Enter Zhen

The morning sun rises on the Transient Blades Sect. While Fang Xuan was busy training with his Bagua Dao, Xiao had just made a full recovery in her room after a two day's worth of rest.

With physical body fit once more, Xiao tended next to her qi pathways. And after 12 long hours of meditation, her broken meridians had already been repaired.

In the Lotus position, Xiao was currently inside her inner realm of interminable ice. Right next to her single ice star, were 7 empty new ones, waiting to be filled with tremendous amounts of qi. The reward for taking down an opponent above her realm. Xiao rejoiced, closing her fist as to congratulate herself for a job well done.

<< Congratulations, Xiao. Your strength advances yet again. By the way, I have surprise for you, are you prepared? >>

Since their souls were connected, it was only natural that Zhen's voice could be heard inside the core of Xiao's soul.

"Thank you, master. What is it? Is it another heavenly grade technique?"

Xiao heard her master's voice chuckle at the question. A gust of blizzard coalesced before Xiao, forming into the shape of a woman. And before she knew it, the blizzard had solidified into a human form.

A woman whose gaze is strikingly cold as she is gorgeous.

Wearing a pristine grey robe, her skin and long flowing hair both had this otherworldly paleness to them, but her paleness nary carried a hint of sickness in them, far from it in fact. It was the paleness of the unforgiving tundra akin to their surroundings, fully personified by the woman of ice in front of Xiao.

"I have something far better, it is I. Surprised to see me, Xiao?" In opposition to her element, Zhen flashed her student a warm smile.

"Master, is that you!?"

"The one and only."

From saving Xiao's life, to guiding her cultivation in an unprecedented speed, they might have only known each other for a few months but they both have already gone through a lot. Xiao was hit with the urge to lunge and embrace her master.

Even Zhen was surprised, but ultimately wrapped her arms around Xiao in return.

After their heartwarming hug, Xiao immediately asked, "How!?"

"As your cultivation base improved, so too did my soul's ability to manifest. For now, I can only appear inside of your inner realm. I reckon that by your next breakthrough, I shall be able to manifest outside of your body."

That's right! The answer for Xiao's spirit stones needs was now right in front of her! Xiao slid right next to Zhen.

"Ah, I would never have thought that today would be the day that I would see my venerable master! Not only is her might peerless but also her beauty!" In an exaggerated timbre, Xiao sang her master praises in hopes of getting in her good graces.

Zhen sighed, "Allow me to guess, you want more spirit stones?"

"It appears that my master's wisdom is also unparalleled!"

"If you don't stop with your platitudes, you won't receive a single aid from me."

Xiao zipped her mouth faster than a speeding arrow.

"Good. Since your strength is rapidly advancing, the time to pursue our goal is almost nigh. Now listen…" Like a serious sage, Zhen explained her terms. "...inside my mask are several medium spirit stone fountains. Succeed in my task, and you will obtain ownership of them."

Xiao gasped, it's like she had just hit the jackpot in winning a million's worth of spirit stone lottery. A medium sized spirit stone fountain was about the same as a small tree, harvesting the natural qi all around and producing it to the blue chunks of qi as we know it. It can produce about roughly 5000 spirit stones per week!

"Just how many spirit stone fountains are we talking about, master?"

Zhen answered, "I have 5 of them."

Her master had 5 and she was giving it to her! With those in her possession, Xiao can become a millionaire in the span of a single year!

"Come one, master! Tell me what this task is so I can complete it at once!"

Zhen smugly grinned at her student's enthusiasm. Naturally, she must nurture Xiao to the point that she would be deserving of those spirit stones. Zhen had no further need for them, since the amount they could produce would be a single drop in the vast ocean of spirit stones that she would need to break through into godhood.

The gist of it is that she might no longer need those spirit stone fountains, but she's going to make sure that Xiao earned them.

Zhen raised a single finger, "One blow. Land one blow to me and the spirit stone fountains are yours."

"Pfft. That's it, I just have to land one blow?" Xiao scoffed, her master might be insanely strong but even Xiao should be able to sneak in a hit.

"Fairly easy, right, Xiao? Why don't we have a go at it right now so you can claim your spirit stone fountains at once?"

Interestingly, Xiao took her master's condescending tone as a challenge. She didn't want to dent her master's pride, but 5 spirit stone fountains are 5 spirit stone fountains.

Xiao's answer to her master was a kick aimed at Zhen's sternum. As if Zhen melted her ice, Zhen's arm deflection flowed like water as she spun Xiao around using her own kick's momentum.

Punches, kicks, elbows. All of Xiao's strikes were null before Zhen's superior knowledge of Kung fu.

Frustrated, Xiao jumped back to gain some distance. If melee attacks don't work, then how about ranged ones?

The intense zeal to land a blow manifested within Xiao's eyes. Since it was Xiao's inner realm, the amount of ice she could command within was twice than usual.

With a single raise of Xiao's two fingers, around 500 ice swords blotted the sky, with a single forward swipe, all 500 of them volleyed onto Zhen. The haughty grin on Xiao's face could only be translated as 'Let's see you dodge this, master!'.

Zhen chuckled at the fact that her student must have been forgetting something, their soul is bound. The place was 'their' inner realm. She's going to do more than just dodge Xiao's volley, she will outmatch it with her own.

A single snap of Zhen's fingers was all it took to produce 600 that shot down Xiao's ice sword from the sky.

"Uh oh." Xiao raised her ice dome to fend off against the extra 100 that her master added for good measure.

Xiao dodged, making it seem like she was dancing as she narrowly avoided each ice sword that almost skewered her. Wait a minute, why is she the one dodging when it was supposed to be her master!? It wasn't fair!

Catching her breath, Xiao glared at her master who wasn't even the slightest fazed, Zhen was even flashing her a smug grin, obviously enjoying how Xiao's zeal turned into frustration. Her master dangled the carrot right before her eyes only to smack her in the face with a stick!

Zhen crossed both of her hands behind her back as she taunted, "Pretty easy, isn't it, Xiao?"