When using her soul weapon, and absorbing the energy from those around her, Layla needed to be a little careful. For one, she knew that not everyone practised Qi. It would be very dangerous to take away a large amount from those people, since it was their life force.
Luckily, there were more than enough people around, that the process would hopefully just weaken them temporarily. Unfortunately, taking in that energy wasn't easy. It worked similarly to her telekinesis ability. Where she had to use her ability on each one as if she was lifting a force from them.
After absorbing so much energy, Layla stood there and took a stance with her sword. Her skin appeared to be somewhat glowing, making the black sword stand out even more.