You…. Again?

  Feng came with a tray of food.

  This time, it carried a bottle of Qi replenishment pills, which she set aside.

  “Aren't you low on Qi?” Feng asked, confused.

  Rong looked at him and smiled. “If you ever go to the field, remember the first thing you always do is recover. Eat food, drink water, heal wounds, and absolutely, positively recover your Qi. Because…. my little Feng, no one cares about your well-being as much as you do. So, if you don’t advocate for yourself, no one else will. As for your question, I topped off yesterday.”

  Feng’s eyes moved to the pills.

  Rong smiled and palmed the bottle, then leaned across his back, her hands going into his robe.

  “Always use the art of distraction, sleight of hand, as well as speak of uncertainty and vagueness when possible. And absolutely positively do not accept other people's mistakes as your own, because once that happens, you will be their pariah indefinitely.”

  She pulled him up, and the pills remained in his pocket. “Come on, stud, I am dying to see what kind of useless testing we do today in the name of the great trials.”

  Jianrong walked with her arm around Feng’s.

  “Have you ever been through one of these recruitments?” Rong asked quietly.

  Feng shook his head.

  Her eyes looked distant. “Have you been part of the Training Tower system?” she asked.

  Feng shook his head. “Only the best, and I mean the best, get access. I could buy access with enough money, but once you're inside, the system is all automated. Failure is failure…no one can change that outcome.” He explained.

  “So, an unexpected meritocracy.” She murmured.

  Feng nodded. “Rong, you could be good at this. The goal is to reach the trials of Jade Mountain.”

  Rong tilted her head and looked at him.

  Feng blushed, making Rong laugh and squeeze his arm.

  Feng leaned in and spoke softly. “Wherever you go, there are training towers in reach via array, but these are nothing like the ones on Jade Mountain. To succeed doesn’t mean rankings; it means rare pills, special weapons. The trials can be seen; they sell crystal recordings. Last year's winner gained several slots; he got an art, it was for shaping intent.”

  Rong raised a brow.

  Feng laughed. “When people truly get powerful little fox, they can use Intent to cut, pierce, burn, you name it. The more aligned with your Dao, the more powerful they become.”

  Rong pinched his arm and then walked in silence.

  “I have always understood the Dao as to seek your own path; you make it sound like something less abstract.” She replied, finally.

  Feng looked at her, surprised, then nodded. “Yes, I cannot tell you more on that, but I can say it will be imperative that you learn about it and begin to follow your own Dao.

  As they neared the area where the skiff that would take them to the nearby ship was moored, Rong remembered and asked.

  “Did you bring the crystal?” she murmured.

  Feng stilled, then nodded. “When will I know when to record? They are not infinite.”

  “Ohhhh, you will know my stagnant Qi companion.” She caught his scent and realized, in a completely different way, that he was not progressing.

  “Don’t bully me, my duties keep me running non-stop,” Feng complained.

  “It is fine, come by my cell tonight, we can cycle together.” Rong offered.

  Feng choked on his tongue.

  “Cycling buffoon, not sex.” She sighed.

  “I thought you, well.” Feng sputtered.

  “Calm down, it's not like I'm a virgin, it's just our dynamic isn’t like that. Besides, that kind of interaction would likely kill you.” You, she pointed out.

  Feng was quiet as they mounted the small ship and cast off.

  “Why, what happens?” he asked, his interest piqued.

  Ron settled into her seat and leaned her head onto his shoulder.

  “Give me your hand.” She said simply.

  Feng moved it to hers, and their fingers intwined.

  “Your affinities are air, ice, right?” she asked.

  Feng blinked, shocked.

  Now, let me know when you feel warmth flowing from your hand.

  After a few breaths, a pleasant warmth flowed between them.

  “I feel it, it's…amazing.” He whispered.

  Rong nodded. “Now imagine that was happening somewhere else, and the intensity was five to six times stronger.

  Feng looked confused.

  “In nature, when copulation happens in some species, there are neural inhibitors that engage. Imagine you're with your lover and your enemy arrives, a human can move and react.

  But under some circumstances, with human-like creatures, they cannot. The shapes and uses may be the same, but what happens to the person when it's happening changes.

  This is how female mantises consume their mates, and this answers the problem of what happens if your mate is a danger to your offspring.

  Nature finds a way.”

  “Is that how you killed him?” Feng breathed.

  Rong gave a slow nod. “There was more to it, but in the end, his inability to process information quickly meant I lived, and he died.”

  “But foxes don’t eat their own young like bears or other predators.” Feng offered.

  Rong smiled. “I am becoming a Spirit-Fox. I have never heard stories of them in large numbers…which means they are rare and always in danger.” She replied.

  “Tell me the truth,” Feng said, relaxed as their Qi mingled. “Why did you let me live?”

  Rong glanced at him, then looked away.

  “I have a few preferences.” She said airily.

  “Like?” he pressed.

  “I think smart older women are sexy.” She replied. “And a woman with a powerful body and scars makes my knees weak.”

  Feng stared.

  Rong rolled her eyes. “Conversely, feminine soft men catch my eye.” She admitted.

  Feng blinked, then glared. “I am classically handsome.” He hissed.

  Rong let her eyes slide over his body like a silk sheet.

  For a moment, Feng felt as if a predator had seen him, and his hand came up to cover himself.

  Jianrong laughed freely and joyfully at his demur reaction.

  By the time the skiff landed on the Anvil of the Upper Realms, the two were chattering away as Rong whispered what she did not understand and Feng pointed it all out to the best of his knowledge.

  When Dax and Lin saw the two moving around as a single organism, both wanted to intervene, but Pei simply shook his head.

  Without realizing it, Feng moved with no fear of Rong while all around them, people watched her both with a critical eye and with the knowledge that she had murdered the population of a village by herself, and Heaven was supportive of her efforts.

  Pei approached Jianrong and Feng, but spoke only to the woman.

  The Nascent Commander leaned in and laid it out simply.

  “You need to impress these people, the group that comes after, if they don’t choose you will be filled with sects who will only see you as a cultivation resource.” His eyes were steady as he was being honest. “What happens to the people they test you with needs to be secondary.”

  Rong took in a breath.

  “Commander, if you would be so kind. Please inform the delegation when the time is right. I can return their people to full functionality at no cost, should they wish it as a show of goodwill for everyone taking time from their busy schedule to join the Divine Cloud Sect's demonstration.”

  Pei paused, processing the information. “HOW…good of a healer are you?”

  Rong rested her head on Feng’s shoulder as he took a glass of wine and greeted someone who desperately wanted to be him.

  “I would say…I am likely the best healer you have ever met.” Rong said evenly.

  Pei glared at her.

  Rong rolled her eyes. “I can make cripples walk and rebuild damaged meridians and fractured Dantian’s if you must know.” She said, vexed by his ongoing negativity.

  Qin Renshu, Elder of the Celestial War Doctrine, moved to Jianrong and Pei.

  He did not even seem to recognize that Feng was a sentient being, only Rong's shoulder to lean on.

  “This guy…” Rong thought, then saw the look in his eyes and realized she had someone who wanted her to succeed. Likely because if she failed, he would look weak.”

  “We are ready to begin. The recruit will step forward.” Renshu stated loudly, curtailing all conversation.

  Rong turned and kissed Feng on the cheek. “Wish me luck, pretty boy. Mama has to go to work.” She teased as she let go of his hand.

  Feng wanted to reply, but being separated from her suddenly made him feel a coldness he didn’t like.

  Jianrong saluted the General. “Excellency, please guide this little one on what to do,” Rong said.

  The man's eyes had taken all of what she had done, and the way Feng’s hand reached for her like some woman reaching for her man as he left for battle.

  “First will be the Impact Pillars; you will show us your raw, unassisted strength.”

  The Nascent Soul turned, the pillar pulsed with light, and he struck with a jab, a cross, then repeated several strikes.

  Above the pillar, it lit up, and data was provided.

  IMPACT PILLAR – BODY REFINEMENT TEST

  Initiation Latency: 0.021 breaths

  Peak Compressive Load: NASCENT SOUL LEVEL 2

  Number of Strikes: 5

  Material Failure: COLUMNAR SHEAR

  Test Status: COMPLETE

  Jianrong nodded, then bowed to the General.

  Her hand moved, and her outer robe slipped off and was tossed to Feng, who caught it, then immediately regretted it when she winked at him.

  Her body moved to loosen up.

  For the first time, she spun her Core up to build pressure in her Soul; this would add power to the blow.

  She usually avoided it—spinning up the Core meant people would know something was coming.

  This time, she didn’t care.

  She was copying the General, exactly.

  Her fists came close to her body, and as she swayed left and right.

  To those around her, she was moving like a whip, her speed startling.

  To Jianrong, time had turned lazy as she moved through the combination she would perform. Then her eyes closed.

  “Lord Da Jun, please witness this little one as she uses your gift of light and life to pull her people forward to safety.” She murmured.

  Her eyes opened, their amber color luminescent as she stepped forward.

  The light pulsed, and a Jab, and Jab cross landed, followed by a rear hook, then a right uppercut, then a left uppercut. Over and over.

  To Rong, time dragged on as her third eye processed Qi and her body moved at its maximum speed.

  To those watching, her strikes were a blur, as her fists struck with precision and force that filled the hall with a sound akin to thunder.

  IMPACT PILLAR – BODY REFINEMENT TEST

  Initiation Latency: 0.019 breaths

  Peak Compressive Load: NASCENT SOUL LEVEL 4

  Number of Strikes: 8

  Material Failure: COLUMNAR SHEAR

  Test Status: COMPLETE

  Jianrong saluted the results and then bowed to the General.

  The room was unbearably stuffy as every single person had eyes on Jianrong.

  Only Feng looked at her with amazement.

  Everyone else was calculating just how much they would spend for someone who could go toe-to-toe with a Nascent Soul general but was still a Core Formation brat.

  Qin stepped forward and took the woman's hands in his, looking them over for any damage or injury.

  With a nod, he let go and motioned to the next test.

  Resonance bells - test Qi control.

  Qin Renshu pointed at the line of five bells, then spoke.

  “You will release Qi without flaring your Aura and without physical contact with not art. Feeding Qi, you will make the bell resonate. Each bell can accept varying degrees of Qi.”

  He began flowing Qi and got three bells to ring.

  “Too little Qi means it will not ring, while too much will make them break. “

  Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

  Jianrong saluted the General and stepped forward.

  Then, to everyone's confusion, she waved a hand, and through their Spirit Sense, they saw her Qi ripple like a ribbon to each bell.

  Then, as Qin opened his mouth and left it open, she moved the stream of Qi to each bell and a ever complex route that fed more Qi at the beginning of the ribbon and less at the end.

  All five bells began to resonate at different octaves, then Jianrong made eye contact with Pei and winked.

  With her hands reaching upward, her body moved in a slow, deliberate sway, hips and torso isolating in a practiced rhythm as her fingers flicked.

  After twenty breaths, the sounds faded away, and she bowed to Qin, who did not move.

  Jianrong’s arms curled and swayed as she lowered herself into a low bow to Qin.

  When she stood straight, her smile was dazzling as she spun, allowing Feng to drape her outer robe over her shoulders.

  “Thank you, brother Feng, I was chilled.” She murmured.

  Qin looked at Rong, who looked at him with admiration, as he noticed that Feng and her hands were interlocked as she whispered to him how she did it.

  The group migrated around a raised platform.

  “The following is an Aura pressure test,” Qin explained as he motioned for her to join him.

  “You will stand at the marked circle, and the array will apply pressure until you react or fail,” Qin explained.

  Jianrong nodded. “I normally suppress my Aura, should let it go in a relaxed state, Excellency?” she asked.

  Qin looked at her for a long breath longer than etiquette found appropriate— not assessing strength, but listening to the way her presence sat in the space.

  Then: “Do not suppress,” Qin said evenly.

  “The array will account for ambient output.” He finally added.

  Jianrong took her place, let her Aura unfold, and sighed with contentment—as if she had finally been allowed to stop holding her breath.

  She really wanted something that would get rid of her Aura or hold it without feeling stifled.

  All around, the Rong people braced subconsciously; they knew she would feel the pressure and, in turn, fight it. It was a cultivator's natural reaction.

  Jianrong simply waited to see what would happen, since she had no baseline idea of what to expect.

  A pressure began to build slowly.

  Then Jianrong’s eyes lit up. “Ah, like a suppression field, I wonder what they measure with this.” She said it loud enough that no one missed it.

  When it was over, Jianrong seemed completely unfazed and unsure what to make of the pressure.

  It was uncomfortable, but it felt as if she were holding in her Aura.

  “Tell me what you felt.” Qin directed Rong.

  “Felt like an external pressure was trying to suppress my Aura Excellency manually,” Rong stated.

  Qin considered her, then asked. “How do you feel about that?”

  “I think that would be a great tool, like a necklace, less work to suppress the Aura.” She responded.

  Qin considered her words, then asked. “If a superior made your Aura press inward, what would you feel?” he asked.

  Rong thought about his question, then shrugged. “My Aura is never loose, so I would say I would not care; it seems like a waste of effort.” She offered.

  Qin frowned. “Show me your normal state, recruit.”

  Rong pulled in all her Aura until she felt like a mortal.

  Qin blinked, then spoke. “Now I will pressure you, do not resist me.” He stated.

  Jianrong nodded.

  Then Qin's pressure enveloped Rong and pressed inward, forcing her Aura to keep shrinking smaller and smaller. The sensation was uncomfortable, but Rong made no effort to hide it.

  Qin’s brow creased as the pressure increased—her Aura continued to shrink, smooth and compliant, while his own began to thicken with effort.

  “That is pretty neat.” She said softly. Feeling the man's Aura slowly straining to compress her Aura.

  Qin did not stop the pressure immediately.

  That alone was a mistake.

  He felt it a breath later—the drag.

  Not resistance.

  Not rebound.

  Pursuit.

  Her Aura did not harden.

  Did not flare.

  Did not push back.

  It withdrew.

  Smoothly. Cleanly. Like silk being drawn through a ring.

  Qin increased the inward vector by a fraction.

  The array confirmed compression.

  No instability.

  No turbulence.

  No leakage.

  Her field simply… kept shrinking.

  His jaw tightened.

  This was wrong.

  Every cultivator—every one—hit a limit. At some point, the Aura either resisted, tore, or collapsed. Even masters showed micro-flare, involuntary assertion, a reflexive I am here.

  She showed none.

  Qin realized, with a cold drop in his gut, that he was no longer testing her Aura.

  He was following it.

  That meant she was choosing where “inside” ended.

  That meant she was not being pressed.

  She was making room.

  He cut the pressure by a hair, pretending calibration.

  Good.

  No one reacted.

  Inside, Qin locked everything down.

  No widening of the eyes.

  No sharp breath.

  No tell.

  He could not afford to show what he was calculating.

  If she could completely retract her Aura under external force, then containment arrays were unnecessary. Suppression collars were convenient. Authority-based pressure meant nothing unless backed by immediate violence.

  Worse—

  If she did not identify herself with her Aura…

  Then, the pressure did not threaten her.

  It only inconvenienced her.

  Her quiet comment—“That is pretty neat”—echoed again in his head, and this time he heard what it truly was.

  Not mockery.

  Not bravado.

  A technician’s assessment.

  Qin released the field smoothly, deliberately, as if the test had concluded exactly as designed.

  He straightened.

  Breathed.

  Filed the moment away under Do Not Escalate Publicly.

  And understood, with grim certainty:

  This recruit could not be cowed.

  Only constrained.

  Only killed.

  “Recruit,” Qin said carefully, “have you ever fought Aura to Aura?”

  Rong looked at him, brow lifting. “No… why would I?” She paused, then tilted her head. A look of confusion washed over her features.

  “I will be honest, besides protection or physical manifestation, I cannot imagine using it in direct conflict.”

  She was unclear how that would work.

  Qin blinked.

  Once.

  “What do you normally do when more than one Aura pressures you?” he asked.

  “Lock my Aura in place or use my Aura Armor,” she replied without hesitation. Then, as if clarifying a simple procedure:

  “Then stab my attackers.”

  The silence that followed was not confusion.

  It was recalibration.

  “Recruit for transparency, I want you to show me what you mean by lock your Aura in place, then I will apply pressure like an adversary. You will tell me when you can no longer endure, do you understand?” Qin asked as his Aura retreated.

  Jianrong nodded. “Yes, Excellency, my Aura is now locked. Please proceed.”

  Qin’s senses washed over her, and he felt nothing from her; any hint of Aura was gone.

  His own Aura moved and enveloped her, then pressed inward with increasing pressure.

  Then, in a moment of disconnect, he watched her turn her hand; a small notebook appeared, and she used a charcoal pencil to write a note to remember to ask about getting new shoes.

  The book vanished, and she returned to looking at him with a supportive smile.

  The pressure rose enough that her breath shuddered. But she held strong.

  Qin’s pressure disappeared, but his presence moved closer as if to stifle her.

  “Recruit…where did you learn this technique?” Qin demanded.

  Rong blinked. “Where I am from, Heaven's testing mechanism uses sight that locks onto Qi and Aura. So, we learned how to pull our Aura back inward. When I fought others from the city, I noticed they tried to use their Aura as leverage. When they extend their leverage, it strains their bodies and wears them out. I just keep my Aura locked to my Soul the same way my Spirit is, so I am not exerting myself.” Rong explained.

  Qin processed that and then asked.

  “The world of Cultivation shows dominance through Aura and its hierarchy; what you are doing unseats that pillar.” He warned.

  Rong shrugged. “You're describing a system where, as long as your Aura is strong enough, your enemy can proceed with impunity. So do you simply capitulate to more powerful cultivators even if they are your enemies because they have a greater Aura?” she asked.

  Qin felt something he had not felt in a long time.

  Shame.

  He could not argue with what she was saying. Not because he did not know how, but because what she said was correct in a simplistic way.

  He could not surrender to a greater Aura. Why fight a war if the greatest Aura simply meant the winner?

  "Without Aura hierarchy, every dispute becomes lethal combat. You admit this, correct?” Qin demanded.

  A look of horror washed over her face. “Why would people escalate to lethal force over common disputes? What are we…monkeys?” she thought aloud in shock.

  Qin tilted his head in acceptance of her words. He felt her sincerity—a rare thing.

  "Recruit, you're right. But cultivation DOES make some people more violent. When you have the power to kill with a gesture, and centuries of life ahead, and resources worth killing for, and competitors who'd kill YOU..."

  "Social bonds break down. Mortal consequences don't apply. Normal human empathy erodes over centuries. Power warps psychology." Qin stated.

  Jianrong’s head leaned back in thought.

  “That makes sense. I have forgotten cultivators are primarily solitary, self-centered organisms whose only tie to humanity is the Sect and access to materials of the greater collective. Like a wolf coming down from the mountain, they see everything else like sheep except other wolves.” She agreed. “Aura tells them who the wolves are…I guess that is why I have had to kill so many of them…that’s on me, I guess.” She murmured.

  Qin stilled, then remembered Divine Clouds' brief and her kill count.

  “Knowing you could have prevented unnecessary death, how do you feel?” Qin asked her.

  Rong rested her head on Feng’s shoulder in thought, then glanced at him. “In some situations, using my Aura would have meant death or servitude; in others, it was to prevent my community from being turned into resources or assaulted.” She gave a small, tired laugh.

  “Looking at it that way, I have no regrets; they were weak. They should have stayed in the mountain where it was safe. Civilization overlooks the power of the individual for the power of the collective, and we have a strong collective.” Rong stated, dismissing the dead as they should have known their own place.

  Feng frowned. “My men were just doing their job, Rong.” Her companion countered.

  Jianrong smiled and squeezed his hand. “Admit it, pretty boy, your people would have kept me as a toy, then discarded me.” She teased.

  Feng looked away, and she laughed at his retreat.

  Qin was guiding them to a machine when Rong asked him a question.

  “Humans have many ways of organizing themselves, some of which are confusing or self-defeating. I sense I am missing something about how you use Aura. I am not doing this to be difficult, but if my buyer needs me to look at its implementation in a different way, I am open to learning.” Rong offered.

  Qin glanced at her, then around the hall as people followed.

  He said nothing, but he nodded.

  When Rong moved to test her affinities, the expectation was multi-affinity, but in reality, it was only one useful one, with a backup.

  When she showed seven affinities, no one said anything.

  They simply waited for Celestial War Doctrine to recalibrate their array, which was misaligned.

  Jianrong stepped away, and Qin stopped her. “It will only take a moment to calibrate.” He explained.

  Rong smiled. “I have been tested like a hundred times, I AM seven affinities Excellency.” She chuckled.”

  The technician finished the calibration and motioned for her to test again.

  Jianrong moved and rested her hand on the Array plate,

  The same reading occurred.

  Jianrong gasped theatrically, covering her mouth with her hand and looking around with wide eyes. “Oh, my is that good?!” she asked merrily.

  "Recruit, you will conduct yourself with appropriate respect during official testing," Qin stated.

  "Rong, you can't do that. These people have power over you." Feng warned her quietly.

  Rong nodded sheepishly, “I guess in the future I will just wait for everyone to figure out what I can and cannot do, so I don’t offend anyone. Just treat me like any other Core Formation junior, hopefully they can find some way to utilize my meager skills and average strength.” She admitted to him quietly.

  But loud enough, it was heard by every single person in the room.

  Qin's face went cold.

  "Recruit. Step aside. Commander Pei, a word."

  "She's eliminated from Celestial War Doctrine consideration. Too valuable to waste, so we'll proceed with standard civilian sect placement. But I will not deploy someone who cannot accept correction without mockery." Qin stated

  Pei was seething but said nothing.

  Rong smiled.

  Qin stared at her. “You find this amusing?”

  Rong nodded.

  Qing blinked.

  “You recruit because the people you have are not strong enough to compete at an elite level, but you want the people you recruit to like the people who failed. From any organizational standpoint, you don’t find that….self-defeating?” she asked.

  "Exceptionalism without discipline gets people killed," Qin stated.

  “Don’t you mean you prefer meager, weak-willed dogs who will cower and show you their bellies when you threaten them? How about this? Put me up against your ten best Core Formation warriors working as a team, and when I squash them like insects, you can let someone else take me for civilian sect placement. Maybe they will know what to do with a wolf instead of a lemming.” She offered.

  "You want to prove you're exceptional by fighting overwhelming odds. That's not discipline. That's ego." Qin hissed.

  “Ego is assuming I can do something impossible because of having an inflated and grandiose feeling of self. What is being offered is proof of why I am here. I flew into the sky against six Nascent Souls and forced every single one of them to the ground to fight me on my terms. I was not one realm below them, Excellency. I was two. So tell me — is that ego or skill?"

  Qin still remembered just how terrifying she was.

  Qin turned to Pei.

  "She's not suitable for Celestial War Doctrine because she doesn't fight like a soldier. She fights like a spirit-kin defending territory. That's not a criticism - that's a fact."

  Qin looked back at Rong.

  "Your demonstration will be recorded. Sect representatives will see what you can do. That's the best outcome for everyone."

  Jianrong nodded. “I thought the trials were about overcoming impossible odds. I guess I am still learning.” She smiled.

  "The trials ARE about overcoming impossible odds. But for us, the impossible odds are coordinating multiple cultivators against existential threats. You overcame YOUR impossible odds - six Nascent Souls while defending your territory." Qin stated.

  Jianrong blinked. “I was told the Trial Towers were INDIVIDUAL challenges.” She replied.

  Qin, suddenly understanding:

  "Ah. You're talking about the Trial Towers - the cultivation assessment structures."

  "I'm talking about operational trials - the missions Heaven contracts organizations to complete. Different things, same word."

  "Trial Towers ARE individual. You'll probably excel there. I'm talking about field operations - those require coordination. That's what Celestial War Doctrine does."

  Rong blinked. “But don’t you get Karma from both?” she asked, confused.

  "Yes, both generate karma. But organizations specialize." Qin pointed out.

  "Celestial War Doctrine is contracted specifically for coordinated operations against high-threat targets. That's what we're paid premium rates for. That's our reputation."

  "Could we get karma from your Tower performance? Technically yes. But we'd be diverting resources to support something we don't specialize in. That's inefficient."

  “So, supporting an army of cultivators to do work makes sense. Supporting an individual to generate the same value…doesn’t make sense. Got it.” She nodded.

  "You're looking at pure resource efficiency. That's not wrong."

  "But reputation and reliability matter. Armies are predictable. Individuals are... volatile. We're paid a premium for predictability, not just output." He explained.

  Jianrong nodded. “Would it be possible to fight twenty Core Formation warriors? I want my buyer to see my value up front.” Rong asked.

  “I understand that we would need to do it outside on the ground, but I feel like it would be very educational for everyone,” Rong suggested to Pei, who was no longer angry but stunned.

  “Jianrong, are you sure? Even taking on more than one person of your realm will make bidding intense.” Pei whispered.

  Jianrong smiled. “How about his, put me up against the people you would normally put out, then we can offer to see me versus a squad or squads. I don’t know if that would increase my value, but I would like to see how Cultivator will cope with our village's tactics.” Rong offered.

  "Jianrong. If you demonstrate squad combat and WIN..."

  "Every sect here will want you. Not want - NEED. Because you'll have proven their standard tactics don't work against your methods."

  "That's not just bidding. That's sects reconsidering their entire training doctrine. That creates... complications."

  "But yes. If you're confident, that demonstration would increase your value significantly. Multiple times over." Pei stated.

  "We'll do a standard demonstration first. If that goes well, and YOU still want to show squad tactics, we'll discuss it then. Deal?" Pei added.

  Jianrong nodded like a chicken pecking at seed, her eyes locked with Qin. “I wonder where we can find a group that specializes in coordinated operations against high-threat targets,” she thought aloud, then smiled widely.

  "Commander Pei. May we speak privately?"

  Pei looked at Rong then nodded to Qin.

  "She just challenged my entire organization to prove ourselves against her. In front of everyone. After I eliminated us from recruiting her. If I refuse, I look weak. If I accept, she might humiliate my forces publicly. Either way, she wins." Qin thought.

  "She's not being difficult. She's being strategic. And I just handed her the weapon to do it."

  "She wants Celestial War Doctrine forces as your demonstration opponents."

  Qin paused, and his pressure made Pei shrink ever so slightly.

  "To prove her village's tactics work against coordinated operations."

  His jaw worked as he took a breath.

  "After I eliminated her for not fitting our coordination methodology."

  He gave a slight, unpleasant smile.

  "Clever."

  The general nodded in thought.

  "Yes. We'll provide the opposition force. Ten Core Formation, coordinated tactics, full doctrine deployment."

  Pei swallowed, suddenly not as excited.

  "She has backed me into a corner. The only way out is through. We'll see if frontier tactics actually work against real coordination. If she wins, every sect will want her. If she loses, I look petty. But refusing makes me look scared."

  "Well played, recruit. Well played." Qing thought.

  Pei cleared his throat, pulling Qin’s attention.

  “Jianrong has offered to heal anyone she injures; she can heal people who are crippled or have cultivation damage.” He stated.

  Qin looked at him as if he had just been told he was selling bushes that grew spirit stones.

  Qin, very quietly asked. "Say that again."

  "She can heal crippled cultivators. Rebuild damaged meridians. Restore fractured Dantian’s." Pei stated.

  There was a long processing period.

  "And you're... demonstrating this... to everyone," Qin asked.

  "That was the plan, yes. All of you have demanded to see her skill, so…" Pei said amicably.

  "Every sect representative here will see she can do this," Qin murmured.

  "...Yes. That... was the point of the demonstration?" Pei’s brows rose as he turned his head, confused.

  "Commander Pei. We need to discuss demonstration security protocols. Immediately." Qin stated.

  Pei blinked, then looked around, then back. “I uh would you prefer we use another patron's vessel, General?”

  Qin, spoke very carefully:

  "Commander. The vessel is fine."

  Qin paused, making sure he was speaking low enough.

  "I'm concerned about what happens AFTER the demonstration. When every sect here understands what she can do." He added

  "You're about to show them someone who can restore crippled cultivators. Do you understand what that means?"

  "That she's very valuable?" Pei frowned.

  "That she's invaluable. That whoever doesn't get her falls behind everyone who does. That sects might decide they cannot ALLOW rivals to possess her."

  "You're not running a recruitment. You're revealing a strategic asset that changes the balance of power. And sects might fight each other over it."

  Pei lifted a hand as a calming motion.

  “General Qin, Karma output for healers is relatively low. That is why we have placed her as a fighting asset; she does not consider her healing as a primary skill or concern. I hope that clears up any concern.” Pei smiled reassuringly.

  General Qin stared at the man across from him and realized this was the civilian sector he had so quickly sent the girl to. These were the people who would get an unprecedented asset.

  "He thinks I'm worried about karma output."

  "I'm worried about military organizations realizing she makes their forces IMMORTAL short of actual death."

  "He's measuring her in spirit stones per hour."

  "I'm measuring her in 'changes the strategic balance of the cultivation world.'"

  "We are not having the same conversation."

  Qin spoke very carefully, trying not to raise his voice.

  "Commander Pei."

  There was a long pause while he considered how to explain this.

  "Karma output... is not the concern."

  Pei stared at him like he had stated money had no value.

  He tried a different approach.

  "How many veteran Core Formation cultivators does Divine Cloud Sect have who were crippled in service and had to retire?"

  Pei, confused by the question:

  "I... perhaps twenty? Thirty? We honor them, of course, but once cultivation is damaged—"

  Qin drew in a long breath.

  "She can restore them. All of them. Back to active duty."

  Letting it sink in:

  "Now multiply that across every sect here. Hundreds of crippled veterans who could return to service."

  More directly:

  "That's not about karma. That's about military capability. And every military organization here will understand what that means."

  Pei made an ‘AH’ face as if he had realized the crux of the problem.

  “General, you know as well as I do, those people are natural progressions of what we do. Cultivators fall, it is as natural as rain falling and the sun shining. If you think that supporting them indefinitely will pay dividends, then I would counter that you are setting yourself up for stagnation and financial ruin, as everyone will expect you to heal them always. That means people retiring and living LONG, fruitful lives AFTER leaving your service while expecting you to PAY for it.” Pei countered.

  "Commander Pei. You just explained why some organizations will want her desperately."

  "And why others will want her dead. Organizations that value their people will see force preservation. Organizations that view cultivators as resources will see unsustainable obligation."

  Qin rubbed his face then continued.

  "Both will understand she changes the equation. Both will ACT on that understanding. Some by trying to acquire her. Others by ensuring NO ONE can."

  "You're not just revealing a healer. You're forcing every organization to choose: Do we value our people enough to take on that obligation? And what do we do about rivals who make different choices?"

  Pei nodded, then turned to Jianrong. “Jianrong, what would you say if I told you I don’t want you to heal anyone?”

  Jianrong gave him a thumbs-up. “No problem, Excellency, one less cultivator works for me.”

  There was a long, horrified silence.

  "...You're fine with cultivators staying crippled," Qin asked.

  Rong blinked, then smiled. “You're selling me as property to the highest bidder, what do you think, Excellency?”

  “You would let someone die you could heal?!” Qing demanded.

  “100%,” Rong nodded. “That’s just natural selection.”

  Qin opened his mouth to rebuke, but realized he was expecting someone they had commodified to care about their well-being.

  He turned to look at Pei, who could offer nothing verbally to her statement.