"Hey! Kid! This is a place for third star Adept rank cultivators. Go back where you belong before you get hurt," said a young man. He must've been about fifteen or so from what Jie could tell.

He sounded arrogant, but no more so than anyone she'd met so far.

"Thank you for your concern," Jie said, "would you spar with me?"

The young man's mouth fell open, and he stared at her.

Then, he burst out laughing.

"I'm not going to bully some kid two stars below me. Just go back down to the floors suited for you. Honestly!" said the young man as he walked away.

Jie looked around the room. Everyone who met her eyes snickered. Several nudged their friends and gestured her way, talking among themselves and laughing.

"I don't think anyone here will spar with you unless you taunt them first. Would you like some advice on what to say?" Ming asked.

"Taunt them? Why would I do that?" Jie asked.

"Anyone who fights someone so far beneath their cultivation will lose face win or lose. If they win, they'll be seen as a bully who can't fight those at their own strength. If they lose, they'll be a laughingstock. But, if you give them an excuse many will fight you. Then you can beat them. It'll be good experience," Ming said.

"What? I'm not going to go around being horrible to people just to get them to spar with me!" Jie said.

"Why not? That's a big part of why we're here. So you can spar and improve. So what if you ridicule them? It'll only make them fight you that much fiercer. It'll be good for you," Ming said.

Jie gritted her teeth. "I'm not going to do that," she said.

Ming sighed. "Fine. I suppose you could try out the construct areas. They look well made, though the design isn't what I'm used to. I'd still like it if you sparred with other cultivators though. You'd better enter whatever tournaments they have at least. Then, they'll have to fight you. It'll be great for you!"

Jie suppressed an aggravated sigh at Ming's words and walked over to one of the construct arenas.

The young man who'd spoken with her before shook his head and returned to his training.

Jie jumped down into the arena. Statues lined the walls, and a console rested on a pedestal in the center.

It had no buttons or dials. Just a lever and a large rune.

"How do I use this thing?" she asked.

"Hmm... I think you press your keystone on the rune there and pull the lever," Ming said.

Jie did as Ming said. The second she pulled the lever, the ring hummed and whirred all around her.

But, no construct came down to meet her.

She sighed and pulled the lever again. "Does this thing even work?" she muttered under her breath.

The console sank into the ground, and one of the statues bordering the ring came to life. Its eyes ignited with green flames, and it sprang off its platform and into the ring.

Jie smiled. "Finally!" she said.

The eyes of a second statue ignited, and it too leaped into the ring.

She stood facing two earthen constructs of the third star of the Adept rank.

"Hmm... it would seem that it takes a while to kick in... and you pull the lever for as many opponents as you want. Interesting," Ming said.

The statues charged at Jie with a speed unlike anything she'd fought before.

She jumped backward. They barreled toward her and quickly covered what little ground she'd gained.

"Consider your positioning when you fight. Especially against more than one enemy and don't forget your movement technique. You can't afford to be arrogant here," Ming said.

Jie gritted her teeth and ducked under a glowing green fist, but the second construct lashed out at her with a blazing kick before she could cycle her lightning step technique.

It smashed her square in the chest like a sledgehammer. She flew backward and slammed into the rocky wall.

All the air left her body in a whoosh, the room spun as her legs suddenly felt like jelly, her chest throbbing where she'd been hit.

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The constructs continued to bear down on her without even a slight delay. One reached her, its fist glowing with green flames as it pulled back its arm, ready to deliver a powerful blow to her head.

Jie dropped to the ground and its fist crashed into the rock behind where her head had just been like a comet of green fire. She finally managed to activate her lightning step technique and the world slowed down around her as she darted away from the constructs.

As fast as they were, they weren't fast enough to keep up now that she was taking this seriously, and she got some distance. She looked up at the ring above her, ignoring the crowd of youths that'd gathered to watch her.

Would the constructs deactivate if she left the ring? She wondered.

"Stop running! You are a dragon! You are lightning! Lightning does not retreat! It strikes and decimates everything it touches! Strike them down!" Ming yelled.

Jie turned on her heel and faced the two constructs. Each more than twice her size with arms thicker than her waist.

Her heart pounded, but she forced herself to follow Ming's words. If it weren't for him, she'd still be trapped in a hospital bed. A prisoner in her own body.

She circulated her qi and formed a ball of crackling dragon lightning qi around each of her fists even as she maintained her lightning step technique. Her technique hummed with more power than ever before as she finally felt no need to hold back.

The earthen constructs raced toward her, and their fiery eyes suddenly seemed vastly more terrifying after they'd almost killed her with a punch to the head. But, she steadied her heart. She had to be brave. Had to make Ming proud.

Jie tensed her legs as they drew closer. Just before they reached her, she leaped over them, spinning and turning in mid-air. She landed behind them with an ease and grace that surprised her.

Being made of stone, Jie expected the two constructs to be slow and clumsy in their movements. But the two constructs whirled around to face her even as they continued sliding back in the direction they were initially moving in. Green flame burst to life over their fists and they lunged at her, changing direction with a speed that took Jie by surprise.

Each of them pulled back their right fist for a flaming punch and Jie readied herself, fueling her twin dragonfists with more qi than ever before. Without even a hint of restraint. They struck and so did Jie.

Green fire met crackling, snarling blue dragon lightning qi and time seemed to stop.

Before the constructs could strike out with their free hands, their clashing energies reacted to one another and exploded. A massive boom rang out, echoing throughout the training hall. The ground trembled and a cloud of dust rose up, washing over the arena.

Jie slid backward from the sheer force of the attack. But, so did the constructs.

"Good! Don't give them time! Attack! Attack! Attack! Strike! Decimate everything that dares to stand in your way! Such is the way of lightning!" Ming yelled.

Two new balls of bright blue energy appeared around her fists, and she charged forward once more. Her lightning step skill fueled her speed as she closed the distance between her and the closest earthen construct in an instant.

It swung at her, swirls of green fire coming off its enormous fist.

Jie sidestepped its attack and slammed her fist into its featureless face. An explosion rumbled through the air as bits of rock broke off from the enormous construct.

She felt through her spirit sense how the second one was rushing toward her from behind, and she jumped up without even looking.

Jie sailed high into the air, and the moving statue slammed into its fellow. The pair tumbled to the ground. She flipped through the air and landed a few meters away.

The second her foot touched the ground, she sprang forward again with impossible speed and lashed out at the hulking constructs with her dragonfists.

She threw one punch after another. Each attack sent chunks of rock and stone spraying in every direction and staggered the earthen constructs.

She gave them no time to even try to hit her and pressured them both as best she could. Strike! Strike! Strike! She chanted the words inside her mind as she tore through her enemies.

Her arms were little more than a blur as they flickered out over and over again, each hit more devastating than the last.

Cracks formed in the rocky surface of the constructs. She targeted those cracks and widened them further. The scent of ozone and burning rock saturated the air.

Finally, the earthen constructs managed to meet her ravenous dragon lightning qi with their own green flame, and another boom rang out.

The three of them skidded backward. Jie panted, and sweat ran down her back. But, she smiled despite herself.

The two constructs leaped at her, but she remained still. She drew her qi down over her hands into her dragonfist technique once again. But she pushed more into it than she'd ever dared to before until she felt like her hands would explode from the sheer power they contained.

She put every drop of remaining qi she could into it. Her fists felt as though they were vibrating from the sheer chaotic energy. Electricity snapped and sparked across her skin and clothes, but still, she did not move.

The statues drew closer and closer and wound up their attacks. In that split second they were exposed, Jie sprang forward like a rocket. She slipped through the opening in their technique and slammed her fists into the wide cracks on the statues' chests.

Her dragonfists exploded with more power than ever before, and the constructs burst apart in a shower of debris that smashed into the arena wall and rained down in smoking, blackened shards of stone all around her.

Jie fell to one knee, panting.

The audience of youths stared at her in stunned silence, many with open mouths and wide eyes.

Ming gave her an approving nod.

"That's not bad, but you need a lot more practice. You should spar here with the constructs or the other students at least once a day. Once you have some combat experience, you can move up to the next floor," Ming said.

Jie dusted herself off and left the ring, the third star Adept rank students parted like the red sea before her.

She smirked and strode forward. Though she didn't care what others thought, it amused her to wipe the condescension off their faces.

Ming chuckled. "You're going to end up just as arrogant as the rest of us," he said.

Jie deflated a bit, but her smile remained. The battle had been exhilarating, and she already felt how her cultivation was much more stable now. Though it would take a bit of time to recover. Now it was time to eat and cultivate some more.

She went down the stairs.

"Hey! Here she is! Hey, first star Adept how'd you like getting thrashed up there?" asked the students as she walked past them. She just smiled at them and continued on her way.

She stepped out of the training hall, gulped in a lungful of the brisk night air, and sighed. Life was awesome.