Fortunately, Omena was in the middle of a vicious battle.


    When she''d first arrived in the Pureflower sect, she''d been honestly worried that they were going to spend all their time pouring tea, picking flowers, and simpering around. Fortunately, the cultivators of the Pureflower sect also took the time to beat the crap out of each other. Elegantly.


    Omena stood on the far side of a marble court, hurling needles at her opponent and deflecting those cutting toward her - at least the cumbersome sleeves of these outfits were useful for sweeping projectiles out of the air. Her opponent was another young and beautiful Cloudspire cultivator: she was an Earth Soul and reasonably strong, but she was so generic. All of Zin Nim''s jade-white skin and none of her bite.


    The rules of thepetition required them to stay at a distance and use projectiles alone, with victory being decided by the first blood drawn. It wasn''t very simr to a real battle, but the limitations prevented Omena from powering through thepetition with her strength. In fact, as needle after needle was deflected, she was getting downright annoyed.


    Summoningrge numbers of needles at once was useless, because the Pureflower cultivators had an immense number of spinning maneuvers that were actually quite effective at deflecting projectiles. No matter whatbination Omena tried, there seemed to be a counter. If she couldn''t leap in and pin her opponent, perhaps someteral thinking...


    After weaving aside from her opponent''s counterattack, Omena hurled an entire fistful of needles in one hand, and a single needle from the other. The first attack was deflected by a beautiful twirl, of course, and the second struck the floor.


    And rebounded into her opponent''s calf.


    "Aah!" The cultivator cried out, more in surprise than pain, and fell to treat the injury. Omena was dered the victor and servants immediately rushed to cover the injury with a qi-based cream.


    That cream was actually amazing, soothing pain and preventing scarring. Omena had grabbed a bunch and shoved it into her spatial satchel, plus she hoped to figure out theposition eventually. Right now, there were too many other priorities."Congrattions on another victory." Kir Mei Bai floated closer and extended a hand, floating a gleaming white pill toward her. She didn''t usually hand out the rewards, but apparently she had taken a special interest this time.


    The prize for winning a match, and for many otherpetitions within the sect, was a Transcendent Complexion Pill. Omena had been scornful at first, but they were actually a powerful source of qi, and she thought it reinforced the Physique principle in a way that was more than just aesthetic. However, she had advanced far enough that she didn''t need to use them regrly.


    "Have you put more thought into your path?" Kir Mei Bai continued floating nearby, which was also unusual, so Omena gave her the archetypal bow.


    "I still have much to train," Omena said.


    "I noticed that you have been stockpiling your Transcendent Complexion Pills, though your skin doesn''t appear to have suffered." Kir Mei Bai shook her head slowly. "I had hoped that you were nning to trade them for a more unique source of qi. You really should choose a feminine specialty."


    "I think I''m doing fine."


    Kir Mei Bai gave a tinkling littleugh that should have been annoying, yet somehow it actually sounded authentic. She wasn''t as stuck-up as she seemed at first. "Don''t think I''m unaware that your strength isparable to mine. But you know that you have even greater potential, and choosing a path here could greatly benefit you."


    "Huh." Omena reconsidered the cultivator. "I thought I''d chosen a clear path: poison is a feminine weapon, isn''t it?"


    "That is true, but it is not a path we take into ourselves or we would be toxic to others."


    Omena resisted the urge to smirk. "I''m not sure any of your paths are suited for me. I will never have the ''jade-like skin'' some pursue, and none of my power connects to flowers."


    "There is another potential path." Kir Mei Bai removed a hand from her long sleeve, revealing a pill that glowed with sapphire light. "Both warmth and coolness are feminine principles. You do not invite others in, norfort them, but you could easily be an icy maiden who generates an aura of unattainable distance."


    "I will consider your words," Omena said while not considering her words. She was satisfied by herbination of poison and metal, so she wasn''t going to pollute her sources of strength by adding in a conventional element.


    Making the offer seemed to be all Kir Mei Bai wanted, so she glided on to speak to other cultivators. Omena had won all her matches as quickly as possible, so now she could go observe the other fights. Some of them might be traditional and dull, but there were others that offered valuable intelligence.


    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    She''d finished in enough time to catch one of Zin Nim''s duels: she fought in a circr arena in front of a small audience, against another Earth Soul. Normally it shouldn''t have been a challenge at all, but Zin Nim seemed to be struggling, her movements stiffer than normal.


    Her opponent waved her hands and suddenly a blue horse made from flowing qi rushed forward, trampling all in its path. Omena had expected most cultivators to fight like Zin Nim, but a surprising number formed their qi into borate techniques. When Zin Nim spun aside from the horse she closed the distance, only for her opponent to generate a massive qi flower that extended its petals and sent Zin Nim skidding backward.


    There was still something odd about her movements, like she wasn''t following her natural instincts. Perhaps it was because of the audience, perhaps something else. Omena was getting a bit bored and instead just ogled Zin Nim. The robes were ttering, but she really looked better in ck, with the Heavenly Sash contrasting with the rest of her outfit instead ofyering white on white.


    The match continued, Zin Nim failing to show her superiority, until her opponent made a mistake that wasn''t obvious at first. She unleashed a great wall of qi that swept across the arena, but instead of dodging awkwardly, Zin Nim struck it head on: she shed forward in an instant, her hand pping the wall. All the qi exploded and Zae Zin Nim burst through it, her other palm striking her opponent''s chest.


    Immediately the other cultivator coughed up blood and copsed - not a lethal wound, but the single palm strike seemed to have actually taken her out. Zin Nim was brutal when she got a solid strike... yet she didn''t seem happy, even as she bowed to everyone watching and epted her reward.


    "Congrattions," Omena said as they met in the hallway. "What was wrong with you that fight?"


    "I am... trying to adapt my style." Zin Nim scowled in a familiar fashion before her face smoothed into a mask of beautiful serenity. "These matches are only partially about victory: it is also important to be more graceful than your opponent. There are considerable rewards, for those who canbine beauty and strength."


    Omena snorted. "I''m not surprised. That seems harder to do,pared to throwing magic horses at people. I am surprised how many cultivators here never get their hands dirty and never even seem to use martial arts."


    "They are different paths. My... home sect has arts primarily focused on perfecting cultivation in the body. Our qi is more intense, and as you saw, I can easily sweep aside or pierce weak qi techniques. But it seems in all thebat since I was first trained I have... be more brutal and less elegant."


    "If you ask me, all that matters is effectiveness, but I understand we have to y the local game."


    "Yes, I suppose..."


    "Why not just make some qi animals of your own?" Omena asked. "Your control is excellent, so just copy their techniques."


    Zin Nim shifted ufortably as they walked. "I could form shapes with qi, but it would not be a polished technique in the same way. And I worry about diluting the martial arts I have perfected up to this point. This ce is only a step in our path, after all."


    "You could use a refined technique, though. Fundamental skills are well and good, but polishing them into techniques can be useful. You''re actually missing full techniques, in my opinion."


    "Oh?" Zin Nim looked at her, sharply but not angrily. She was actually listening, which was still a marvel.


    Omena waited until they left themon area and entered the flowered private quarters. Usually they were filled with cultivators speaking to one another and attending to their beauty regimens, but during the matches they were mostly empty. Fortunately, individual rooms could be made very private, which was nice when they wanted to spend some time together.


    When Omena turned to take the other woman''s arm, however, she actually wasn''ting on to her. Instead she extended her hand into her usual palm strike position and traced her fingers down her arm.


    "All the force and qi flow together to your palm," Omena exined, "and you expel qi at the point of impact. Why not expel qi before that, in a ranged technique? That would be a more ''elegant'' technique for them, wouldn''t it?"


    "If I just release a qi attack, that will waste the movement." Zin Nim shook her head, but she was listening.


    "I wasn''t suggesting a normal burst of qi, I mean a new technique. Why not extend your entire hand? Project it into the world, I mean."


    "Hmm. I am... not ustomed to using my qi that way."


    "Maybe you should create a hybrid." Omena released a trail of qi with one hand and traced mana down her arm with the other. "You''ve already used the Coldfire Corona to strengthen other attacks, so why not extend that? Let your qi provide the force and momentum, then project your mana. Mana is good at projecting, anyway."


    "Oh!" Zin Nim''s eyes lit up and she began to experiment. As stubborn as she could be, when a foreign concept finally clicked with her, she would ept it quickly. That had been a repeated lesson during their honeymoon, which brought a smirk to Omena''s face.


    The two of them cooperated to develop a new technique, experimenting with different bnces of mana and qi. Both sides came easily to Zin Nim, and she had used her mana for palm strikes before, but projecting a polished technique was more difficult. It turned out that all the fancy details on the magical animal attacks weren''t just ornamentation, they strengthened the technique.


    When they''d made enough progress for the day, Zin Nim took her arm and drew her aside. It wasn''t for personal reasons, though, not when her narrow eyes were still set so fiercely.


    "I also have... a suggestion for you," Zin Nim said quietly.


    "Yes?"


    "You should take care to win more elegantly, but I think you already understand that. What I wanted to suggest was that you take on one of the sect''s qi paths. I know they might not seem much like you, but I think you could benefit."


    "The problem is that I don''t think conventional cultivation is right for me," Omena said. "I know, I can''t ignore a force as powerful as qi, but I haven''t found the right art yet."


    "I was thinking that you should... also try a merger." Zin Nim nodded as if to herself. "Yes, it could work. I know you rejected the path of the ''cold maiden'' but that path doesn''t have to be pure ice. There are ways you could take that power and merge it with what you already possess."


    Omena had ignored that advice from Kir Mei Bai, but from Zin Nim... "Alright," she said, "I''m listening."