He was doing things similar to how she would've herself, entwining the many threads together. The threads were half hers and half Xue's and Jie had to wonder if they would ever be able to separate after this. This looked like the very fiber of their beings. Could such things be unwoven at a later time?

But Xue seemed undaunted. In fact, she felt a deep sense of certainty coming from his awareness. And as she focused on it, she found that his emotions were complex and she even caught hints of his thoughts. Both were far more sophisticated and intelligent than she'd expected. Xue understood exactly what she'd been doing. He understood her desires, wants, needs, plans, dreams, and the very core of who she was.

And it seemed he approved.

She sensed some measure of anger and resentment toward the bond, but not toward her. It seemed he was irritated at being bound to anyone and upset over the situation that had created it. But her own reservations were like a balm to him and helped calm him. His anger was directed fully at those who deserved his ire.

She also felt a certain level of excitement... and a feeling of power. Then, she realized that Xue's cultivation level was skyrocketing, and his energy was becoming significantly more refined. The current Xue could fight three previous Xues and win. And his power was still soaring. Approaching her own.

Jie had prepared statements to be said much like the way it was done in the original ritual she was given, except with words she chose. But no words were necessary as she found Xue and herself exchanging a series of vows in a strange, almost emotional, way. Still, they felt strong and each vow brought them even closer together.

Jie lost track of time as they spun internal threads together, but finally, it was done. She retracted her energy from Xue and let out a heavy sigh. The process had nearly used up all her qi while the original binding was supposed to use only a fraction.

She sat back, taking deep breaths as she looked Xue over.

"Did you grow somehow?" Jie asked as the cub which had been about the size of a house cat was now about the size of a medium-sized dog.

Xue gave a happy little mew and swished his tail. A flicker of lightning crackled over his fur. His black stripes had turned to a dark blue instead, and his eyes were a richer blue as well. He still seemed a bit ethereal though. And his strength had soared. He wasn't as strong as her, but he wasn't too far off either. Perhaps around the eighth star of the Adept rank. And his qi had changed to become dragon lightning qi. Something that should never have happened with the original contract and Jie still didn't know how it was possible.

It felt like he was now almost as strong as Pan Tian and Pan Zhanshi despite the siblings having a higher cultivation, which was impressive for a little cub. He pranced out of his cage and gave her an uncertain look.

Jie waved her hand for him to continue. "Go ahead, Xue. That was our deal. Here, let me get you the treats and you can have what you want as well," Jie said.

She did as promised and took out a box of treats which Xue dived into with a vengeance. His butt wiggled in the air as he scarfed down the expensive-looking food inside.

"Just let me know when you get hungry. I bet I could get some extra food from the cafeteria when we run out of this. Here's your water," Jie said as she took out the large bowl Jiang Feng had provided and poured water into it from a canteen she kept inside her bag.

"I know you sort of understand me in a way, so yeah... just let me know if you need anything. I'll be spending most of my time training, so I'm not exactly going to be the most fun to be around. Sorry," Jie said.

Xue didn't even look up from his food. Jie shook her head and smiled. "Whatever," she said. She sat down and cultivated to replenish her qi. Her training would resume with Elder Shi tomorrow, but she still planned to train as much as she could before then as well.

Once she'd regained her energy, her eyes sprang open, and she stretched.

"I'm off to try out the Conditioning Chamber. Be good, Xue," Jie said.

Xue peeked up from his food and scampered after her. "Hey! You can't come with me," Jie said.

Xue looked at her with big eyes.

"No. Really... I don't know if you even could... I guess you could wait outside the chamber and cultivate or something?" Jie said.

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Xue's eyes sparkled and she felt him brush against her awareness a bit. It was significantly fainter than when they were forming the binding, but she got the impression of stubbornness and a desire to look around.

"Fine," Jie said, "just remember not to get in too much trouble or I won't be able to save you. You don't have a lot of the restrictions you would normally have so... be careful, okay?"

She strode out of her residence and out into the academy grounds, lit by the soft glow of moonlight.

"God this world is beautiful..." Jie muttered.

Jie walked across the moonlit academy. The mountains, walls, gardens, parks, and buildings all around her always filled her with gratitude for Ming. The academy was far more vibrant and alive at night than the city had been, and she was far from the only one outside.

Likely due to the higher safety offered by the academy and the wealth of its students. Not to mention the fact that as cultivators grew stronger, they tended to need less sleep anyway.

As such, beautiful older girls cultivated in beams of moonlight. Jie couldn't be sure, but her spirit sense gave her the feeling that they were doing a kind of cultivation that seemed to be bolstered by the moon's light.

Others joked, laughed, ate, and even engaged in hobbies. Everything from dancing with long ribbons that shimmered with supernatural light to sculpting beautiful statues. She wondered why they did it though... why they didn't focus fully on cultivation. It made her think on Elder Shi's words about not missing out... but she wasn't like them. Not only did she have a promise to fulfill, but if she didn't... there might never be any joy for them to have.

It made her somber and Xue gave her a look that made her wonder what exactly he felt through their bond as he padded along beside her. But he got distracted by a four-winged snake the size of a crow and took to chasing after it with boundless enthusiasm. He pounced at it with his new lightning dragon qi.... And it vanished in a flash, reappearing further away and much higher up.

Jie chuckled. "Leave the poor things alone," she said. Though her words were not imbued with the power of an order, so he was free to ignore her.

She picked up her pace, heading over a bridge above a glistening pond filled with paper lanterns that shone like stars. She wondered what they were there for but continued on her way.

It was a good distance from her residence to the conditioning chamber, but she moved so swiftly that it didn't take long. It was a massive building of purple and blue with lines of gold. It looked as though it were made out of stone, but of a kind Jie had never seen. And it was built in the shape of a massive lotus flower. One that hadn't yet bloomed. Around it were pools of water. At least... Jie thought it was water.

She walked up to the entrance. A bored elder looked up from a glowing orb.

"Liu Jie?" asked the elder.

"Yes, that's me. I'm here for one of my uses in the conditioning chamber," Jie said.

"Go on then. I'll mark it down. Room five is yours. Increase it slowly so you don't kill yourself," said the elder though the way she said it was mechanical and seemed utterly unconcerned with whether or not Jie died. Except perhaps that the elder might be required to mop Jie's body off the floor.

The elder turned her attention back to the orb and its glow intensified again. Though it wasn't doing much else that Jie could see. She wondered if it was transmitting information somehow like in the Onyx Pavilion auction house.

Jie entered the building and Xue followed her. "Um... can my... pet come too?" she asked.

"Pet?" the elder asked. Though she didn't bother taking her eyes off the orb. Despite the fact Xue was a fraction of an eye movement away to focus on.

"Yeah... my spirit tiger," Jie said.

"Oh... magical beast companion? They can join you, I suppose," said the elder. She still didn't take her eyes off the orb as though they were glued to it. Yet her expression remained bored.

Jie shook her head and went into the building and headed into room five. The entrance slid shut behind her and a hum filled the air. She felt slightly... heavier. And like everything took more effort. As though something resisted every motion she made, but it wasn't enough to worry her. The room had a variety of equipment from training dummies to weights and what looked like gymnastics equipment... except a lot more intimidating.

In the center of the room was a panel with a hologram above it that displayed the number one.

Jie walked over to the panel. It had several glowing icons but the ones that stood out to her were a pair. One with an arrow pointing up and the other with an arrow pointing down. Jie pressed the up arrow. The hologram shifted to display the number two and the weight and feeling of resistance on her increased sharply. It wasn't comfortable, but far from something useful for some extreme training, so she pressed it again and again.

Xue gave a surprised meow and she paused to look him over, but he seemed alright. Though if the contract she'd woven hadn't increased his power, he may have been crushed. She resumed increasing it, keeping an eye on Xue as he was still weaker than her.

She stopped at level fifty. Xue could barely move and even she found it a strain just to walk. She felt extremely heavy, but with every stride or movement of her arms or legs... it was as though she were immersed in some superdense liquid as it actively resisted her. Even breathing was more difficult and sweat ran down her body like a waterfall. Even though she hadn't started yet. She began training as she would with Elder Shi. Even though that's where she planned to go shortly after she was done in the chamber.

Every exercise, be it running, lifting weights, or practicing against a training dummy was grueling. Her muscles screamed, but she didn't bolster them with qi at all. Xue seemed to be using the opportunity to train himself as well. Though he was struggling just to move.

Jie trained as sweat ran down her body, grateful for the water in her storage ring. It was thirsty work. As she trained, she felt a foreign energy suffusing her body. Flowing from the room and into her. But, unlike the cultivation chamber, it wasn't qi. She wasn't sure what it was doing, but as she trained, she started feeling as though it was getting easier even though her cultivation remained at the same level.