Jin Lu stood to the side of the path, inspecting the area while she caught her breath. Earthen stairs encircled a large, flat training ground, reminding her of the pictures she had seen of the Roman arenas. The only thing it was missing were the portcullis for the gladiators and beasts to enter from. Seeing a group of young students gathering to the left of the bowl, Jin Lu lifted the sides of her robe and carefully made her way down. It would be her luck to trip on the hem of her robe and tumble down, breaking a few bones along the way.
At the bottom, she walked quickly to the back of the group, standing a bit away from the edge. Just as with her first class, no one spoke to her. There were still curious glances, but they were fewer than the hostile, mocking looks. Jin Lu ignored them all, watching absently as the female warrior from yesterday strode towards them from the side.
"Alright, everyone! Long range to the left, short range to the right, and both in the middle. MOVE!!" Her voice roared, making Jin Lu's eyes cross and her brain feel like it was vibrating.
Daggers are close range, so I should go right… right?
Jin Lu's thoughts were scattered as she stumbled to the right. A hand grabbed her elbow, startling her. Looking down at the top of a youth with short black hair, Jin Lu steadied herself before removing her arm. She hadn't noticed him in the crowd and didn't remember him being close enough to her to stop her from falling. The boy acted as though nothing had happened, standing next to her like he had been there the entire time. Jin Lu felt a twinge of suspicion but let it go, not sensing any violence from the youth.
As Jin Lu had been distracted, the instructor Long Yin had called Zhang Aahana had come over to stand in front of the gathering students. The intimidating look he gave the crowd stopped the few that were whispering to each other to pay attention.
"So, you think you have what it takes to be a cultivator?" he said mockingly, his lips curling. "You are nothing more than mud under my boots! Think because you have a mark, you're going to be rich and powerful? I have news for you, it's not going to happen! Only a few of you will get past Mortal, let alone Star level! Your brains must be made of skim to think you will ever be more than Beasts!" As he spoke, some of the students cowered back while others showed rage.
"Who the hell are you to tell us we can't?!" one hot-head yelled out, his face flushed and his hands fisted. He was the same one who had tried to bully Jin Lu on the path.
Hot, crushing pressure beat down on the students like a heatwave. Jin Lu recognized the feeling from what happened with Long Yin, though this was different. The pressure Long Yin had used had felt like a horrific storm was coming. This felt like the suspense before a volcano erupts; hot and molten. Many of the students fell to their knees, shaking so hard Jin Lu was afraid their bones would break. Fewer, like Jin Lu and the boy next to her, bowed their heads, their teeth gritted and their fists clenched against the force.
"I am Master Zhang," he pulled his power back, "and I can promise that none of you will graduate from here." Master Zhang turned on his heel and left. Many of the students who had fallen didn't get back up, needing to be taken away by others to a small pavilion set up inside the arena for the wounded.
"It's the same every time," a young woman in light, leather armor sighed as she walked up to Jin Lu. "Good for you two though!" She smiled as she stopped, looking at Jin Lu and the boy next to her up and down. "I'm Pan Huan. You're both knife types, right? Jin Lu and Liu Jing?" She waited for them to gesture affirmatively. "Thought so, come with me." Pan Huan waved for them to follow, walking towards the closest set of stairs. Those who had still been standing were taken in small groups by others in different directions, giving each other room to talk or spar.
Pan Huan sat down on a bottom stair, having Jin Lu and Liu Jing settle on the ground in front of her.
"First, I'm going to explain how to manifest your soul weapon." Pan Huan's eyes unfocused for a second before a swirl of frothing blue aura appeared in her hand. It took the shape of a long dagger with a curved tip. Jin Lu had felt a slight current stir in the air around Pan Huan when she had concentrated on manifesting her power.
"This, is my soul weapon. I can create one or two, since I'm a dual wielder too, and I can change its shape a bit as a level Beast-two-star. For now though," Pan Huan pulled two wooden practice daggers from her pouch, "you two will use these." Pan Huan handed Jin Lu and Liu Jing one dagger each. "Close your eyes, find the power inside of you, and release it into the wood." The two followed her instructions, closing their eyes and focusing inward.
So we're supposed to meditate?
Jin Lu was no stranger to meditation; taking deep breaths through her nose and exhaling through her mouth. Starting from the top of her head, Jin Lu used each breath to relax the muscles in her body. The surrounding sounds gradually disappeared, replaced with the tranquil feeling she was used to… yet not. Before, when Jin Lu had floated in her mind space, the only sounds were those of her heart beating, the blood circulating through her veins, and the musical notes that teased her consciousness. Now, there was a new sound inside her soul, whispering, coaxing.
Drifting with the flow of notes, she came upon a sort of black mist in the sea of musical scores, pulling them listlessly towards itself. Jin Lu instinctively knew that the mist was supposed to represent two daggers just as it had on her arm, yet the image was blurry, like she was seeing it through thick, cloudy water. The glowing white scores that it had pulled towards it were forming loose circles, as though it was lazily containing the mist inside.
Remembering that she was supposed to take the power inside of her and push it into the mock blade in her hand, Jin Lu first reached out to feel the mist. The notes kept getting in the way, making her frown thoughtfully. Jin Lu tried to drift closer, thinking to get inside the circle of scores, but that didn't work either. Though they seemed illusionary, they were solid as a brook, flowing with a pressure that continuously pushed her back.
Watching the scores, Jin Lu got an idea. She grabbed one that was being pulled into the circle and hung on, letting it take her into the sphere. The tranquil music sang through her soul, making it hard to concentrate on what she was doing. Half focused, she reached her other hand out to touch the black mist.
Pain.
Sadness.
Horror.
Death.
The black mist was filled with the deepest darkness of her soul, the tragic power of the song throwing her out of her trance. Jin Lu choked back a sob, her face pale as a trickle of blood slid from her nose down to her upper lip. Reaching up in shock, she swayed. Black spots flashed across her vision and the sounds around her became warped. Jin Lu's eyes closed before she fell into the dirt at her side, the two next to her too stunned to move while those in the arena were struck dumb.