The next day, when Jie went to Elder Shi for more training, she was worried that perhaps the elders had finally managed to get back on topic and had decided to expel her.

She couldn't care less about the academy, especially after seeing how they treated their students. But, she wanted a chance at revenge, and more importantly, she didn't want to worry Ming. He had more than enough on his plate already.

Jie stepped into the dojo and found Elder Shi seated in a cultivation position. Elder Shi smiled as Jie entered.

"Welcome back," Elder Shi said without opening her eyes.

"So... what happened?" Jie asked.

Elder Shi's grin broadened. "Whatever do you mean?" she asked.

"You know very well what I mean," Jie said.

Elder Shi laughed and opened her eyes. "Everything went smoothly. The other elders got so busy arguing over anything and everything else, and so well reminded of the scores they wished to settle against one another that you slipped their minds. If not for a quick motion by me to make sure they said nothing of note happened, they'd never have addressed it at all. But, it's best not to leave loose ends," she said.

"So... everything is fine? I can still participate in the tournament?" Jie asked.

"Yes," Elder Shi said, "though you'll need to get quite a bit stronger if you wish to ridicule him the way I know you do."

Jie bowed. "Of course," she said, "by the way... could you teach me how to do what you did to the elders?"

Elder Shi laughed, a rich vibrant laughter. "That takes practice. Are you willing to spend less time cultivating and more time socializing?" she asked.

"No," Jie said, "I'm not."

Elder Shi's smile lingered on her lips, but her eyes looked deep and penetrating as though she were trying to peel back all of Jie's secrets.

"Just remember my warning about seeking revenge at all costs. You end up missing out on your life along the way," Elder Shi said.

"Like you?" Jie asked.

Elder Shi's eyes widened ever so slightly before returning to normal in an instant. "What are you talking about?" she asked.

"You keep speaking about it, and I've seen the look in your eye. I can also sense you're far stronger than many of the other elders. And, whenever you look at a member of The Chen family, you look like you want to drown them in blood," Jie said.

Elder Shi's smile turned rigid and unnatural. Her gaze was frosty. "You're perceptive, aren't you?" she said.

Jie shrugged. "So are you going to answer my question?" she asked.

"Perhaps," Elder Shi said, "but not now. You have a tournament to focus on. Just remember my words..."

"I do," Jie said, "and I'm telling you... I don't cultivate for revenge."

"What then?" Elder Shi asked, "Do you take me for a fool? You're a gifted cultivator, but you train and cultivate as though your life depends on it."

"Because it does," Jie said.

"But not revenge?" Elder Shi asked.

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"No," Jie said, "I've had my revenge."

"You... already? But you're still just a child, and so weak. How?" Elder Shi asked.

"I had help," Jie said, "Is that why you want to train me? Do you need help?"

Elder Shi opened and closed her mouth like a goldfish.

"I may not be as used to talking with people as you are, but it doesn't mean I'm stupid. I can figure things out," Jie said.

Elder Shi nodded. "So I see," she said, "but, we'll speak of this another time. You wish to train and train you shall... but one question first... are you truly a child?" she asked.

"Of course," Jie said, "What else would I be?"

Elder Shi stared at her as though trying to see through her. "You're a very strange child, then. But time to train now," she said.

She handed Jie a pill as she always did and then vanished. Jie sat down, placed the pill on her tongue where it melted into a cool liquid that flowed down her throat, and began to cultivate.

By the end of the day, Jie hadn't broken through, but she felt as though she'd made significant progress toward the ninth star of the Adept rank. Her cultivation speed seemed to have suddenly soared.

"Well done on your training today," Elder Shi said, "you're improving rapidly."

"Thank you..." Jie said. Though she frowned.

"What's the problem?" Elder Shi asked.

"It's just... I'm suddenly cultivating faster. I wish to know why, so I can use it to continue improving," Jie said.

"You're cultivating even faster? You really are a little monster... hmm... if you truly weren't cultivating for revenge... then there is one thing it could be," Elder Shi said.

"What?" Jie asked.

"It could be that now you are cultivating for revenge. You have an additional motivation and that carries over into everything you do and increases your abilities," Elder Shi said.

"But... how would that work? I've always heard that negative feelings just make things harder," Jie said.

Elder Shi snorted. "Who told you that? You're a very strange child you know that? One of these days I'm going to get you to tell me where you're from..." Elder Shi said, "There's some small truth to that I suppose... but only if you push too far and end up breaking instead of letting revenge fuel your steady progress while you push your limits further and further and extend them. Besides, everyone knows that emotion can be beneficial to cultivators."

"What? Emotion?" Jie asked.

"Yes," Elder Shi said frowning, "How could you not know that? Everyone does."

"Well, I don't. Please explain it to me," Jie said.

"Well... I can't really. It's not something anyone fully understands. Or at least I've never met anyone who did. A few claimed to, but they were fools or con artists. Or both," Elder Shi said, "But... I can tell you that emotion can greatly benefit your cultivation. Positive and negative emotions both.

"Some say it's because when you allow your emotions to flow through you, it helps with the circulation of qi. Others say that it alters the rhythm of your qi and this creates a positive effect. That qi flows better, that you collect more of it at once and refine it faster, and so on and so forth.

"What you should take away from it is that cultivation can become more effective when fueled by strong emotions. It's part of the reason why so many cultivators put themselves in life-or-death situations.

"Many of them do it because it forces them to put everything they have into it, it forces them to push themselves beyond what they ever thought possible. But it also generates powerful emotions... come to think of it maybe that's why powerful emotions can be so useful for cultivating. Maybe they help push through your limitations... agh I don't know..."

"Is that why you keep saying I should do other things besides just cultivating? Would that be faster for me?" Jie asked.

Elder Shi laughed. "No... I just don't want to see you lose out on your youth the way I did," she said.

"But you're still so young," Jie said, "cultivators live for a long time, so it's not like you don't have time."

"Yes, but you're only a child once," Elder Shi said.

Jie shrugged. "I think that sounds like an excuse. If you want to do something then you should. What would you do differently? What did you miss out on? Why not do it now if it's so important to you?" Jie asked.

Elder Shi paused. "I... I don't know," she said.

"The way I see it, people always say you'll miss out, but who cares about anything you might miss out on when you get to see the people you hate most finally pay for their sins?" Jie said.

"You speak like someone that has already experienced that," Elder Shi said.

"I have," Jie said.

"Was it worth it?" Elder Shi asked.

Jie smiled. "I don't think I can claim to have worked hard for it. My revenge came by luck. But, if you want to know whether it felt good... it did. I'm probably evil for feeling so... but it felt great. Yet... also hollow when it was done. I think no amount of revenge will make up for some things... the hole in your life will still be there..." she said.

Elder Shi nodded and then smiled. "Perhaps there's wisdom in your words... though you don't sound like a child at all," she said.

"I get that a lot," Jie said.