Xinasa sat and watched her students attempt to cultivate. It had been almost two weeks now and out of three hundred, more than two hundred had managed to achieve the spirit pulse. Normally these students would be furiously rushing onward, attempting to compress that spirit pulse into a battering ram to allow the first trickles of power to begin entering their core. Instead, she was deliberately stalling them.

All because one girl was making progress doing something that, to her knowledge, nobody had ever done before. She was crafting an innate constitution for herself.

Oh, it wasn’t an actual innate constitution. Those were accompanied by signs from the heavens and created a huge ruckus when they descended. No, what this girl was creating wasn’t, quite, an innate constitution, though with some further development it would likely be just as good. Truly it was a remarkable feat.

But it was stalling everyone else.

The girl wasn’t at fault of course. Master Zhao had made the decision, not the girl. Still, it was hard not to blame her. This class should be well on its way to becoming true cultivators, excavating their core potential and attuning their meridians. Instead, they were languishing, getting bored and losing interest, all because this one girl was still only ‘making progress’.

She wanted to argue with Master Zhao’s reasoning but honestly couldn’t. If this girl succeeded, then all of her students might similarly forge constitutions. In that instance, allowing them to progress and miss this opportunity would be a grave disservice. But as time progressed it was looking less and less likely that she would be able to make that final step and succeed. Her aspect had shifted tremendously over the past days, but the disharmony she was experiencing wasn’t decreasing - it was getting worse. If this continued the girl might be irrevocably damaged.

The first few days had been exciting, almost unbearably so. After the first day, the girl had started achieving more and more pulses. Today she had managed eight so far and was showing no sign of slowing down. The rate at which she drew in the energy within her special circle was now almost as fast as it was being produced, leaving the energy almost too sparse to continue. Xinasa could practically see her body resonate every time she achieved a pulse, her spirit resounding loud enough for all of the teachers to be distracted by it.

Xinasa couldn’t fault the girl’s efforts. Every day she would come here, full of fire and excitement, ready to continue. Of course, she had no idea what she was doing, she only knew that it was hard but nice, that it made her feel good. The longer she did it the better it felt. But Xinasa was getting impatient for results. If this continued then her entire class’s cultivation might be delayed because of this one girl and Xinasa's stupid idea.

The girl - Tara, Xinasa reminded herself - was starting to look a little haggard. It was obvious that the growing disharmony in her body was beginning to take a serious toll. If she didn’t find some balance soon then the effort would have to be abandoned and a way to save the girl found, which at this point might be impossible. With a sigh Xinasa returned her attention to the students who were still meditating, preparing to dismiss them. The truth was that if this final group, numbering just over eighty, hadn’t achieved a spirit pulse by the end of this week Xinasa was going to recommend they be kicked out of the school. They had no reason to spare resources on children who couldn’t even take the first step and if they weren’t cultivators then having them here would turn into a liability very quickly.

Just as Xinasa was opening her mouth to dismiss the group her instincts jumped at her, warning her of impending danger. Her head whipped about, focusing on the circle where the girl - Tara - sat. At first, Xinasa couldn’t figure out why she would be getting a sense of danger from the girl, but then she felt it, just the faintest trace, a flicker. Natural energy was being pulled into the circle. It was just a tiny bit, a trickle, but it should have been impossible; the formation should be strong enough that even Xinasa shouldn’t be able to pull energy into it from the outside. Yet as she focused she caught it again, a faint trace of energy being pulled through the formation.

Not understanding, but knowing that something very dangerous was about to happen, Xinasa reacted. For the first time on this world, she exerted her entire cultivation base, employing a movement technique to appear between the girl and the rest of her classmates. As she approached the formation she got a better look at what was happening and nearly stumbled. The formation, a formation her master had set up, was compressing, bowing inward under an incredible force as the natural energy exerted itself trying to reach her.

Xinasa had only one explanation for the phenomenon and it scared her witless - the plane itself was trying to reach the girl. Whether for good or ill, she didn’t know. All she knew was that the formation was going to break and when it did the release of energy would be tremendous. Gathering herself, she exerted herself to the fullest, stopping between the formation and the rest of her class. Whatever was happening to the girl, Xinasa had no hope of interfering. All she could hope to do was provide some cover for the rest of the class.

Hands seals flashed from her hands at blinding speed even as the formation bowed inward, a bubble ready to pop. In less than a second, she had finished the seals and cast out her art - Dividing the Heavens, a divine level art that created a razor-thin shield of split space between her and danger. When deployed perfectly nothing could cross the divide created, but she was far from the level of a Grand Mastery in the art and could only pray that her shield would suffice to blunt the detonation she knew was coming. She poured more and more of her Qi into the technique, desperately hoping it would be enough. The other teachers that were close enough to reach had begun doing the same, layering their defensive arts behind hers. Four others had managed to fully deploy a defensive art before the inevitable happened.

The formation gave with a near-silent ‘pop’ and unleashed all its stored up energy, even as the natural energy jumped forward with what Xinasa could almost swear was glee. She had an instant, a moment so short that it should have been imperceptible, to feel the chill of death approaching as she saw the energy rushing her, pushing the very air along with it. Unable to do anything else, she closed her eyes and waited.

DONG!

The strike was so strong that the ground reverberated with the impact, causing a minor earthquake and leaving the stones of the courtyard pulverized in a perfect circle where the collision occurred. Xinasa just stared, unable to believe she was still alive. She couldn’t imagine how her feeble defense had deflected such an impact, especially since she hadn’t even felt it against her shield.

An instant later her reason caught up with her and she breathed out a sigh of relief. It hadn’t been her shield at all; the master had intervened to save them. Xinasa wanted to bow and thank him but the show wasn’t over yet. Free to coalesce, the natural energy had formed a vortex around the girl, who was miraculously unharmed. The vortex funneled the energy into her, pouring in more and more as the disciples stared in awed silence. Even the master was entranced in his stoic way while watching the plane lavish energy on the girl. More and more energy flowed and the vortex grew, reaching nearly twenty feet in height.

The girl started to scream.

Looking back, Xinasa could never accurately guess whether that scream had been one of soul-rending pain or heaven-defying pleasure. All she knew was that girl was experiencing the height of something and that her only choices were to let it out or go mad. As she screamed a beam of pure Qi shot into the air, parting the gathering clouds in a perfect circle. It went on and on before cutting off abruptly. When it did the girl collapsed, a puppet with her strings cut. Both Xinasa and Master Zhao moved at the same moment, intending to catch the girl, but were stopped as a massive form coalesced around her. It didn’t stop her from hitting the ground. Rather, it focused on the two approaching experts and growled, a fierce, deep rumble that caused the newly created loose rocks in the courtyard to dance and shudder in time with the vibration.

Not quite ready to die after having just been saved, Xinasa pulled up short. To her surprise, so did her master. To her even greater surprise, he cupped his hands and bowed deeply, his head passing his waist. He didn’t rise after bowing but held the position for a long moment.

Now, it should be said that Master Zhao’s disciples were not stupid. Seeing the incarnation of some beast, and her master’s reaction to it, Xinasa and the others quickly followed suit, bowing deep enough that their heads nearly touched their knees.

Then it spoke.

“Immortal, what is your name?” asked the beast. Xinasa hadn’t identified it yet, at first because she had been too close to get a good look and it was rather indistinct, then because her eyes were firmly planted downward. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her master straighten some but he spoke without raising his head fully. Whatever, whoever, this was, her master was utterly subservient to it. For the first time in a very long time, Xinasa knew fear.

“Great Ancestor, this one is named Zhao Gang.” The very lack of embellishments emphasized his utter obedience, answering the question directly and with as few words as was polite.

“Tell me, Immortal Zhao, how you thought it was a good idea to steal my heritage?” The voice was calm and as tranquil as water, yet the words might as well have carried a killing intent heavy enough to end an entire plane. Xinasa knew with absolute certainty that if this being decided that their death was warranted, no force on this plane would save them. Even her master was an ant in front of this… beast.

“Great Ancestor,” Zhao Gang said, his eyes still firmly focused on the ground, “I have not stolen your heritage. I have not harmed the child, not taken a single drop of blood. I have not broken your edict, not in truth or spirit. This girl has obtained none of your heritage.”

“That is impossible,” said the Great Ancestor. “I can sense her as if she were one of my own. If she does not have my blood then tell me, Immortal Zhao, how has such a bond been formed.”

“First, Great Ancestor, a vow. I swear upon the heavens and the earth that I have not taken a single drop of blood from the child, nor directly endowed this girl with any of your heritage. May the heavens strike me down if I am lying.” Zhao Gang’s voice carried extreme confidence. A good thing, since if he had lied the very plane which had just interfered to bestow some unknown blessing on this girl would have been free to smite him from existence. Or attempt to at least. Xinasa doubted a plane this low could succeed in killing a True Immortal, but at the very least its attempt would have been a highly visible sign that he had lied. No such sign occurred.

“A good start,” said the Great Ancestor, “But not the answer I sought. Do not make me ask again.” The voice had taken on a definite chill now, a hint of killing intent leaking out, one so sharp that she was sure it could cut even her spirit should it be directed at her.

“Great Ancestor, I have made some small discovery, a secret method to shift the personal aspect of a beginning cultivator. When I discovered this, I had little hope of making any use of it, since I had no guideline for how to shift her aspect positively. Thus I sought inspiration, which came to me in the form of two words - Innate Constitution. Most innate constitutions are forged with the likeness of some legendary beast or another, with powers that closely resemble the beast in question. With that in mind, I sought out a friend who might offer me a beast to attempt such an attunement. He was hosting two of your descendants at the time and they had recently given birth. They allowed me to take the child, without coercion, for one month, provided I swore a heavenly oath that the child would not be harmed. I did so.”

“Once here, I encased the child in a formation that excluded natural energy and encouraged it, gently, to exude its own Qi. Then I had the girl use the method we here had developed to attune herself to that Qi, hoping to allow her to gain some benefit, that of an imitation innate constitution.” Zhao Gang paused for a moment before continuing. “If you cast your senses downward, Great Ancestor, you will see the child is unharmed. As for your connection with the girl, I cannot explain it.”

“Hmm… If what you say is true, then it is also true that you have not violated my edict. Still, it is concerning. To my senses, she registers as one of my brood, though the connection is very weak.” The Great Ancestor paused for a moment before letting out a snarl of irritation. “I must go. I have spent too long here already. You, Immortal, will bring the girl, the child, and its parents, and present yourself at the palace in three days. If you do not I will consider you an enemy.”

The words chilled Xinasa to the bone. It did not say ‘my palace’ or ‘the palace on…’. No, it had simply said ‘the palace’. To the highest cultivators, there was only one place that was ‘The Palace’, much like there was only one ‘White House’ to Americans. The Palace was the palace of the Eternal Emperor, the ruler of creation, seated atop the tallest mountain in the highest heavens. If this creature was summoning her master to The Palace, then… A line of cold sweat ran down Xinasa’s back. Few, very few, had the right to summon people there. She could think of very few who were beasts and only one that was so powerful that her master would show absolute subservience to it. The Denglong. The beast that sat at the Eternal Emperor’s right hand, the ruler of the beasts, subservient only to the Emperor himself. The Great Ancestor, who enforced an absolute ban on the dilution of its bloodline heritage. No Denglong had ever willingly mated outside its species and no one had ever survived attempting to take one by force. Those cultivators who had dared to steal the blood of a Denglong and refined it had quickly found themselves hunted to extinction. Not just them, either, but their entire clan to the ninth generation, leaving not even dogs or chickens.

The Denglong was said to be both benevolent and wise, but it had no mercy for those who would taint the heritage of its children. Xinasa felt fury burning deeply in her heart. What, exactly, had her master gotten them into?