Torrents of energy flowed through his body at top speed, expanding his dantian and energy pathways with every cycle. A familiar burning sensation set into his veins, reminding him that he was going too fast. Lin tapped her foot impatiently, eager for him to finish.

He sighed, releasing some of the world's natural energy back into the atmosphere with an exhale. Their training would have to be delayed a little longer. He was on the cusp of completing the last level of the Qi Gathering stage.

Relying on Green’s memories, he wove an intricate mesh of Qi, limiting the amount of natural energy that leaked from his body. He watched eyes half-lidded as he made visible progress on his status screen, inching ever closer to the end of the Qi Gathering stage.

It annoyed him that he couldn’t make full use of his cultivation speed, increasing it unnaturally had been a double-edged sword. His body was unable to handle full-speed absorption. It just wasn’t sturdy enough. He would have to use [Devourer] on a [Cultivation Resistance] wisp or something of that nature, he wasn’t sure of what the exact name was, to fix the problem.

Even though it was annoying, he couldn’t complain. This amount of progress would take a normal person months if not years to achieve, and that was the lucky ones. Tian had told him that most people couldn’t even cultivate. It was a rare gift. It just didn’t seem that way because all those who had the gift flocked to Najian.

He glanced upward, half-expecting lightning bolts to descend from the heavens to test his will. Nothing of the sort happened. The energy rolling within his stomach solidified, taking on a crystalline structure. Complex layers of Qi wove themselves through his dantian, making it hard and unyielding. By the time the process had ended, he knew his Qi had taken on a qualitative change.

It had more weight to it. The change was not large, perhaps the difference between a feather and a pebble, but he could tell it would have a massive effect. This newfound density to his Qi would make it more potent. A single point of it would be able to achieve much more.

An uncomfortable shiver ran through him as his energy pathways quaked. Their new rigid structure would allow for more energy to flow through them, but it would limit their future growth. They were nearing their maximum size. The next step of cultivation would require a different method to progress further.

A barrage of blue screens assaulted his vision.

Congratulations on completing the first step of your cultivation journey. Your soul has been deemed unusually strong. Skill Slots +3.

Shawn smiled, it had been torturous being unable to gain new skills. He couldn’t wait to devour another wisp. He opened his [Status Menu] to see how it had changed.

Name: Shawn Jones Cultivation: Flesh Tempering 1 0/500 Hp: 46/46 Qi: 137/137 Strength: 11 Dexterity: 18 Perception: 24 Endurance: 11 Resilience: 14 Agility: 21 Intelligence: 11

His basic stats had increased by the usual amount, netting him a total of 7 stat points. Most importantly, he had gained an extra boost to his Qi pool for completing the Qi Gathering stage. With his newfound Qi reserves, he should be able to fight for more than a couple seconds before getting exhausted.

Lin coughed to get his attention. “Are you done yet? I’m gonna grow gray hair if you make me wait much longer.” Lin bounced around the boxing ring, waiting for him to finish.

“You already look like an old woman, you don’t have to worry about growing a little extra gray hair.” She threw a couple punches in his direction. Waves of air blasted off her fists, ruffling his hair even though he was standing halfway across the room.

“We’ll see if you keep that attitude up once you step in the ring.” Shawn smiled, he had never won, but he still enjoyed his time training with Lin. It was one of the only times he was able to cut loose and not worry about the future.

Shawn put on his boxing gloves then entered the ring. “I’m going to win this time. I feel good today.”

She laughed. “Isn’t the record 0-42, what makes you think this time is going to be any different?” She threw a barrage of playful jabs, moving at about half her max speed. The point of these sparring sessions wasn’t to hurt each other, they both held back a great deal.

Shawn put his hands up and stepped backward, mitigating most of the damage. He threw some punches of his own in return, but like usual she avoided all of them. She was a slippery opponent, he had trouble even touching her in most of their matches. He flinched as he ducked, allowing her hand to harmlessly pass over his head. His grin grew larger. He wasn’t completely outclassed anymore, his body could keep up.

“I entered the Flesh Tempering realm today,” Shawn said as he leaned out of the way of a punch.

Her mouth hung open and her hands dropped in shock. “What…” she trailed off.

Taking advantage of her distraction, Shawn bopped her lightly on the head. She stumbled backward, regaining her bearings. “I’m trying to make the record 1-42, don’t make it too easy for me.”

She moved her hair back into place. “In that case, I’ll stop holding back as much.” Shawn smiled, looking forward to the challenge.

They lost track of the outside world as they fought, the world shrinking to only encompass the two of them. In a blink of an eye, ten minutes had passed. Another blink and another ten minutes passed.

For the first time, Shawn was able to somewhat hold his own against her, the hours of sparring had increased his skill. He wasn’t yet at the level of a professional martial artist, but his strikes were becoming crisper.

As Shawn’s skill slowly increased, the fighting slowly increased in intensity. They started utilizing Qi in their attacks, taking the fighting to a new level.

The world slowed as Shawn activated [Qi Enhancement]. With newfound ease, he dodged out of the way of a punch. In a blink of an eye, he entered her guard and hit her in the ribs. His fist connected with soft flesh. He looked up into Lin’s brown eyes, shocked that he had managed to land a hit.

She smirked; her Qi pooling beneath her skin, enhancing her muscles. With a simple shove, he was sent flying backward. He awkwardly landed on his feet. Lin’s smile widened as she stepped forward, taking the fight more seriously.

Shawn returned her smile. After reaching the Flesh Tempering stage, [Qi Enhancement] seemed to take less energy. He opened the skill’s description.

Qi Enhancement Lvl 14: A basic skill that all powerful cultivators must master. Through much practice, you are now well on your way to mastering this skill. Spend 3 Qi per second to increase your strength, agility, dexterity, and resilience by 18. You may spend extra Qi to enhance yourself further, but at a decreased rate of efficiency. Be warned, flooding your body with too much Qi can lead to irreparable damage.

Lin’s fist connected with his face, rattling his jaw. “I thought you were the one telling me not to get distracted.”

Shawn groaned. That hurt. [Qi Enhancement] cost 2 Qi less per second to use, but discovering that fact wasn’t worth getting punched in the face. Despite the adrenaline pumping through his veins, he found himself getting distracted. I should tell her about the Carnival Tokens.

Lin kicked out her foot, sweeping his legs out from underneath him. He crashed to the ground, heaving for air. His endurance lagged behind his other stats to a worrying degree. “That’s not fair.” He groaned.

She sat down on the floor next to him and took off her boxing gloves. “Nope, it wasn’t, but fights aren’t fair. Get used to it.”

Shawn wiped away a bead of sweat running down his forehead. “You’re just saying that because I was going to win.”

She laughed, her eyes crinkling cutely. “It’s 0-43, I’m not worried about you beating me.” She helped him take off his gloves. “Are you okay, I hit you pretty hard at the end?”

“Ya, I’m fine. I’m not as fragile as I used to be.”

“True, you’re a lot more fun to spar with now. I used to be afraid that you’d blow away in the wind if I touched you too hard. Now you can kind of keep up with me. It’s scary how fast you have improved.” She paused as she stood up. “You know, you’re a pretty talented guy. I’ve never seen anyone improve as quickly as you.”

Shawn scratched the back of his head, warm feelings dancing in his stomach. It was rare for him to receive a compliment. It was especially rare for Lin to say something nice to him. She was usually rude and abrasive.

“Thanks, that means a lot.”

“Don’t mention it, that’s what friends are for.” She made her way out of the ring.

“Lin, wait,” He stared at her, searching for the right words. She turned back to him, a faint dusting of red on her cheeks. Shawn took a deep breath, committing to his course of action. It’s okay, I can trust her. She won’t betray me.

He attempted to speak, but the words came out as an unintelligible mess. Why is this so hard to say? Shawn’s mind went blank as the pressure of the situation built.

“I...I…” Lin’s blush deepened. “I know where the Carnival Tokens are.”

“What!” she said at the top of her lungs, the redness of her cheeks rapidly disappearing.

“I know where the Carnival Tokens are,” Shawn repeated. “I know where all of them are.”

She grabbed his shoulders, her face uncomfortably close to his. “Why didn’t you say so earlier? Where are they? This changes everything,” she said, the words spilling out of her mouth at a rapid pace.

Shawn took a second to collect himself. “There are three on top of a building in the shopping district. I need help retrieving them.”

“Well, what are we waiting for?” She pulled him into a bone-crushingly tight hug. Suddenly she pushed him away and zoomed around the room collecting her things. “I’ll tell Tian to bring over the flying car. There’s no time to waste,” she said while stuffing objects into a bag.

Lin froze as something in her pocket vibrated. She pulled out a small piece of jade and squinted at it. Her face fell.

“What’s wrong?” Shawn asked.

“Chule sent a message, The Alliance attacked.” She bit her lip, indecision clear on her face. “We have to help, they’re killing our people.”

Shawn’s blood ran cold. This couldn’t have happened at a worse time. The Alliance had recovered from their sabotage faster than he thought possible. “Where?” Shawn said slowly.

“An electronics plant.” She gripped her bag so hard her knuckles turned white. “Does anyone else know where the Carnival tokens are?”

Shawn shook his head. “No, I’m the only one who knows the exact locations. Though Dorian may remember the general locations of some of the coins.”

“Good, then it can wait till after we deal with The Alliance. If we leave now they’ll whittle down the Den till there’s no one left.”

The faces of all those in the Scorpion’s Den who had helped him flashed through his mind. He would be a terrible person if he left them in their hour of need. Now that he had amassed some amount of power he could make a real difference. He bit his lip.

Even still, he wanted nothing more than to run back to the shopping district and collect the Carnival Tokens. He wanted to escape all the violence. He wanted to see the sun again. He wanted to be safe again. The only place where he could achieve these things was within the Golden Fire Sect, it was practically heaven in his mind.

However, for now, he would have to shelve those desires. For his friends, he would delve into the hellish streets of Najian one final time. He would destroy The Alliance and get his revenge on Dorian. Only then would his conscience allow him to rest easy within the sect.

He looked deep within Lin’s warm brown eyes and could see her struggling with a similar dilemma. “Ok, we’ll deal with The Alliance first,” he said in agreement.

She playfully shoved his shoulder, her touch lingering for a second too long. “Don’t look so worried. When the three of us are working together nothing can stop us. We took down a whole building by ourselves. We’ll be fine.”

Shawn nodded, thankful for her reassurance. Just as he finished gathering his things, he heard the familiar hum of Tian’s flying car landing outside. Shawn turned to Lin. “After this is all over, let’s have a picnic together under a clear sky.”

She locked eyes with him. “I’d like that.”

They ran out of the gym, leaving words left unspoken.