She ran up to the eighth floor.

The second she stepped out onto the eighth floor, she reached out with her spirit sense and felt their auras. Most at the fourth star of the Adept rank. A few higher. A handful at the third star of the Adept rank.

At the first star of the Adept rank, Jie was the lowest ranked cultivator in the room.

And she didn't care.

A satyr girl approached Jie. She gave off an aura of the fourth star of the Adept rank. Though her aura was of a higher quality than most around her. She looked at least a few years older than Jie, though it was hard to tell since she wasn't exactly human. A pair of horns curved back over her wavy hair and a pair of goat legs showed below her elegant, light golden robes.

"Have you no shame?" asked the satyr girl, "this floor is for those of the fourth star of the Adept rank. You sully it by being here. Leave."

"I'm here to stabilize my cultivation in battles that actually challenge me. It's not my fault nothing on the floors below can do so," Jie said.

The girl's eyebrow twitched.

"So arrogant..." she said.

"Would you like to spar with me?" Jie asked, innocently.

The older girl scoffed. "As if you're worthy of facing me," she said.

As Jie looked at the girl, faced with her arrogant tone and the fact that Ming needed her to be stronger... no matter what. She threw aside her previous decision not to taunt anyone into sparring with her.

"I understand if you're afraid," Jie said sweetly, "another time maybe?"

All eyes were on them. The older girl looked at everyone around them and then back at Jie. She narrowed her eyes.

"Fine," she said, "but don't blame me when you get hurt."

Jie and the older girl leaped down into one of the sparring arenas.

"You never told me your name, by the way. I'm Liu Jie, and you are?" Jie said.

The older girl flicked her long hair back over her shoulder. "Pan Tian," she said, "but don't think I'll take it easy on you, brat. You need to learn your place."

Jie smiled and rotated her qi. Electricity crackled over her fingers. "That's what I'm hoping," she said.

Pan Tian shook her head. "We'll see what you say after my first attack," she said. She sounded somewhat regretful which surprised Jie for a moment.

Resplendent, pure white qi covered her fingernails and grew out from them into long talons of qi. She bent her goat legs as she cycled a technique of some kind.

Pan Tian launched herself forward with an incredible burst of speed. A shimmering wall of resplendent qi covered the front of her body as though she'd turned into a blazing white comet. She left a trail of glowing white qi in her wake as she rocketed toward Jie.

Jie's eyes widened and she leaped aside as fast as she could, getting out of the way of Pan Tian's charge skill.

But Pan Tian canceled the skill just as Jie thought she'd escaped. The older girl whirled on her, turning her body in mid-air as she swiped at Jie with her long, gleaming claws.

Jie leaned back, still moving through the air, as Pan Tian's claws stretched out toward her face.

Long glowing claws narrowly missed Jie's eye, one claw barely scratching the surface of Jie's cheek as the rest merely sent the breeze of their passing over Jie's skin. Jie gathered her qi around her fist, putting more power into the attack than usual as her opponent was so many stars above her and far swifter than the earthen constructs she'd fought before.

Jie felt her foot touch down on the arena floor and pushed back in, moving back toward the other girl and exploiting her greater agility to punch Pan Tian in the face as she rocketed past.

Blue lightning crackled and exploded against the older girl's cheek and sent her off course, causing her to stagger slightly.

Pan Tian turned to face Jie and brought her fingers to her face where Jie had hit her and probed at the skin. Her mouth was wide open, the disbelief plain on her face.

"You... hit me?" Pan Tian asked as though she didn't quite believe it.

Jie touched her own cheek, then looked at her fingers and the faint red stain now upon them. Her cheek suddenly felt hot as it burned slightly.

"I could say the same," Jie said.

"I was gentle on you," Pan Tian said, "but if you insist on continuing this... it looks like I'll have to get serious. I'm warning you, if we continue, you'll die."

Jie nodded. "My master always said I need to be pressured to grow. Besides, you're the first person I've met who can handle my attacks," she said.

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Pan Tian smiled. "Ready yourself then!" she said.

Pan Tian's long, shining claws lengthened several inches, and the aura they gave off suddenly became far more threatening.

Jie stared hard at the older girl, studying her carefully as she cycled her lightning step technique to a far higher degree than she normally needed to. But, with someone so far above her, she had no choice but to take it seriously.

Without moving from where she stood, Pan Tian slashed at the empty air between them. An arc of silver-white qi sliced through the air straight toward Jie like a crescent blade that shot toward her.

Jie dodged to the side as fast as she could, and the arc of energy smashed into the ground where she'd been standing. A cloud of dust rose up around her knees, and a long gash remained in the sand.

"That's impressive," Jie said.

"I'm glad you think so," Pan Tian said, "are you sure you don't want to back out now?"

"When we've only just started? Not a chance," Jie said as she formed a dragonfist around each of her fists.

"Very well," Pan Tian said, her legs bending in the telltale sign of the charge she'd used earlier.

Pan Tian rocketed forward, and this time Jie did the same. The two of them flew at one another like a pair of charging beasts. Jie's fists all but vibrated with power as she struck out against the energy barrier covering Pan Tian.

Crackling blue qi met resplendent white and exploded, knocking both of them backward as a tremendous cloud of dust and sand washed over the arena. But they both quickly regained their footing and leaped back at one another. One attack after another shook the ring and all those watching held their breaths.

"A first star is holding out against Pan Tian? Who is she?" muttered one of the students.

"She said her name was Liu something or other... I've never heard of her... have you?"

After yet another in a series of countless exchanges, Jie skidded backward, panting. Sweat glistened on her snow-white skin, stinging wherever it touched the shallow gashes that marred her skin and her blue hair clung to her neck.

Across from her, Pan Tian panted as well. Her fine robes were disheveled from Jie's relentless attacks and her tanned skin was discolored by several bruises. But, Jie's qi was running low and she knew that the older girl's higher cultivation meant that she had a far larger reserve of qi to draw upon. Not to mention she seemed more experienced with fighting.

"You're stronger than I expected," Jie said.

Pan Tian smirked. "That's rich coming from you. You should be a bloody paste by now," she said, "Are you truly only at the first star of the Adept rank?"

"Yes. I broke through yesterday," Jie said.

Pan Tian shook her head. "Not even a late first star? I'm embarrassed. Ready yourself!" she said.

Pan Tian swiped at the air, sending two dazzling arcs of gleaming white qi through the air heading straight for Jie.

Jie leaped over them, but as she sailed over them, Pan Tian slashed her qi claws and sent a third and fourth arc straight toward Jie.

Unable to dodge in mid-air, Jie punched the arcs of bright white qi. They exploded on contact with her fists. She flew backward through the air, somersaulted, and landed on her feet once again.

Pan Tian slashed through the air again, and Jie leaped to the side, pushing her lightning step technique to its maximum.

She sped around the arena, circling Pan Tian so fast that even those observing had trouble keeping track of her despite being several stars above her.

Pan Tian released one arc after another, her qi supply seemingly inexhaustible to Jie. It only made Jie even more certain than before that she dared not get into a battle of stamina with the older girl.

Jie frowned. Ming was right, she needed practice. She saw that now even more than against the constructs.

Another arc of qi slammed into the wall just barely missing her.

"Stop running! You wanted to spar so spar!" Pan Tian shouted.

Jie ignored what the other girl had to say and instead focused her racing mind entirely on the fight.

Her previous strikes had barely injured the older girl. She needed a clean hit and far more power. To get that... she needed to close the distance...

She kept running, but this time she didn't turn slightly and instead raced straight toward the wall of the arena.

"Ha! See that? She's just running away. What a coward," said one of the students observing the fight.

"So you think you could take Pan Tian then? Yeah... that's what I thought, and she's three stars lower than you. Who's the coward now?" replied another.

Pan Tian released another arc of bright white qi that flew to the side of Jie, where she would have to go unless she planned on running headfirst into the wall.

Which was good because that's exactly what she planned.

The arc of qi exploded against the stone, but Jie ignored it and leaped up at the stone wall. She turned in mid-air, so her feet landed on the stone, and then jumped off, completely changing her trajectory. Suddenly shooting toward the older girl even as Jie channeled her crackling qi down to her fists.

Pan Tian's eyes went wide as Jie sped toward her, both fists gathering crackling blue power.

Pan Tian slashed at the air again and again, sending one arc after another at Jie. But Jie just side-stepped time and time again, barely even slowing down as she raced toward the older girl.

"Why won't you just stand still!" Pan Tian said as another boom rumbled behind Jie.

Jie gritted her teeth as she gathered more qi than ever before around her fists, preparing for a strike that she hoped wouldn't outright kill the older girl.

Pan Tian raised her claws to block, but Jie didn't meet her head on and instead slid around to the girl's side as she threw her dragonfist at the girl's hip.

Jie's fist connected with a thunderous boom that sent bright blue dragon lightning qi arcing over the older girl's body. Pan Tian cried out, but it was drowned out by Jie's attack. With her guard lowered, Jie followed up with a second dragonfist to the girl's stomach. Dragon lightning qi exploded, the air rumbled, and Pan Tian tumbled across the arena.

The sight of the older girl rolling across the ground rather than springing to her feet as she had before made Jie suddenly feel cold as she snapped out of the fight. Belatedly realizing that in her desire to win, she'd let herself get carried away.

Jie covered her mouth with her hands as her eyes went wide. "Oh my god! Are you okay?" she said.

The older girl pushed herself up on shaking arms and spat out a mouthful of blood. Pan Tian tried to get up, but the second she put weight on the section of hip Jie had struck, she collapsed once more.

"I... concede," Pan Tian said.

Murmurs rippled through the crowd, and Jie helped the older girl to her feet.

"How are you so strong?" Pan Tian asked as she rose to one leg, with Jie acting the part of her crutch.

"I train hard," Jie said, "You're pretty good yourself."

Pan Tian smiled bitterly. "I can't believe you just humiliated me like that," she said.

Jie looked at the crowd who still muttered among themselves. "Sorry about that..." she said, guilt gripping her heart.

Pan Tian laughed and then groaned. "I think I'm going to go see the healers... ow. I want a rematch later," she said.