In the pavilion behind the Beastiary Coalition's study hall.

Xiong Mei and Li Meirong sat facing each other, legs crossed and feet resting below their opposite thighs.

Li Meirong's eyes were closed in concentration, her chin tucked in and her right hand placed on top of the left, thumbs slightly touching.

As planned, after the lesson had ended, the girls met up and began to practice their Cultivation.

"You must clear your mind of any wandering thoughts," Xiong Mei instructed. "Imagine yourself inside an empty space, devoid of everything. When you've managed to free your mind, focus on the energy that surrounds you. The light, the breeze, the water… Everything holds its own form of energy. Choose a single source and concentrate on it."

Li Meirong did as she was told. Her greatest difficulty being to clear her mind from stray thoughts, the worries of the day and the things she had learned refusing to leave. She found herself having to put in extra effort to empty her mind of all thoughts, imagining herself floating in outer space.

An endless, wondrous sheet of blackness, filled with shimmering stars. Li Meirong envisioned the planets in the solar system. Jupiter, Venus, Mars…

The realization hit her like a ton of bricks. She probably wasn't even in that galaxy anymore.

Li Meirong's eyelashes fluttered in concentration as she bit her lower lip. 'No, I have to empty my mind.'

Focusing on her imagined emptiness, Li Meirong pictured a sea of darkness. An infinite void.

It wasn't cold. It wasn't lonely. It wasn't anything, because she, herself, was nothing.

Xiong Mei's voice echoed like a soft whisper, guiding her. "Good girl. Do you see the energies? Concentrate on the energies…"

It was difficult for Li Meirong to make sense of what exactly her fellow disciple was talking about, yet she didn't need to wonder for very long.

Soon enough, inside the sea of endless darkness emerged dim, shadowy fluctuations of colors, slithering across the vast emptiness in Li Meirong's vision.

When Li Meirong focused on the colours, they came closer to her, mimicking a swarm of snakes. Their hues intensified into vivid lights, streaking across the space.

They were like a living essence. Some were cold, some warm, and some even felt similar to a lover's gentle embrace.

When the glowing waves reached her, they shot straight into her body. A brilliant myriad of pigments, varying in shades of greens, blues, yellows, and reds.

The energy engulfed Li Meirong, causing her to feel as though she was submerged in a sea of warm water.

She realized she had stopped breathing and sucked in a deep breath of air, opening her eyes in shock.

The first thing she saw was Xiong Mei's aqua eyes, staring at her in silent amazement.

During the time Li Meirong had been meditating, Xiong Mei had moved closer, not believing what was happening.

"You're glowing like a rainbow!"

Hearing Xiong Mei's declaration, Li Meirong stared down at her own hands. They were indeed shining like the northern lights. Different kinds of glowing colours radiated from her skin and a gentle vibration coursed through her entire body.

"I feel… sweaty." Li Meirong's voice came out hoarse.

Feeling sweaty was an understatement. Li Meirong felt like she dove into a murky swamp instead of having cultivated energy.

Xiong Mei let out a high pitched bray, clutching her hands to her stomach.

The blue-eyed girl's burst of hearty laughter rang in Li Meirong's ears, every little sound pained her sensitive eardrums.

Li Meirong could even hear the crickets chirping a mile away.

Not only that, her eyes were burning. Li Meirong discovered that her eyes couldn't stand the light. Though the day was cloudy, the light seeping through the clouds seemed brighter than the sun at high noon on a cloudless day.

She lifted her wrist to shield her eyes from the light as much as she could, though it did little to help block the light.

"I can't believe it, even though I see it… Usually, Practitioners absorb a single form of energy while Cultivating, so they can maintain a balance within themselves. But you-" Xiong Mei playfully pinched Li Meirong's nose.

Xiong Mei tried to continue speaking, but she broke into a fit of giggles, but eventually gained composure. "You didn't just collect one energy, you went ahead and collected everything around you!"