Jessica had visited the artisans' new shop above ground and was pleased with his progress. It sat next to the new small library, and both were roughly the same size. Jessica already had plans for an expansion on both.

The librarians at the very least had a simple organization chart. Junior Disciple An-Yong led to initiates who pulled doubt duty tending the storehouse, which was conveniently located next to it. That made it quite reasonable to give them the ability to tend to both.

The current library, though small, had a few precious tomes that had been checked out before the incident. A smattering of books from the general stores back catalog added some heft to their sorely lacking new shelves. Jessica was happy to find that she could read the script, probably a side effect of her new core. Her understanding of the text was at least good enough that she was able to begin to write down what was going on around, to record her thoughts. It wasn’t the same as having a whole war room dedicated to visualizing her entire domain, but she had tried journaling, blogging, and even a short foray into vlogging as well.

None of those had really compelled her to keep doing any of them for the long term, but now she felt invigorated as she laid down the foundation of the tome that she would use to guide her. Her notes so far consisted of how her students had fared in their second week of cycling, and what she was going to try next. The reason that she had dropped by the library was that the alchemists had finally copied their one book, and she was going to sit down and read through it.

The book that she was looking for was at the very least readily available. The alchemists bible listed about thirty common elixirs and pill formations and how they usually acquired the ingredients.

It wasn’t fair that she didn’t understand half of the ingredients. Where would she find a thunder rat's tail? Was that a literal rat that shoots thunder or was this a colloquial term? The texts were surprisingly vague on many points, this one included. It assumed a general kind of knowledge that one would only have received by growing up in this world.

Spirit wolves she got, they seemed just like larger, more gruff versions of the normal type of wolf. Was she excited that she would probably have to kill some? Not very. Deep down, Jessica resented this live or die part of her new world. A true rationalist held value for every living being, and having to kill a flaming chicken to save the lives of her friends, it was a bit of a gray area.

Especially when the flaming chicken probably was going to eat them.

You can’t forget about these kinds of things. Twice in the days since that attack, Jessica had woken up, sweating, yelling about a chicken. She gripped her fur blanket so hard that it had turned to ice, then melted leaving an odor. An odor that was a constant reminder that they were not alone in the area. And she was not alone in her thoughts, for all the enlightenment that cycling gave her. The niggling doubt, that nugget that perhaps she was going to, or already had messed up en route to fixing the Sects problems, was constant. A rock in her sandal. One that she couldn’t remove.

Of course, she figured out a way to make the rock easier to deal with.

The painted rocks she kept crushed, whether consciously or unconsciously, had made her realize that she needed something to take the edge off. Something to smooth the sandals rocks of her life.

***

Two days after the fire demon incident it came to head, when she was presented with an outlet.

She began to spar with her cultivators. At first, the junior disciples babied her around. Her ground game was solid from the Jiu Jitsu training, and she was freakishly strong now. This didn’t help as much as it should have because she was unfamiliar with the amount of unarmed combat the scouts used to train the initiates. Initiates trained for weeks or months before they were even allowed to touch practice weapons. It was almost half a year before any of them were allowed to wield such weapons in sparring matches.

At first, the junior disciples taught her how to hold back. She learned to become a technically proficient fighter as she was getting a grip on her strength.

One the third day of training, she was able to veil her core and pull her punches. It was then that the junior disciples agreed that she wouldn’t be able to kill an initiate without it being intentional. And though they deferred to her, she listened to their counsel.

It wouldn’t do to be wasting her most valuable resource as cannon fodder, after all.

Which is how she found herself on the other side of a different cannon.

That cannon being Elaine's toned arms. Seriously, she threw sandals so fast and accurate that she should by all accounts look like a strongman. To Jessica, she was a waifu incarnate. A five foot nothing tall asian woman able to toss a sandal through a boulder. A boulder then that would probably have profusely apologized for the insult that it’s existence caused Elaine.

This is how Jessica found herself catching sandals.

*Whack*

Her extended left hand reached out, grasping the sandal. A trickle of qi slowed the speed, nullifying the strength of the thrown improvised weapon. A foot away from her chest, and the sandal still pushed Jessica back three meters. The force behind the sandal would have liquified her bones had she still been a normal girl.

Elaine had become deadly with a few days of cycling and martial arts practice. The exception to the rules regarding starting off with unarmed combat, the aunties reveled in her success.

Jessica jumped, trying to make Elaine concentrate on her as a moving target.

Besides the freakish waifu strength that Jessica had, her legs and arms had to adjust to their new speeds. She was far faster and that had been an adjustment in itself. It had been another factor that the junior disciples considered when they had all sparred.

Jung likened it to her having a new set of deer legs.

And Arms.

Another thrown sandal was going to hit where Jessica was going. Mentally she pushed qi out, slowing her own body so that the sandal continued on it’s path, as she passed right afterwards.

Landing she shielded her core with her right hand as she took a smaller step towards Elaine.

The auntie smiled.

Jessica barely had time to stop another sandal, this one aimed straight for her face from point blank range. Her forearms stung as she did a cross block, wonder woman style.

“Wonderful block, Senior sister,” Elaine said, stepping backwards.

Jessica stepped forward, trying a heel kick, as Elaine deftly pushed her leg to one side.

Elaine scored a hit as she punched Jessica, withdrawing out of range. She readied another sandal. Jessica's arm stung, but it was more like a bee sting.

It was at this ill advised moment that Jessica realized the amount she was probably spending on sandals. And where the heck was Elaine pulling them from?

*Whack*

Jessica caught another one.

Were sandals even cheaper to produce than knives?

*Whack*

Jessica deflected a sandal, with a sandal.

Elaine's calm demeanor finally cracked. She looked terrified as Jessica tossed a sandal, underhand at her, nice and easy.

Elaine tossed a sandal, hitting the opposing sandal midair.

“Well if you’re going to be like that, then..” Jessica breathed out, forming whirls of cold into the rough shape of a snowball. She drew the moisture out of the air to form an icy projectile.

The two circled, and then Jessica lobbed a snowball at Elaine, easy.

The sandal smashed through the chunk of frozen air and water, both breaking up into a puff of ice.

Jessica began shooting one after another, finally moving to chuck them overhand.

She pitched a furious snowball at Elaine.

Elaine threw a sandal right at it, and once again the moisture puffed out this time obscuring her view.

Good, let her think that I am going to try to hit her with it and then, Jessica thought.

Jessica started throwing and creating them faster. In ten seconds, three bursts of ice blew up. Elaine could not see her, but Jessica reached out through her spiritual sense and… there she was.

Jessica sprinted all out, juking clockwise around the training area, finally ending up behind Elaine.

With one finger she tapped on Elaine's shoulder, the auntie readying a sandal to throw in the opposite direction.

“Yield,” Elaine said, “Dropping into a bow. This one… thanks you for your instruction.”

“Tea?” Jessica said.

“Absolutely yes, Senior sister. Come, I have the best kinds of tea.”

The two walked away, both smiling. Jessica extended her nascent soul, trying to hear all the feedback at once.

“Did you see how Elaine matched Elder Jessica shot for shot, causing the Elder to have to use more of her ability?”

“I saw that Elaine was not pulling her punches, and still she stood her ground against a core elder!”

“Elaine will surely pass to be in the second realm and third before the rest of us.”

“The Elder, she kills demons and she probably has to feed on their souls to maintain herself as a demon. I am certain of it now.”

Jessica smirked at the side comments from the Aunties. They moved to the area where the aunties had set up an elaborate picnic on the side of the main training grounds. Piping hot steam rose from multiple cups as they took seats near the front.

Another pair of second realm initiates took positions and began sparring.

Jessica smiled. These at the very least were wielding daggers.