Blue buried his hands into the shadows skull with an unsatisfying poof. His wiry arms reached in as he pulled. The shade gave a quiet thrum as it collapsed to the group.

Sighing, he waved the accumulated smoke off his body. At least it's not blood was his only thought.

The little twinge in his hamstring was back again. Behind him, Elder Jessica whooped. She had gotten them in early, and as she was in charge, he was going through the paces with her as backup.

Jessica leaned over checking on him.

"Clean hit."

She had taught him a secret new technique, one that made him begin to fear her talent. Already he had pulled so much qi from the enemies in front of him that he was felt more than stuffed. Qi leaked out of his pores as he tried to shape it go through channels that were not fully formed.

He could feel that he'd advanced just working with Master Jessica. She only fought to defend him when necessary but otherwise had been throwing him to the wolves.

Two floors and he felt ready. This time felt far different than the last, and as he pulled qi out of the shades into his body he felt immaculate. He had broken three shades in a row before his arms began to lap up the energy. Then using the energy he was able to draw upon even more and now, he felt it. Without spending some time cultivating, he would have to expend the energy somehow.

He certainly didn't feel hungry. The qi made him excited and fresh. All of a sudden he felt like he could run all day and where it would have been a problem before, now it was not.

He could feel his energy, like a bitter wine sloshing around. He reflexively touched the spot where he knew that it was almost time to advance and make his dantian, rising to the second realm. The power difference between the raw initiate from the day before, even with the pagoda completed floored him.

He found that he was absent-mindedly touching the spot again when he got a tap on the shoulder.

"I said, are you okay Disciple Blu?"

He snapped out of it.

"This one is fine, but uh.." he shuddered involuntarily as she scanned him with her spiritual vision. He really wanted to tell her to stop doing that but she was his Master now so he only expected her to consider his feelings after she considered what the yaks had to say about their relationship with the yak farmers. As in she probably didn't care much to hear, but he would probably be used for his fur.

Besides being a slim initiate, he had long curly hair. A rarity among her cultivators, he really got more bounce for the ounce.

"Master, this poor disciple needs to cultivate."

"Ah I see. You are about ready to build your iron body, take the foundational step of making your dantian. We shall withdraw for now."

Gingerly, she walked down to the entrance to the pagoda, watching him as he came down behind her. He knew that she could see around herself. That she could scan him from any direction wasn’t a mystery. It was just an accepted fact.

When she sent him to the librarian, and he talked through the steps, he knew that he had made the right decision.

***

The next morning, Blue came to work with Jessica.

They went to work immediately. She was very happy with the result and after going for so long without sharing her path, she finally had a grain of hope that her time spent learning her qi pulling technique would be well spent.

After two hours of practice with the technique, he floored her by having more qi than he could hold. She pulled him from the pagoda and ordered him to cycle with An-Yong.

Before long all three of them were astounded by the results.

***

Fa Za stood in the afternoon chill observing the large inner training yard of the Cold Steel Sect. The city of Frosthaven beyond with its snow capped buildings was finally looking less worse for wear. Here and there cookfires from many new chimeys gave some color to the nearly drab white.

After Jessica's first true disciple had attempted to break himself in half with her training, Fa Za found that he was a cultivator on the edge of making it to the second realm.

He trusted his pagoda, but he expected it to take the mere entry level qi gatherer time to make up the difference.

He jumped down, following the road on his fresh legs. Snow crunched softly underfoot as he walked down the beaten path. Three yaks passed by not giving him any respect whatsoever. He could have snatched them up merely by unleashing his core, but he didn't want to just attack beasts indiscriminately.

Under his robe, a scroll poked out. He carefully pulled it out, savoring the feel of the unbroken seal. He idly played with it as he got to the outskirts of the town.

No wall stood around Frosthaven and besides the large amount of scarring down the line that the divine beast had gone, it would have looked like any other town in the region. Except of course for the snow. He felt that he was approaching the edge as he walked past more and more fenced in areas. The sprawl around Frosthaven wasn't as pronounced as it was underlined.

He stopped to look around warily. He pulled the seal gently leaving it in place and read the note.

Chuckling to himself he returned it to the same spot. His school wanted something from him as usual. It was almost always some official elder function they wanted him to perform. A pile of similar scrolls sat unread in his chambers. The useless clutter always burned pleasantly when he threw it into the fire.

He made it to the main thoroughfare easily enough and his memory served him well. The apothecary on the side street was outside his shop cooking something pungent in a pot.

He could only hope that it wasn’t what he had come here for. The apothecaries his Sect employed were too far afield to call for something like this. That he had called them anyway wouldn’t matter. He was looking for something specific.

"Elder, you honor this simple shopkeeper with your presence. How can this one serve?"

The wiry old man fanned himself despite the chill air. Perhaps his proximity to the warm pot changed things, and Fa Za in coming close enough to smell the aromas had given away something. It was no matter. He would get what he came for.

"I have sent word. About a certain potion I desired made."

He glowered at the shopkeeper.

"Ah yes, this shop does stock what you require," he said, briefly looking under the counter, "Does the elder need instruction in its use?"

A purple potion made its way to the counter. The brown stopper and green glass couldn't obscure the inner pulpy contents.

"That should be unnecessary. And the price?"

The shopkeeper waved him off.

"Your agent paid for you."

Fa Za smiled. That meant that his Sects man knew what he was buying. Well, good for them. Let them speculate.

"Elder, if this one may…"

Fa Za kept his face a careful neutral. If this apothecary thought that he should know something after all that, well his interest was piqued. He nodded for the man to continue.

"This humble shopkeeper should let it be known that he does not adulterate his products- though they are strong-" he raised his voice, "and this shop would never accept a bribe to give someone a different product no matter how lucrative the contract."

He locked eyes with Fa Za, something that a man of the station could get killed for. It wasn’t a killing day however, and the elder in seclusion could understand a hint. They had attempted to bribe him. He wondered how much it had been and the general parameters before pondering the real question.

"Perhaps, there is a second portion of the same that you have in stock?" Fa Za said.

"Certainly sir, pulp or no pulp?"

"No pulp will do just fine."

Fa Za considered if the person who had put him up to this had imagined this eventuality.

"Ah unfortunately the last one is the pulpy kind. Does the elder still require it?"

Fa Za accepted both, tossing the man a golden chit.

"Your discretion is worth the price."

***

"You really think that if she knew she wouldn't approve?"

"She isn't from here. We don’t know her dao."

"Junior…brother…honestly that ain't a strong argument. What she might or might not approve of it's of no matter."

"You don't care about her opinion?"

"I'm only taking you down here because she can't hear. The cowls are just extra."

"Oh so because for once in my life I am considerate about someone else and I also wanted to be fashionable."

"That's not the point!"

"And what is? You not wanting her to know you're with someone? Or you not wanting her to know that you're with me?"

"That's...fair. It hasn't been the same since…"

"I know."

"And to think that she almost caught us."

"That just makes it all the better. Get over here you."