But, after so many attacks in so short a time, Jie felt drained. She could manage a handful more, but that seemed rather pointless. Instead, she pulled out the qi armor scroll as that shouldn't drain her qi much, and having a defensive skill just in case seemed like a good idea. Of course, she'd still have to make sure not to get hit. Needlessly draining her qi would be stupid.

Jie looked over the scroll once more, but it wasn't that complicated. It was similar to lightning step, only it covered her in a thin sheet of qi that would react to any attack by thickening the qi in that area. Kind of like reactive armor using her qi.

She didn't even bother to close her eyes as she cycled her qi in the pattern described. A faint blue hue surrounded her, like a small, shimmering aura.

Lightning sparked and crackled over it. She made a mental note to never use this skill when trying to sneak around unless she found a way to control it better. The draw on her power was incredibly small just as the scroll had said. Less than her movement skill in fact.

But... how would it react to being hit?

Jie punched the wall without a technique, just using her normal strength, and her fist stopped a millimeter from the hard stone as though stopped by an invisible cushion she couldn't break through. She felt a much larger pull on her qi and shot backward with explosive force as a deafening roar rumbled through the enclosed space, not unlike when she'd used finger of light.

A mark of blackened stone showed where her fist had struck and already the stone was knitting the tiny cracks back together. Jie blinked. That wasn't supposed to happen.

She checked the scroll again, but it made no mention of such explosive power or the push back. It was just supposed to block an attack and nothing more. But this... was this even a defensive skill anymore?

On a whim, Jie stomped the ground hard while using the technique and rocketed up into the air. She slammed into the ceiling and bounced off it onto the floor and then back up again. Each hit drained her qi, and her stomach churned as she bounced around the room like a pinball, deafening cracks like thunder punctuating each time she connected with a surface. But it didn't hurt. It was just extremely tiring. She cut off the skill and smacked into the floor.

"Okay... that one hurt," Jie groaned as she picked herself back up.

Still... the defensive skill might protect her, but everything else it did was... fascinating. Would other cultivators expect the weird movements it allowed her to make? Without even counting what she could do with lightning step? And what kind of damage could she do by using the qi armor and dragonfist at the same time?

That thought seemed interesting, so she tried it out, though she did it at low power as her qi was running nearly empty.

Sure enough, her qi armor was triggered, but after a few low-powered hits, she found she could control it if she wanted to. She could actively tell it not to respond to something, so it shouldn't negatively affect her too much unless something took her by surprise, or she slipped up.

That was good. Having a skill she had little control over didn't sit well with her. Except maybe some kind of ultimate attack. Something that would kill anything in her way. Just in case. Was there something like that in this world? There had to be right?

She sat on the floor and cultivated, bringing her breathing back to normal as she regained her energy. What an exhausting day, but so worth it.

***

While Jie was busy training her new martial skills, several elders gathered with Headmaster Siluvius outside Jie's private residence.

"Heavens!" said one Elder, "I see what you mean. It's pulling in the Essence so strongly, it's like it'll tear out my soul! Is this girl really such a monster?"

"Use your spirit sense. She's not in there," said another.

"Humph," said the first one, "if that is how she cultivates, then I wouldn't be surprised if I couldn't sense her if she didn't want me to. Regardless of what her cultivation might seem to be."

"You saw her leave earlier, did you not?" Headmaster Siluvius asked.

"Yes," Elder Shi said, "I still don't like this. It's unbecoming to snoop around like this."

The Headmaster chuckled. "Well, you might know your student's secrets. But the rest of us have our concerns. We must determine if she has something that would be a danger to this academy," he said.

Elder Shi rolled her eyes. "Tell that to Elder Kanev," she said, "he's drooling."

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"How dare you!" Elder Kanev snapped.

"Oh? Getting upset about being called out on it hmm? I didn't know the Crimson Academy was going to take up robbing its students," Elder Shi said.

"That's enough," Headmaster Siluvius said, "we will ascertain only what is causing the disturbance to the Essence. If it's a threat, we shall speak with Jie about it."

"Is this wise? Liu Jie is clearly not from around here. It's likely this disturbance is a bodyguard sent with her to make sure no harm comes to her," Elder Gan said.

The other elders shivered at the thought, and even the Headmaster looked a little uncertain about that. Not even all of them together could draw in that much Essence. If this was a bodyguard... they could easily lose their lives and never have a chance to fight back.

"I'm sure it'll be fine. We don't wish to threaten our student, but we must see what is causing this disturbance," the Headmaster said.

A few other elders nodded. The rest looked petrified. Even Elder Shi was hesitant.

"Steel yourselves. All of you," Headmaster Siluvius said, "Do we know when this started?"

"I started sensing some strange Essence fluctuations earlier today, but nothing like this," Elder Gan said, "it's getting worse."

"Perhaps," said Vaultmaster Song, "or perhaps we're merely better able to sense it..."

"How could that possibly be the case?" asked another Elder.

Vaultmaster Song strode up to the walls of the residence without a hint of fear and pressed his hand to the smooth stone wall as he closed his eyes.

"These residences have privacy enchantments that may have hidden the Essence draw even from us... hmm... as I thought... they've been worn down," Vaultmaster Song said.

"Worn down? By what? Just the Essence draw?" Elder Kanev asked.

"It's certainly strong enough. The enchantments were designed to last for centuries at a time. But that's under normal conditions and hiding an Essence draw of this magnitude must've placed the enchantments under incredible strain. There's no way to tell how long they lasted before they finally started to give out," he said.

"Then, how can we be certain it has anything to do with my disciple?" Elder Shi asked.

Elder Kanev scoffed. "Who else could be responsible?" he asked, "Besides, I felt a strange Essence fluctuation from her residence months ago. Not long after she arrived."

"If that's the case, then why did you not report it immediately?" Elder Shi asked.

"Because it lasted only a moment before settling down," Elder Kanev said, "If I'd reported it, you'd merely have cast doubt upon my character as you do now."

"Nobody has any doubts about your character," Elder Shi snapped back.

"Enough!" Headmaster Siluvius snapped, "This could very well represent a danger to all of us as well as every student under our care. You will both cease your bickering or the pair of you can clean out the magical beast stables every day for the next two months. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Headmaster," Elder Shi and Elder Kanev said though they continued to glare at each other.

"So this could've been going on for months... has anyone else sensed anything?" Headmaster Siluvius asked.

"Well... now that you mention it... I felt a disturbance on the final day of the tournament. But, as Elder Kanev said, it quickly settled down and I thought little of it at the time..." said Elder Li.

Vaultmaster Song nodded. "The privacy enchantments have likely been near failure for some time. It's possible that Elder Li sensed a fluctuation as it struggled to keep pace. No doubt there have been many such fluctuations. The students would be too weak to sense them until they got serious, and elders rarely pass through this area. There may have been many such fluctuations. We wouldn't have known," he said, "It lends credence to Elder Kanev's words."

"So they've been failing for quite some time then? Before Jie arrived?" Headmaster Siluvius asked.

Vaultmaster Song shook his head. "Doubtful. The enchantments could never hold out for so long. I theorize that Elder Kanev may have sensed the start of the disruption. When such a large draw begins, it would disrupt the Essence for a moment before the privacy enchantment could catch up. And the enchantments lasting for several months under this level of strain is a miracle in and of itself. I would surmise that it almost certainly began around the time Jie entered our academy," he said.

Headmaster Siluvius nodded thoughtfully as he considered Vaultmaster Song's words. "We need to know more," he said, "Elder Li, Elder Bai, stay here and ensure that no students come near this residence until we're done. The rest of you, with me."

Several elders directed longing, envious looks at the two Elders the Headmaster had appointed to stay outside. Jie's residence seemed ominous indeed as Essence streamed toward it like a river into a hungry maw.

The Headmaster led the way and opened the front door. In many respects, Jie was a model student. And several Elders had found themselves expecting a neat, orderly interior. Or one decorated with priceless works of art in line with the fine robes she wore.

Instead, a thick layer of dust covered almost everything, and empty food platters littered the floor with old congealed food stuck to their once-shining surfaces. Even the garden was in desperate need of maintenance.

"Does this girl have no shame? This place is disgusting," Elder Kanev said.

Elder Shi scoffed. "Surely you've noticed she doesn't have a large retinue of servants?" she said.

Elder Kanev straightened himself up. "She should still take better care of her residence. It's filthy," he said.

Elder Shi laughed. "I don't think that girl has even thought to clean anything. Doing so would require her to stop cultivating for a moment," she said.

"Quiet, both of you," the Headmaster said, his voice low, "We're not alone in here."

All the elders froze on the spot and glanced around furtively. "Where is it?" Elder Shi asked.

"I... I don't know," Headmaster Siluvius said, "I can't even tell... I just know that we're not alone. Don't you feel it? Listen to your instincts."

The elders did as the Headmaster said and shivered. They couldn't sense anything, but they felt it too. That hair-prickling, heart-pounding danger that came of entering a beast's lair. A beast that dwarfed them in power. If they couldn't even sense it... it could slaughter them with ease. The air was close and uncomfortable too. Still. As though even the wind had thought better of coming here.

And the steady draw of Essence was even more intense here. Like it was being sucked down a bottomless pit that could swallow the ocean.