Rise of the Ice Empress [GL]

Yao Xiao's long raven hair swayed as she put all the necessary ingredients into the cauldron. Water ginseng roots to replenish qi and Jade leaf to give it a flowing property. Beads of sweat formed on her ivory forehead, her pristine face held absolute focus. In her hand was a wooden vial of basilisk tears, her grip strained as she was trying to ensure that only a single drop fell inside the cauldron.

As the tear fell, Xiao heaved in relief. Next she channeled a bit of qi into the concave furnace where the cauldron rests. A medium grade fire began blending the ingredients together. Xiao maintained the low heat of the flames with a steady input of qi.

The ten other core disciples alongside her had their own tables where they maintained the same ironclad focus as they tried to not burn their respective pills into a crisp. 

But one among them didn't need to put as much effort as her fellow disciples, Shen Liu, the vixen whose flowing red hair is as fiery as her temper towards Xiao. The purple flame element of her qi was a rarity, it is not only beneficial in battle, it also helps in burning away the impurities of the ingredients and blending them all together much faster. 

Xiao's attention lapsed towards Liu whose table was right next to her. Immediately earning her ire. 

"Avert your eyes away from me, filthy commoner." Liu's face contorted in disgust. As long as Liu lives, she would never accept the fact that a commoner much less an orphan was the number one core disciple of their sect, her being merely the third.

"Lower your flame, you're blending the ingredients too fast, that will most definitely result in a different pill." Xiao knew of Liu's distaste for her, frankly she couldn't care less for she is far above the woman in terms of skill, realms, and alchemy. In short, she was ahead of her in everything.  

Xiao merely offered her honest observation, it was up to Liu if she would not heed her warning. 

"Didn't I tell you to never lecture me again, you fluke! You and I both know that you're only ranked first because the sect master favors you!"

Xiao couldn't help but snicker. People like Liu are a dime a dozen in their world, those clinging to the prestige of their wealthy family, unable to accept that someone of common birth could do just as well - or the heavens forbid, rise above them. 

"And why does the sect master favor me? Surely you don't think that she just picked an inner disciple at random to make them a core disciple of the first rank?"

Xiao's smug bearing infuriated the hell out of Liu. 

"Heed my words, Xiao, I am going to make you eat dirt at our combat practice later! But not before my pill scores a higher grade than yours!"

Another snicker came, but this time it came on the table on Xiao's left side. An Lin. 2nd ranked core disciple, her short hair as blue as the sky and her beauty on par with her contemporaries.

The An family was a very important faction of the city that held about 30% of the market. But unlike Liu who detested Xiao, Lin never had any difficulty accepting what Xiao is, a talented and gorgeous individual and immediately made friends with her - thus, they were able to share a 'special' bond. 

"The day you surpass Xiao is the day that mount tai will be laid bare for everyone to see." Lin mocked as she focused on her own furnace. 

Before Liu could have another outburst, a woman wearing an elegant red robe entered the alchemy room. Her long hair was the same shade of black as Xiao's but their similarities ended there, in terms of beauty, the woman had a more mature and dignified charm. 

The matriarch of the tranquil waterfall sect. Sect master Lai Meixiu. 

"Time is up, everyone stop what you're doing."

Meixiu then proceeded to check out Xiao's table first, the sect master offered her a smile borne from familiarity which Xiao reciprocated. 

The sect master grabbed the pill from Xiao's cauldron and scrutinized it. The pill was round and almost crystalline in its shade of blue. 

The passing marks for a medium grade pill is 40 being the acceptable and 60 being the highest. What score would Xiao get for her hard work? 

"55. Wonderful pill, try to raise the temperature of your fire by a bit and you would surely score 60." The sect master declared. 

"Thank you for your guidance, sect master." Xiao cups her hand bows before Meixiu. 

"Hmph. Another stroke of luck." Liu grumbled beneath her breath in order to avoid getting heard by the sect master. 

Next, the sect master examined Lin's pill. It was a bit coarse but still crystalline. 

"48. Ease up on the water ginseng roots."

Lin cupped her hands and thanked the sect master as well. 

Finally, the sect master is now at Liu's table. 

The red haired woman was beaming with confidence as her pill was being examined. 

"Truly remarkable! This pill is the highest grade among your fellow core disciples!"

Liu accepted the praise as if it was mandated by the heavens. She was about to gloat to Xiao when the sect master finished the rest of her evaluation. 

"For a laxative! I told you to make a qi regeneration pill, not something that would make you shit out your qi! Next time, follow my instructions and lower your flame. What's the point of having a special flame if you can't even make a simple pill?"

All of the other core disciples except for Xiao laughed at Liu, dealing a massive blow to her ego. 

With an expression that would put a bitter gourd to shame, Liu forced herself to cup her hands and thanked the sect master. 

+++

The tranquil waterfall sect was one of the most renowned sect in all of Jiang Shan city. 

Their outdoor training area was large enough to fit the 500 out of their 2,000 disciples. True to the sect's name, the cherry blossom trees that surrounded the training area's perimeter gave the place a tranquil ambiance. 

Inner and outer disciples both gathered at the sidelines in order to watch the spectacle about to unfold before them. 

The yearly evaluation for the core disciples to check if they are still worthy of their rank. 

With the pill refining evaluation concluded, it is now time for what the majority would consider to be the essence of being a cultivator, combat. 

"Look, that bitch Liu is glaring at you. You think she's going to challenge you?" Lin asked as she sat on a bench right next to Xiao.

From across them they could see Liu sitting alone as she stared daggers towards Xiao. 

"It was never a matter of if, but only a matter of how fast is she going to issue her challenge."

Lin giggled at Xiao's insight. 

"Why do you tolerate her always talking shit? If it was me her teeth would have already caved in."

Lin regarded Xiao as a heavenly saint for putting up with an arrogant young mistress like Liu. If she was Xiao she would have made Liu aware how insignificant she is when compared. 

"She is just a misguided soul, unaware of the vast world before her. Although, I am planning to mess with Liu today. Humble her a bit if you will." 

"Oooh, I like the sound of that. Hurt her plenty for me! By the way, same place after sunset?" Lin blushed as pink as a peach with her question. 

 "Oh my, we just did it yesterday and you already want to do it again? How insatiable!" Xiao coyly smiles, knowing what it is that Lin is seeking.

"It was your touch that made me like this, you better take responsibility."

After a brief respite, the sect master had arrived in the middle of the training area to continue their evaluation. 

"All core disciples gather in front of me, now!"

The sect master's commanding voice filled them with haste as all 10 of them lined up in front of her in a matter of seconds. 

"Now, pick a sparring partner to demonstrate your growth so we could…."

The sect master brow furrowed, she wasn't done speaking yet and Liu was already raising her hand. 

"You want to challenge Xiao, right? Are you that much in a hurry to get your ass handed to you!? Fine, let's start the evaluation. Everyone, let's leave the field to give space for these two."

Liu was angry, not at the sect master for disparaging her, but looping it back towards Xiao. To Liu, Xiao was the cause of all of her problems. 

As the two finally faced each other, Xiao watched as Liu unsheathed her jian sword with malice. 

Liu pointed her sword towards Xiao. 

"Where's your weapon, commoner?"

Xiao brandishes both of her fists towards Liu. "I got both of them right here."

Liu easily picked up on implication. Xiao was belittling her.

"You dare mock me!? I will scorch you from where you stand!" 

Liu's fury reached its tipping point, her smouldering anger intent on burning Xiao to ashes. 

Her jian sword arcs above her head, leaving purple fireballs in its wake. The fireballs numbered around 10, each of them imbued with Liu's rage. 

Liu thrusts her jian forward, and a volley of fireballs soon followed. Not planning on giving Xiao an inch, Liu dashed, trailing the fireballs. 

The red haired woman smirked, she had predicted what Xiao's tactics would be, she would erect an ice wall to prevent the onslaught of her fireballs. But her defense would inevitably collapse due to the quantity of her fiery projectiles. 

She would skewer Xiao and pretend that it was all just an accident, her opponent did try to face her unarmed. 

Mid dash, Liu couldn't contain her excitement of finally getting rid of Xiao in her life. 

There is, however, one thing that Liu didn't factor. It was the fact that Xiao was leaps stronger than her. 

With masterful precision, Xiao shot down the fireballs from the sky with icicles of her own. 

Having no time to be impressed, Liu continued her charge. Liu's sword inches away from piercing flesh, Xiao graceful spins, ending at Liu's side and grabbing sword arm along with the nape of her neck. 

Xiao used Liu's own momentum against her to shove her face into the ground. Her sword disarmed, Xiao twists Liu's arm behind her into a submission hold while Xiao's entire weight presses upon Liu. Xiao made sure her grip was tight so Liu won't accidentally break her arm no matter how much she trashed around. 

"Unhand me, you filthy commoner!"

Liu resisted with all her might, but with Xiao being two realms higher than her, she might have more success in trying to move a giant boulder. 

"Only if you say 'please'. I shall release you immediately if you do and fight you some more."

Just when Liu thought she couldn't hate Xiao more, the woman would always prove her wrong. 

"Please!? Please go fuck yourself! Is that good enough!?"

Xiao's flippant attitude made it seem to the spectators that she was tormenting Liu, in truth she was just having too much fun messing with the red-haired woman.

"Tsk tsk tsk. That won't do, I won't release you if you don't say please. I can keep you in this hold all day, you know. You only need to say 'Please, Xiao, let me go.' It's really not that hard, is it?"

Liu's chest heart to sink. She could make out the laughter and jeers from the onlookers. 

(She was brought down so easily, is she really a core disciple?)

(Hahaha she can't even free herself, fucking pathetic!)

(I know she was up against Xiao, but she is supposed to be the 3rd strongest here. Ew.)

Xiao's smile faded, had she done enough?

Lin's demeanor was that of jubilation, the arrogant bitch was finally getting what she deserved. If you asked her, Xiao's actions weren't enough. She should thoroughly crush Liu's pride so she won't dare talk smack at Xiao ever again.

Liu tried to hide it but Xiao was still able to notice the faint sobbing. For Xiao, it was her cue that she had indeed done enough fooling around.

As soon as Xiao released her grip Liu immediately bolted out of the training area while trying to hide her tears, much to the dismay of their sect master.

Meixue grimaced, since Liu started obsessing on Xiao her cultivation had come to a standstill. It's not like she could just remove Liu, she already brought this issue to her parents and the Shen family threatened to stop their generous 'donation' into their sect if she got removed as a core disciple.

The sect master could only sigh before announcing the obvious winner to everyone. 

+++

For the merit of being the top 10 strongest, the sect had given the core disciples extravagant dwellings that could be considered a small mansion. Each of them owning a small piece of land right outside the sect. It was all so they could cultivate in serenity, just like the name of their sect implies.

Yet there would be no tranquility for Liu since her humiliating defeat from earlier was still fresh in her mind. As the memory resurges, the underside of her fist slams into one of her mansion's pillars.

Inside her living room, a man wearing blue robes cupped her hand towards Liu, "Mistress Liu, the two outer disciples are here."

Liu turned around to face him.

"Let them in." Liu instructed her hired thugs consisting of inner disciples.

Two outer disciples, a man and a woman  wearing plain grey robes were faced before Lin.

"Is it true that you saw Lin and Xiao sneaking into the armory last night?"

The gossip hasn't reached the core disciples yet but it was already a hot topic among the outer disciples. 

"Yes young mistress. Not only that, I also heard moaning from inside."

Liu's lips twist into a malicious grin, she knew that Xiao was whore deep down, but who would have guessed that she would also be a deviant who prefers women? Just thinking about it makes Liu sick to her stomach. 

"And you, is it true that you found scrolls pertaining to dual cultivation underneath Xiao's bed?" Liu asked the other outer disciple, the woman in charge of cleaning Xiao's mansion.

"Yes. I glanced at it, it had detailed instructions on how to absorb the qi essence of your partner along with some very provocative poses."

Liu let out a villainous laugh, she now had the keys to Xiao's downfall. 

"Thank you for the information. Here, treat yourselves." Liu tossed the outer disciples pouches containing 200 spirit stones each. 

Receiving twice the amount of their monthly allowance, the two cupped their hands with reverence right after they sold out a core disciple to her demise. 

+++

The door behind Lin closed with a click. 

In the middle of the room was Xiao, coquettishly watching her secret lover approach closer. 

Filled with all manners of Sharp weapons, the armory was hardly the place for a romantic tryst. They had chosen it since it was the room most far removed from the sect, they both didn't want to risk bringing the other into their respective abode because inside the sect is the only place where they could escape the sights of Lin's guards. 

The blue haired woman wasted no time in lifting Xiao and laying her into the table next to them, Lin Immediately dove into Xiao's neck.

"So forceful. Just kiss, don't suck or you're going to leave marks."

As the smell of Xiao's sweet raspberry perfume tickled Lin's nose, the desire to leave her mark on Xiao's soft neck was a temptation she could never resist. 

Lin broke free for a bit, "I told you not to tease my clit too much yesterday, did you listen? Just tell them that you got bit by an insect or something."

Which resulted in Lin moaning her heart out, she could only hope that nobody heard her. 

Xiao's breathing was starting to become heavy, she could feel herself getting moist down there just from Lin's neck kisses. 

With both having strong personalities, it's only a given that the two would switch every now and then who would dominate who. 

Today it was Lin's turn to make Xiao sing like a harp.

Lin undid Xiao's robes. Right before her was Xiao's blemish free skin like melted ivory. Her figure is slim and the mounds on her chest are just the right size, not too big yet not too small. 

Lin's next target was down below. 

The blue-haired woman got down on her knees. She parted Xiao's legs, exposing before her Xiao's sacred place. 

A single lick of her love nub was all it took for Xiao to moan in ecstasy. Lin continuously licked with a slow and steady rhythm. 

The more Xiao stifled her moans, the more Lin wanted to please her, similar to what Xiao did to her just yesterday.

Still panting, Xiao instructed. "I'm about to come, hold my hand!" Xiao wanted to feel that they are connected in more ways than just the flesh. 

And so they held hands, as Lin moved from licking to gently sucking Xiao's clit, in order to give her undercover lover one powerful climax. 

Finally, Ecstasy surged over Xiao's entire being as she orgasms.

In the middle of her climax the door was busted open, The sect master along with the sect elders were equally stunned as they were disgusted at the act that the two of their strongest core disciples were doing. 

Liu watches from the corner with malicious glee, Xiao's days in the sect are finally over.