The column Jie was on sank down slowly and she found herself on the stage once more. Everyone was hurrying off to their next distraction and Jie frowned. Why would anyone go to a feast? That seemed absurd. Why wouldn't they just cultivate and train? Didn't they want to get stronger?
Jie shook her head and found her own way through a more discrete exit from the arena.
"I thought you might come this way," Elder Shi said, "Not a fan of crowds are you?"
"Just not used to them," Jie said, "Tell me... why do they waste their time with a feast?"
Elder Shi blinked but quickly recovered and smiled. "Not everyone is like us," she said.
"Why not? I thought strength was all that mattered in this world?" Jie said.
Elder Shi narrowed her eyes. "The way you say this world... are you perhaps from another one?" she asked.
Jie kept her face expressionless. "You didn't answer my question," she said.
Elder Shi scoffed. "I could say the same," she said and her eyes lingered on Jie as though probing her for secrets, "still... not everyone is as disciplined as you are. Strength may be all that matters, but many want to take the time to enjoy life. Most people only want the strength to get something. Money, sex, status... many things are valuable to people besides raw power."
"That's just ridiculous," Jie said.
"Oh?" Elder Shi said.
"None of those things matter as much as power. Without power, everything you have will be taken from you," Jie said.
Elder Shi studied Jie for a long moment. "There is truth to your words. But, it's a harsh lesson few get the chance to learn from," she said, "so what will you do to celebrate your accomplishment?"
"I think I'll return to training," Jie said, "I thought this tournament would put me under severe pressure to improve, but it didn't. I might study the scrolls later, but I want to know about the Cultivation and Conditioning Chambers. I didn't hear anything about them during the tour."
"You wouldn't," Elder Shi said, "They're treasures for those in the Crimson Academy. Using them is one of the perks of being an elder here. Very few students will ever set foot inside them, so talking about them is pointless."
"So... are they good?" Jie asked, "What do they do?"
Elder Shi smiled. "The Cultivation Chamber gathers Essence using a sophisticated array and channels it into a very small space. The Essence inside the room is so dense it's like steam. Few can handle such dense Essence. You should be alright though and it will be extremely good for your cultivation.
"The Conditioning Chamber puts you in a hostile environment that exerts tremendous pressure on you. It helps to stabilize your cultivation base, remove impurities and toxins from your body, and toughens you up considerably. Some have undergone a massive shift in their entire bodies after sustained usage," she said.
Jie nodded. "I think I'll try the Cultivation Chamber then. My qi feels fine to me, so I don't see that it could cause an issue," she said.
"Perhaps... though your qi always feels both stable and unstable at the same time to me. It's so... wild," Elder Shi said, "but... I don't think that's an issue in your particular case. Follow me, I'll take you there. You can book when you'd like to use it."
Jie pouted. She had to book her time? She couldn't just go in? That sucked.
Jie followed Elder Shi and smiled as the wind whipped her face and her long, blue hair trailed behind her. It felt amazing. This world felt amazing. Even with the weird culture, she couldn't deny that she'd choose this life a hundred times over in place of her old one.
Though they moved so swiftly that many of the students saw nothing more than a blur as they passed, it still took an hour before they finally stopped in front of the building Jie assumed to be the Cultivation Chamber.
It looked almost like a massive cylinder. The base sparkled in the afternoon light as though it were made entirely of diamonds, other than that it was featureless. Not even a door. From there, it met with a cylindrical spiral shape that reached up into the clouds high above. Through her spirit sense, Jie felt huge amounts of Essence being sucked toward this building. Not unlike when Ming cultivated.
Idly, she wondered why nobody had questioned her about the fact her residence sucked up Essence like a black hole.
"Hmm..." Elder Shi said, "I think it's empty. Let's go have a look."
Elder Shi strode up to the glimmering base of the building and pressed her hand against it.
"Elder Shi recognized," said a hollow voice, seeming to originate from the building itself.
"The building talks?" Jie asked.
"Heavens no!" Elder Shi said with a laugh, "With me is Liu Jie. Will you reveal yourself to her, Guardian?"
There was a pause, then a sound like glass rubbing together and a figure emerged from the crystal. It had arms, legs, and a head, but no face. No eyes, ears, or any other features. Just blank, glittering crystal.
"This is the one who guards the Cultivation Chamber. I'd suggest not angering him. I'm not sure if he's stronger than the Headmaster or not. Either way... his word is law when it comes to this chamber. It's the sole thing he guards, and his only concern," Elder Shi said, "Guardian? When is the Cultivation Chamber ready to be used again?"
Stolen story; please report.
"It is currently available," said the Guardian, "however, you have used your allotted time already, Elder Shi."
"But, Liu Jie has not. Have you been informed yet?" Elder Shi asked.
"Yes," said the Guardian, "Headmaster Siluvius granted her permission early this morning."
Jie's eyebrows shot up. This morning? But she hadn't even won by then!
Elder Shi took one look at Jie's incredulous face and laughed. "What did you expect? Very little happens in this school without him knowing. You've been practicing against cultivators that would squash Chen Huo like an insect. Not unlike how you did. Of course, he knew you would win," she said.
Jie's cheeks heated. "So... I can go in?" she asked.
"Yes," said The Guardian.
"Is there anything I should know?" Jie asked, looking at Elder Shi.
"Should you faint, or die while in the chamber, you will be removed and it will count as a full use. Other than that, you may stay in the chamber as long as you wish," said the Guardian.
Losing a use on death? Wasn't that kind of pointless? Well... whatever.
"Just make sure not to go longer than you can handle," Elder Shi said.
"But, I thought this was just for cultivating? It sounds like you're talking about the Conditioning Chamber," Jie said.
Elder Shi laughed. "It has so much Essence that it's dangerous. You can easily get overwhelmed by it, create instability in your dantian... even have it explode. I think you'll be safe though. Remember to book your next session if you want to do it soon after! Good luck!" she said. With that, she vanished in a swirl of purple smoke.
Jie grumbled under her breath. She hated how the elders loved to vanish like that. One day she'd be stronger and they'd get to know what it felt like...
"I'm ready to enter," Jie said.
The Guardian said nothing, but the crystal in the wall of the building retracted until the opening was visible. Although, the doorway shimmered as though an energy barrier barred the way.
"Walk through and enter. Should you wish to leave, slap the floor three times in quick succession," the Guardian said.
Jie gave the Guardian a respectful bow and entered the building. The energy passed over her as though walking through a silk curtain and the thick Essence hit her like a wall. Every breath filled her with Essence as though drowning in it. Jie coughed and dropped to the floor in a lotus position where she focused her full attention on her cultivation technique.
Essence filled her like water gushing from a hundred broken dams and raged within her lower dantian where she spun it faster and faster, refining it as quickly as she could. It took immense effort to rotate it just because of the sheer amount of it and each breath brought more Essence into her, so she couldn't even get used to it. The only way she could reduce the strain would be to turn it into qi, but of course, she dared not refine it anything less than perfectly or she'd badly damage her cultivation base. If she survived it.
Jie sat absolutely still, a frown on her otherwise calm face as she bent all her concentration on her task. In seconds, sweat beaded her brow and trickled down her neck and back, but she paid it no attention. She detonated the Essence in the final stage of her cultivation technique over and over again. She gritted her teeth against the pain. It had become so easy that she could do it without much effort, but the sheer mass of Essence made every explosion tear through her body. And, she couldn't stop as there was already more Essence along the process of refinement.
The pain of each explosion started as a light sting that settled quickly. But it steadily grew until each time she successfully added new dragon lightning qi to her qi pool felt like an angry demon was ripping her apart.
But Jie remained seated and soaked up Essence as the hours passed...
***
Somehow, rumors had spread about Jie entering the Cultivation Chamber. Many excited students, and a few Elders, stopped by to see her when she emerged.
Only, she hadn't emerged. The Guardian said she was indeed still inside, so they hadn't missed her, but they'd been waiting for hours. With each passing minute, the crowd grew as curious people drifted over to it.
Among these people was Elder Shi. An hour ago, she'd begun to wonder if Jie had decided not to train for the rest of the day, but she should've known better. She ought to return to her own training, but she gleaned a great deal of enjoyment from watching the muttering crowd. Her disciple was a monster among monsters, and she loved it when that fact gradually dawned on others.
Of course, the little genius would probably die early as most geniuses did, but if Jie survived... Elder Shi's smile grew bloodthirsty... Jie could help her achieve her greatest dreams.
"So, how long has your little prodigy been inside?" Headmaster Siluvius asked.
Elder Shi didn't flinch though she hadn't even sensed the man. It further reinforced how far away her goals truly were... despite how hard she'd worked.
"Seven hours now," Elder Shi said.
Headmaster Siluvius gave a low whistle. "Most of the elders can't handle being in there for that long," he said, "are you sure she's not damaging her cultivation by now?"
Elder Shi shook her head. "She wouldn't do that. She pushes herself hard, but she wouldn't allow it to damage her cultivation. That would hold her back. That girl hates being held back," she said.
Headmaster Siluvius nodded. "She caused quite a stir today. I don't suppose you had anything to do with that?" he asked.
Elder Shi fluttered her eyelashes. "Me?" she asked.
The Headmaster's gaze remained firm.
Elder Shi sighed. "You're turning into such a grouch," she said.
Headmaster Siluvius remained silent, his eyes boring into her, demanding an answer.
"No," Elder Shi said, "I didn't. Well... I might've given her a little advice here or there, but what she did was all her. She hates the Chen family."
"There's a lot of that going around these days," Headmaster Siluvius said dryly.
The hours ticked by and the crowd's muttering grew with each passing minute.
"How can she still be in there? She must be dead!" said one.
"The Guardian said she's still cultivating," said another.
"Hey! It was supposed to be my turn! I booked this time! That brat is keeping me from cultivating!" said one of the elders.
Finally, the wall of the building opened and Jie stepped out. Her hair and robes clung to her, soaked with Essence and sweat. Arcs of blue lightning crackled and snapped over her body as she gave off the aura of the first star of the Expert rank.
Jie let out a heavy sigh and unrefined Essence spilled from her breath like a thick mist. Jie looked at the crowd and blinked. She turned, following the crowd's gaze only to notice that she was the center of their attention.
The elder that had complained earlier rushed up to the entrance only to have it close in front of him. "Hey! It's my turn!" he said.
"The Essence will need some time to recover," The Guardian said.
"It... what...?" the elder said, his eyes widening as he looked at Jie like she was an alien, "What are you?"
Jie gave a respectful bow. "I apologize for the inconvenience," she said.
Elder Shi appeared at her side before the other elder could respond. "What can I say? My little prodigy was busy advancing into the Expert rank. Can't blame her for taking up a lot of Essence for that now can we?" she said.
The crowd gasped.
"Didn't she just break through earlier today? I want to use this thing!" one of the students said.
"It probably wouldn't matter," said another, "nobody can stay in there that long. Not even the elders. This Liu Jie is one of a kind for sure."
Jie stretched and her muscles cracked. "Please excuse me," she said.
The crowd parted for her and a few students turned pale as Jie walked by, her aura was difficult to restrain after advancing so quickly and she was too mentally exhausted to bother trying.