Lex surveyed Morgan's naked form. She was lithe but well endowed, where it counted. Her silk sheets clung to her and accentuating every curve. In some bizarre ritual, she crossed her legs and propped them on a pillow. Her hair kept her tattoo-covered even in passion and sleep. In his absence, she started to shiver.

He tucked her sheets around her and found the annoying window that let in crimson light. While the light from the star-shaped formation above was annoying, it allowed him to read. In his usual spot, he returned to the spiral theory. Rereading theory could only be so entertaining. He wanted to practice. Being idle didn't feel right.

Lex tried to think about tomorrow.

In the morning, they'd go to the arena. Thud, their new undead, would join the fight under Morgan's control. He didn't know how to feel about that.

Usually, he'd feel nothing. What feelings did a wall deserve? Thud couldn't speak. The number of meridians in an undead determined their intelligence. 4 meridians did not make an intelligent undead. She'd have to command the creature herself, which practically put her on the battlefield with him. As he learned more about necromancy, Lex lost the excuse of ignorance.

She'd feel any damage the undead took. While the undead wouldn't feel a thing, she'd feel the backlash in her cultivation. If Thud was destroyed, it could damage her very foundation.

Lex had learned just enough to know the danger but not enough to do anything about it. He wanted to practice the spiral exercises, but that would disrupt Morgan's sleep. So, he was left with theory to distract himself. That wouldn't do.

He left the apartment for the building's roof. Up there, surrounded by shrubs that needed little natural light, he created a spiral between his palms. He condensed it until his fingers touched and kept it there. Typically, he rushed his way to shutting his palms, but maybe that was his problem.

"Good evening." A voice called from behind him. Lex turned around slowly, careful not to disrupt the spiral.

His disruptor was a tanned-skinned girl in her early teens. Her hair was braided up into two points, revealing her forehead. There was no tattoo, so she wasn't a witch. The black robe she wore indicated her rank as property, like himself.

"Is it? I can't tell anymore. The sun could be up for all I know." Lex said.

"Trust me, and I know these things. I'm Marie. Are you still an arena fighter?" Marie asked.

"By your words, you imply you aren't, so there is an end to it," Lex said.

"Three matches, and then you'll be drafted. We do work for the Duchy, and our masters are paid in return. I've just returned from one. My mistress is Clarice; Milly had a lot of good things to say about you. Clarice was worried about your master for a long time, but you calmed her worries somewhat. Hundreds of acupuncture it's impressive. Milly had a mere 60, and a lady doesn't discuss her secrets." Marie said.

"You'll happily gossip about Milly's instead. So, what kind of work do you do for the duchy?" Lex asked.

"I keep the peasantry thankful to have loyal knights to protect them. Sometimes, they place me in a drafty old castle, and I terrorize a village or two. It's good for the kingdom peasants who feel safe are stingy with their devotion and levies." She didn't sound quite so convinced.

"Have you ever thought of leaving?" Lex asked.

"What! And leave poor Candice and Milly alone. Never, I would rather be staked than turn traitor. Undead who leave are declared renegades and hunted down. They'd send Blue Beard after me. More powerful undead than I have fallen to that sick creature." Marie said.

"There is no escape; try to find joy in your second life," Marie said.

"Do you know how many inquisitors are stationed nearby?" Lex asked.

"I know what you're thinking. They're all foundation realm or higher, equipped with 9th-grade advanced weapons, and bonded to powerful yang-aligned familiars. For decades they've guarded these lands, and they know it better than you ever will. All who tried to escape, whether by faking their deaths or running, have failed. For Morgan's sake, don't try it." Marie said.

Lex thought about it carefully. All he had to do then was reach the core, get better than 9th grade refined weapons, and find a familiar stronger than any other. In contrast, he stayed in Weston that was impossible. He could fake his death and return as a human to join the institute. That was possible.

"You've given me a lot to think about," Lex said.

"I've seen that look before; don't try it. Nothing good will come of trying to escape." Marie said.

"You're right, and I won't try to escape," Lex said.

"Stop talking, and I know you're lying," Marie said.

He winked at her and zipped his lips. Lex hadn't seen an undead so angry before.

Her fangs ground against each other, and her eyes glowed a fierce red. Claws tipped her fingers, and she stomped towards him. The heat she generated felt different than expected. It was potent, more powerful than himself, and he could feel how tightly she kept it under control. There was a different feel in the heat, and it was drier than usual.

Lex clapped his hands and stared down. The spiraling ball of qi remained stable. It hovered between his palms glowing in a pale blue light. He'd succeeded; he expected a lot of things from his success: a power-up, new insight on the nature of the spiral, or even a sense of accomplishment. Before any of those could happen, Marie slashed him with her claws.

Long trails of golden blood streaked down his robe. She followed up quickly. Slashes and stabs from razor-sharp inch-long claws tore his chest apart. Marie was faster than him by far, and she had just begun her frenzy.

He ducked down and kept his hands up. She moved fast and delivered a series of devastating slashes that ripped open his forearms. Lex could only hold his head out of reach. She lunged forward and bit deep into his forearm.

He punched her with body blows, increasing the qi to the blows. With every punch, he cranked up the power higher, but she wouldn't let go. It was like punching fossilized wood. Only, it refused to shatter. Eventually, the booms of his punches sounded like thunder, and it roused the people below.

She beat against his arms even as he delivered blow after blow. Lex only stopped when he saw bloody tears covering his arm. Marie tried to pull away from him but couldn't. Her jaw had stuck to his arm. When his blood hardened like dried amber, she clung to him. Lex pulled a ripped nail out of his bicep and jabbed at the amber. She shook her head like a dog the second a fang broke free; with a rugged wrench, she tore her face free.

Marie fell on her ass, covered in golden blood and jabbing at her own throat. After a minute, she spoke with a raspy voice. "What the hell was that?" Marie said.

Lex saw a witch open the door and peek at them, only to close it quickly and retreat. He stared down to see his cock dangling out from a tear in his robe. Most of his robe was in ribbons in his front. Golden trenches dripping with blood flowed down his hairless chest, falling on his clothes and the roof.

"I have hundred of meridians. Do you think I'm a normal zombie?" Lex asked.

She licked her orange-coated lips before smacking. "You taste alive, and no amount to meridians can do that." He turned to her and raised his fist. She threw her hands up. "Hey, we're allies. Are you Morgan's lover or something?" Marie said.

Qi gathered in his fist, and he thought about ending her. He hadn't been committed before. If he threw a punch with all of his might, he was sure she'd die just like the centipede. For a moment, his eyes glowed a deep blue. Just as the thought popped into his head, he cast it aside.

Lex shook his head and walked towards the door. He'd made a lot of progress and possibly a friend. Marie wasn't too bad, not that he'd tell her that. "I'm going head back to Morgan's apartment and flash everyone on my way down. Want to watch?" Lex asked.

Morgan wasn't as happy about his adventure on the roof. Not even holding an imperceptibly small ball of qi on the tip of his finger impressed her. Instead, he was forced to watch her furiously sew the remnants of multiple robes into one complete one.

"We should make a zombie spider seamstress next time," Lex said.

Morgan snorted. "Thud definitely can't help with sewing with his fingers. Why aren't you helping me?" She demanded.

Lex showed off his bandaged fingers, arms, and upper torso. "My master told me to do nothing until I was healed," Lex said. She ground her teeth before she suddenly smiled. Morgan walked over to their fruit bowl and snatched up the last peach.

"You were saving it for in the morning, but sadly you can't eat without your hands." She pulled it away as Lex's teeth clicked shut. He fell hard on the stone floor. With a flick of her foot, he tumbled over, and she sat on his crotch. She took a bite to his growing horror.

"Sometimes, the sweetest peaches are taken. You better fight extra hard today or no more peaches for you." With that, she went back to bed while he laid on the floor. He didn't move until he heard snoring.

The fight with Marie had been enjoyable. She wasn't in the foundation realm. He was sure of that. Still, she was able to tear him to ribbons without techniques. At most, she was at the 3rd stage of qi condensation. Her many meridians made it more difficult to raise her cultivation. Lex's meridians were always whole, but his cultivation base showed all the signs of the first stage. Morgan claimed his strength was like that of the fifth stage.

He needed to raise his cultivation base it and techniques were the only natural way to get stronger. While he wasn't scared of the tournament, there were greater enemies out there. Jonna was in the 5th stage when he hit Lex.

The stage was based on the dantian the powerhouse of the cultivator. In that metaphysical area, qi gathered to flow through the meridians. He closed his eyes and looked within like the qi condensation book said.

In his dantian, it was chaos. Various raja types smooshed together, forming new types showering his meridians with the qi produced. He organized the classes. It was simple but not easy. Smashing various raja types together created vast amounts of power. That energy turned into qi within his dantian and flowed through the rest of his body. By organizing that power, its concentration increased. The wispy qi within his dantian darkened. Instead of almost invisible qi, he had slightly visible qi.

Like a dam gate opening, the new qi flowed through, overtaking the old. While his quantity of qi didn't increase, his quality did. In an instant, he felt himself enter the 2nd stage of qi condensation.

When his eyes opened, Morgan stuffed a different peach in his face.