With greater speed than an average human should be capable of, feet and hands flew through the air in a furious flurry. The sandbag shook and flailed as it received the unwarranted punishment. The aggressor was a young woman in her teenage years, dressed in a tank top, shorts, and nothing else visible. Her feet and hands were both bare.
After a final kick that sent the sandbag flying off its hook, she sat down on the ground and screamed. Those around her described the girl as beautiful, the most desirable in the sect. Breasts of a perfect size, a thin waist, wide hips, and peerlessly smooth skin. Those around her were all men, and they desired only one thing. Her body. Girls and women shunned her for her attention-stealing looks, and men lusted after her for the same reason.
All this bullshit stressed Aurora out. She had no friends, and everyone around her wanted to get her naked. The only thing she could do was focus on herself. Increase her cultivation and better her fighting skills. She lived in a predatory environment.
Despite the sect's strict rules, there were still those who wanted to take her by force. And several had tried. Thanks to the danger that always loomed over her head, Aurora was one of the better fighters of her generation, so she'd managed to fight most offenders off. A couple, however, had overpowered her, primarily due to their higher cultivation base.
Luckily, the sect was crowded, and a girl's screams would very quickly attract the attention of the elders. Aurora still held on to her virginity, but a few boys had gotten to see her naked. Or mostly naked. Aurora had wanted those rapists to be killed, but sadly for her, attempted rape wasn't a crime worthy of death. They had been punished and spent some time in confinement, but in the end, they hadn't been expelled.
Aurora wished she could just up and leave the sect. Then again, she was a cultivator. For a cultivator like her to be on her own would be bad, to say the least. Forget about being raped; she'd probably end up dead or a slave to some old pervert.
Done with her daily training, Aurora took a hot shower. As an inner disciple, Aurora had a pretty luxurious home. A private training room, a bathroom with not only a big shower but even a hot tub, a bedroom with a walk-in closet, and a queen-sized bed. There was no kitchen, though, since even inner disciples had shared meals.
There was a decent living room, though, with a big TV. After her shower, Aurora sat on the couch, wearing only a large towel, and turned on the television. It went straight to the sect's news channel, where a man and woman were talking about some other sects.
At a rare moment, Aurora felt some excitement. Tomorrow was the day when the big sects would visit her own Mount Northpeak Sect, something which only occurred every five years. Since Aurora had only been in the sect for two years, this would be her first time and thus her best opportunity to get recruited into a better sect.
She hoped that she could get recruited into a sect where beauties on her level were more common, somewhere where the other girls wouldn't avoid her because she made them feel bad. Somewhere she didn't have to fear rape so much. Cultivators were all rather hot-headed and would take way too drastic measures to get what they wanted compared to ordinary people. But if the average level of beauty was higher, it would at least be less likely for Aurora to be targeted.
Even if she ended up in a sect where everyone could freely rape her, it would still mean a better future for Aurora since she'd be in a top-tier sect. Perhaps that would be worth it. She was somewhat unsure. But it wasn't like any sect like that existed. At least Aurora didn't know of any.
Aurora watched the news show, ardently listening to the detailed explanations of the sects appearing tomorrow. Unfortunately, she had missed the beginning during her shower, so there were still some sects she knew nothing about.
When the show finally ended, Aurora put on some panties and got to bed.
Aurora awoke to the sound of her alarm just before six in the morning, the same as every day. All inner and outer disciples had to attend morning practice at six sharp. It was just some energy flow movements to make cultivation more effective. Pretty relaxing, but many people still found it annoying.
Aurora dressed in her training uniform, the same outfit she had worn before taking the shower yesterday. It was very revealing, but she had to wear it since the sect was very strict regarding uniforms. Aurora had to wear a sports bra and shorts for all physical activities. For the non-physical classes, she had to wear the standard sect uniform, which barely showed any skin.
Since Aurora had her first fighting class right after morning exercise, it was even more critical. After that was breakfast, and then the sect selection would begin. Since she also had to wear her exercise clothes there, it'd be a while until she got the opportunity to cover the body everyone seemed to lust after.
Aurora immediately left her apartment after getting dressed and headed for the morning exercise area. It wasn't far. When she got there, dozens of inner disciples were already present. Aurora found a spot for herself and started waiting for the elder to arrive. She wanted peace and quiet while she waited, but it never really went that way. Without any warning, she felt a hand squeeze her ass.
"If it isn't my favorite girl," a guy's voice spoke. Aurora immediately swept the intruding hand away and shot the guy a menacing glance.
"Keep your hands to yourself, perv!" Aurora half-shouted at the guy she couldn't even name.
"Hey now, dressing like that, I thought you wanted to be touched," the man-child replied, a faint chuckle at the end.
"You know full well I have to wear this, you ass. Go away," Aurora replied before looking away. Instead of peace and quiet, she felt yet another squeeze at her behind. This time the guy even put an arm around her shoulder.
"Come on now, Aurora, I just want to have some fun. Just let me touch a bit," the perv said. Aurora shot him another look, her hands balled into tight fists.
"You're lucky the sect selections are today, or I'd already have beaten you to death. Fine. Only one hand, and only until we start exercising. But you better pay me back, somehow," Aurora said. Typically, Aurora would have punched him the moment he touched her; consequences be damned. At most, she'd have to suffer through some minor punishment. But it would also mean losing out on the selections, which she absolutely couldn't risk.
This guy knew Aurora wouldn't do anything risky today, so he took full advantage.
"Great! There's still ten minutes till it's supposed to begin," he said, not holding back as he fondled Aurora's behind.
"Enjoy yourself while it lasts. Hopefully, you'll never see me again after today. If you do, I'll beat you up," Aurora said. The pervert didn't reply, focusing all his attention on Aurora's body. He explored upwards, touching her hips, her belly, and in a fit of courage, he went for her boobs. He slid his fingers under the fabric of her sports bra and grabbed the nude skin of Aurora's breast.
"Hey, cut it out, man. You can touch if you have to, just not under my clothes, you ass!" Aurora said, shocked at the aggressiveness.
"Come on, Aurora, you said it yourself. This is probably the last chance I have. Just let me enjoy you while I still can. I'm gonna use my other hand now," he said.
"God, fine! What, you want a kiss next?" Aurora replied, her cheeks going red.
"Sure, I'd love that!" The pervert said. Immediately, before Aurora could take it back, he put his free hand behind her neck and kissed her. He forced his tongue into her mouth, and Aurora didn't pull back for some strange reason. For almost fifteen full seconds, they made out. The perv's hand even ended up inside Aurora's panties, touching her naked ass.
"Dude, the hell! I was joking!" Aurora exclaimed. But despite her apparent anger, she still let him touch her ass. There was something strange about it all, almost like she didn't absolutely hate being felt up like that.
"You kissed back, though. And you know, I can feel you getting wet down there. Are you sure you don't want to come with me for a moment? You'll feel amazing," he said, giving her a wink at the end.
"No! I'm not going to have sex with you, man," Aurora replied.
"Fine, fine. How about this, then? If we're both still here after the sect selections, would you have sex with me then? I mean, there's really no reason not to. Most other girls your age are having sex," the unnamed pervert said.
"If no other sect will accept me, and I have to stay here, then… I'll think about it. If you can convince me to be in a relationship with you, then we might have sex, eventually. But I won't do anything casually. And you'll have to prove to me that you're worthy. Maybe if you can defeat me in a duel," Aurora said, not quite believing her own words. But she was surprisingly flustered. All the touching and kissing were getting to her; Aurora was getting horny. Something she honestly couldn't say was that rare of an occurrence. Aurora never had sex, but that didn't mean she never masturbated. It helped with the stress of daily life in a sect full of ravenous bastards.
"That sounds good. More than good. But what if we were to get chosen by the same sect? Would you still date me?" The guy asked. Aurora laughed at the implausible scenario.
"Fuck it, if we both just so happen to get into the same damn sect, I'll straight up let you fuck me, no questions," Aurora said. Of course, there was little to no chance of that happening. There were a few dozen sects from several different nations, choosing out of thousands of disciples. It was even possible that a sect might leave without any new disciples. This leeching from smaller sects was only one source of disciples for the large sects. They also visited every other small sect and did their own recruiting in their territory.
"Oh, I'll hold you on that. If the gods favor me, I shall have your body," the nameless pervert said as he gave a hard smack on Aurora's ass.
"Hey!" Aurora retaliated, punching the boy's shoulder.
"You would have a better chance at me if you didn't treat me like a piece of meat. There's a person with feelings behind my looks, you know," Aurora said.
"Sure, sure. If you let me quench my lust, I'll treat you nice," the guy replied. Aurora just sighed. A few minutes passed before the elder in charge of morning exercise arrived.
For the thirty minutes that the exercise lasted, Aurora was left alone. Then, she went to her first morning class, which would also be her only class of the day due to the selections. The next ninety minutes were spent sparring, which was one of Aurora's favorite activities. She enjoyed beating her frustrations out on other people, be it the boys who wanted her body or the girls who gave her the cold shoulder. Perhaps it wasn't that strange that she had no friends.
But Aurora was no superpower among her peers. She could dish out but always left with bruises.
Breakfast was something Aurora rushed through every day. The less time she spent in the dining hall, the less harassment she received. After eating, she returned to her apartment, where she took another shower to rinse away the sweat.
At nine in the morning, dressed in another set of exercise clothes, Aurora walked over to the area where the sect selections were to be held. Already, an uncountable number of people were present, dressed in the same style of clothes as Aurora. The only difference was the colors.
Outer disciples wore white uniforms, inner disciples had red uniforms, and the rare core disciples wore black. Status and hierarchy were important in these sects, so even the uniforms differed for every tier of disciples. Being an inner disciple, Aurora could freely put on airs in front of the outer disciples. But should a core disciple deign her with their presence, Aurora had to be humble.
A while later, the elders arrived and started organizing the disciples. Everyone was put into ranks, their position dependent on their cultivation. Aurora was at the fourth level of Energy Storage, so she was in the middle of the inner disciples. She was one of the faster cultivators, though, since she was only eighteen and had joined the sect at sixteen. Aurora was already at the eighth level of Body Tempering back then. Only five months later, she entered the tenth level. Two months after that, she broke through to the Energy Storage stage.
She had always progressed far faster than anyone in her village, so Aurora's parents had long ago decided to send her to the sect. Joining a sect was the only method for Aurora to ever reach the Energy Storage stage and progress as a cultivator. Proper cultivation was something only available to the sects or the rich. And even then, the rich could never match a sect.
Aurora watched on as the sect selections began. Everyone would be tested with the superior methods of the large sects, but it would take a while. Every sect would try one disciple at a time. There were a couple dozen sects, but thousands of disciples. Every once in a while, there was a slight commotion as a disciple was taken away by a sect.
Aurora spent the time looking at the elders of the other sects, standing opposite the disciples, minding their own business. Only a few people were testing the disciples. The rest were just observing the disciples. Aurora even felt like one of them looked at her for a moment. She could have sworn she even locked eyes with a beautiful woman, an elder of one of the sects. But she couldn't be sure. Why would someone like that look her in the eyes?
A couple of hours passed. Aurora would pay extra attention whenever someone she knew from her classes went up. Finally, her turn came around.
"Give me your hand," the elder said, an older gentleman. As was the custom, Aurora bowed to the elder and gave him her hand. As the man touched her hand, he smiled ever so slightly.
"Good. You can go back now," the elder finally spoke. Those words, while simple enough, were like a punch in the gut to Aurora. Everyone who was recruited was so right after being tested. Her being told to return could mean only one thing.
Aurora wanted to cry, but she bowed again and turned back.
'I really thought I'd get accepted. Am I really not good enough for them? I'm progressing so fast, though. Or is it some other quality they're looking for?' Aurora wondered as tears welled up in her eyes. She really wanted to just run away and return home. Back in the village, she was never harassed. But she didn't.
"It's just a setback," she mumbled as she wiped her eyes.
'I can still make something for myself here. Maybe if I get with that guy from before, I won't be harassed so much. Or someone strong,' Aurora thought. But she shook her head. She couldn't give up that easily, but she would have to give that guy a chance. She had promised that much.
Lost in her own thoughts, Aurora suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder. It was one of the elders of the Mount Northpeak Sect, one she was familiar with.
"Elder Roke," Aurora saluted.
"You're pretty lucky, Aurora. An Elder from one of the great sects has requested your presence. She wishes to take you with her. Apparently, she even told the other sects not to take you," Elder Roke said.
"What? Really? Why would she want me that much?" Aurora said, trying to remain calm, but she struggled to keep in her glee. She had just been about to settle with being a housewife because none of the sects wanted her.
"They must have seen something in you that they really need. You're probably greatly compatible with their techniques. But I don't know much about that particular sect. Let's just go meet them," Elder Roke explained.
"Yes, elder. Please take me to them," Aurora said, bowing once more. Elder Roke was swift about leading her to this mysterious sect elder. Much to Aurora's surprise, it was the same elder who had locked eyes with Aurora earlier. Guess it wasn't just a figment of her imagination.
"Elder. Disciple Aurora greets you," Aurora introduced herself with a bow. Elder Roke nodded at the mysterious elder before leaving without another word.
"Come stand here, Aurora. I will explain everything later," the elder spoke. Her voice was beautiful. It was like listening to a calming melody of the soul, compressed into mere words. It was a technique incomprehensible to Aurora. Any need to question the situation dissipated within her.
"Yes, elder," Aurora said. Aurora stood silently by the elder's side for the rest of the selections. Not a word was spoken between them. When only a few hundred disciples remained, she decided to take Aurora away. Two other disciples had been recruited by the elder's sect, but she didn't bother with them. Only Aurora was taken away from the crowd, truly showing how much worth was placed on her. Aurora couldn't figure out why, though. Sure, she cultivated fast, but she wasn't the fastest in the sect. Not even close. And she was a good fighter, but again, not the best. Aurora could only wait for the elder to explain herself.