I said. “I'm tired. I just want to rest.”

  Lin Mei looked worried. “Are you sure you're alright? That was a pretty tough spar.”

  “I'm fine. Really. Just need some alone time.”

  Wei Lin looked at me for a moment, then nodded.

  “Okay. But if you need anything, you can always buy it from me. Don’t waste your money on the sect healers.”

  I blinked at his concern.

  Of course that’s what he was worried about.

  Losing business.

  I returned to Dormitory Three.

  My cell felt even smaller than normal when I entered. The narrow bed, the basic desk, the one window looking out into the courtyard. This was my entire world currently. This tiny cell in a vast sect filled with people who could easily break me without expending a significant amount of effort.

  I sat down on the bed and closed my eyes.

  Feeling angry was unproductive. Feeling defeated was unproductive.

  What I needed to do was become stronger.

  At that moment, I made a promise to myself.

  I would advance. I would cultivate faster than anyone expected. I would reach a level at which people like Zhou Ming could not simply throw me around anytime they pleased.

  I didn’t need to be the strongest. I only needed to be sufficiently strong that I was not an easy target.

  With that in mind, I moved to sit cross-legged on the floor and began my breathing exercises.

  The technique was simple. Breathe in slowly through the nostrils to draw spiritual energy from the surrounding environment into my body. Hold the breath for five seconds so the energy can circulate throughout my meridians. Then slowly exhale through the mouth to guide the energy into my inner world.

  Inhale. Hold. Exhale. Repeat.

  During the first few rounds of breathing, my thoughts kept drifting back to the sparring match. To the sensation of Zhou Ming's fist striking my stomach. To the embarrassment of having been tossed onto the ground as if I were insignificant.

  I pushed those thoughts away and focused again on the breathing.

  Inhale. Hold. Exhale.

  About twenty minutes into the breathing, I began to feel my consciousness drifting inward.

  The outside world faded away, and I was once again immersed in the familiar sensation of floating in darkness.

  Then I was there. Inside my inner world.

  Azure was standing in the middle of the small area. He appeared concerned.

  “Master, are you injured?”

  “I'm fine,” I said for the third time today.

  Maybe if I kept saying it, it would eventually become true.

  Azure didn’t look like he believed me, but I’m glad he didn’t ask any more questions.

  “Let's focus on cultivating,” I said. “I need to grow stronger.”

  For the rest of the evening, Azure guided me through the process of drawing more spiritual energy into my inner world, helping me compress and refine it.

  It was tedious, and mentally exhausting work, but I kept at it.

  I didn’t know how long it had been when I sensed something was different.

  The boundaries defining the size of my inner world, the walls that were invisible, suddenly grew larger. The space that had been approximately 2 meters in radius doubled. Four meters now. The expansion occurred so rapidly that I became dizzy.

  “Master, you have broken through!” Azure’s eyes widened. “You are now at Qi Condensation Stage 2!”

  I looked around at the larger space surrounding me.

  A breakthrough. I had done it.

  According to what Senior Sister Liu told us, the majority of outer disciples spent several months at stage 1 before advancing. I had achieved it in around a month.

  Cultivation: Qi Condensation Stage 2

  Inner World: Radius of 4 meters

  Soul Essence: 101

  Spiritual Essence: 15

  Physical Essence: 14

  A smile crept across my face.

  Maybe I really was talented. Maybe all those novels about transmigrants having cheat-like cultivation rates weren’t entirely unrealistic. My unusually high Soul Essence should count for something, right? And right now, it was coming in clutch.

  But before I could fully appreciate the sensation of achievement, something else changed.

  I felt a tug on my soul.

  It was light at first, like someone gently tugging on the corner of a blanket.

  Not even noticeably.

  Then it got stronger.

  The tugging sensation grew stronger and stronger, becoming more forceful. It was as though invisible hands had wrapped themselves around my soul and were dragging it somewhere.

  “Azure,” I called out, struggling to keep fear from my voice. “What’s going on?”

  Azure's facial expression went from pride to confusion to alarm in a matter of seconds.

  “I don't know, Master. This isn't typical of the cultivation process.”

  The tugging grew stronger. From a gentle tug to a powerful yank.

  I tried to stop it, tried to stay connected to my body, but it was like trying to hang onto a rope while being dragged by a truck.

  “Master!” Azure reached for me.

  “Azure, I—”

  It was too late, my soul was ripped away from Ke Yin’s body.

  And everything went dark.