The cultivation tower was shorter by half than the sword tower, but saw more students. She walked into the cool open central area. She wanted a room on the top floor, but the top floor and the one beneath it were reserved for sect dignitaries. The eighth floor was the highest floor open to students. It had the best quality cultivation rooms compared to all the floors below. She booked a room on the floor for one month and proceeded upstairs. The remaining points in her badge should be enough to pay her way back to the seventh floor when she was ready. Two students sat outside two rooms in quiet meditation. She believed them to be waiting for their friend until she went round. All the rooms were occupied. She looked around for a room that would soon be liberated. The two earliest rooms were where the two students were stationed. She stationed herself in front of the next earliest room. It would be free in eight days. In no time, she also entered into a meditative state. 

The day passed in quiet meditation, but a sudden noise broke her out of her tranquil state.

Danger!

She bent low to avoid the swinging kick, but couldn't avoid the next attack in her awkward position. A foot hit her in the side and sent her tumbling from her spot. She opened one eye first to identify her attacker who was taking her spot. She knew the girl. The female twin who'd excelled alongside her brother and shen duyi during the entrance exam. 

What's her problem? 

If she expected the other two students to interfere, then she was destined to be disappointed. They maintained their positions, although she did notice one of them angle his ear to better hear the drama playing out. 

'Why did you do that?'

'Is this your first time in the tower? What did I do?'

'You attacked me without provocation and  pushed me out of my spot.'

'Of course I'll do that. I'd be a fool if I went and attacked someone stronger than me. So of course I'll attack a weaker person. Since the beginning of the world, the strong have always trampled over the weak. Our ancestors have played out this scene countless times before with those weaker than them and the same scene will be repeated by posterity. But the truth will never change. Those with strength, power and wealth will dominate those lesser than them. Always. Forever. The only truth in our world is power. The powerful will plunder and steal from the weak. Always and forever.'

The girl wasn't strong for strong sake, she also had a way with words.

'You are right. The strong will always rule over the weak. You are right, but what can I say?  You are also wrong.'

'How?'

'You are wrong in thinking that you're stronger than me.'

Bai li yue kicked out without warning. Her foot crashing into the girl's chest driving her into the wall. 

Bang!

'In which world do i look weaker than you?' 

Bai li yue was a tolerant person. Years of working as a part timer had nurtured her patience to an extreme level, but there were some things she simply couldn't stand. Deliberate provocation being one of them. She was already in a bad mood because of her cultivation and the lack of sect points.

Bang! Bang!

Is it so hard to let me mind my business? Who told you to come and disturb me? Huh? I'm not overreacting. This fool needs to learn not to touch a sleeping dog. I need to teach her a lesson. Send a message. If they think they are crazy then I'll show them that I'm mad.

Instead of letting up, her kicks increased in savagery. 

Bang! Crack!

Ehem! 

A loud cough stirred her out of her maddened state. The girl's chest was caved in at an odd angle. She was barely breathing through the blood gushing through her nose and mouth. 

'I overreacted.'

She hadn't meant to injure her this badly. 

'Still people will think twice before messing with me.'

She debated her next course of action for a long moment watching the girl gasp for breath. At that moment, she was nothing more than a butcher accessing meat on his table. It was an odd state to be in and she was rational enough to comment on it to herself. At no moment did she feel any remorse for the harm she'd caused. 

One of the students ran out of patience and picked up the girl's body. Before bai li yue could stop him, he threw the girl over the balcony and watched her fall down several floors before a force caught her. A tower elder rushed to her side and slipped a pill into her mouth.

'That's how you handle troublesome matters. Did you plan on killing her?'

Bai li yue pondered over his question and shrugged. 

'I don't know.'

'It's against sect rules to kill fellow students.'

'I know.'

He observed her for a while and returned to his spot by the door, choosing to keep to himself whatever it was he'd noticed. Instead he introduced himself.

'My name is lei huojin. That is Tan fu.'

'Bai li yue.'

Lei huojin's casual reaction to the violence put her mind at ease. This kind of violence must be usual in the cultivation tower. As for her behaviour, it had been a gross overreaction. She'd lost control in the moment and almost killed someone. Human life had always been sacred to her, but she didn't know. Maybe it was time to admit that she'd changed. To live this world she had to live according to its rules. People killed other people for their own benefit. On the way from guangyang city, she'd witnessed her fair share of atrocities perpetrated in the name of greed. She'd seen a prince order his handmaid to be burned to death for refusing to share his bed. That was after he'd had her bones smashed to pieces. Her life held little meaning to him. All he had to do was dispose of her and take another in her place. 

That was why she'd agreed with the girl's words. Wealth and strength granted power in this world. In every world. That power was permissive and indulgent to those who held it while the weak became creatures to be preyed on. 

She had no interest in defending her actions to herself. She truly didn't know if she'd have let the girl die there. Back at the Purple wind sect when she attacked the sect leader, Lei xiaoyu, she still hadn't come to terms with her new reality. 

This time, although the loss of control wasn't part of her plan, she knew that killing the girl wouldn't have troubled her sleep. She had changed. There was no doubting that. She still had a long way to go to discover if it was for the better or for the worse.

They all returned to their meditation and left the matter behind them. Lei huojin and Tan fu entered the liberated rooms leaving her outside alone. A few days later, she entered a free room to begin her month long seclusion.

Two years passed in the blink of an eye. She divided her time between the sword tower and the cultivation tower. Her earnings from the sword tower went into repaying her debt but also funded her cultivation. She'd become friends with Tan fu and Lei huojin after learning their nicknames. Future ancestor two swords and Scholar with two beauties on each arm were ranked third and seventh respectively on the sword tower leaderboard. As time went on, they introduced her to the remaining eight leaders. Tenth position legendary drunken hero was the only one who kept her at arm's length. He'd grown wary of her since the day she told them about her dream of making it on the leaderboard. He took to training like a madman much to the amusement of the others. Nobody bothered to tell him that it would take a few more years for Bai li yue to pose a threat to him. 

Her friendship with Meixiu was a welcome escape from cultivation. They ate and laughed together like they'd done in the past, but failing the inner sect exam twice in a row had taken a toll on Meixiu. Bai li yue, ever the encouraging friend, had even gone as far as to give Meixiu lessons. But even she had to admit that Meixiu had a problem. Her talent was clear as daylight during practice but she always failed her tests. From time to time she would notice Meixiu's bitterness and despair. There was something bothering her that she refused to discuss with Bai li yue. It held her back from advancing in the sect. 

There was still the issue of her going through Bai li yue's stuff, but she had brought it up. Meixiu told her that she liked to clean when she got bored or stressed. It was a more reasonable answer than what Bai li yue had imagined. She didn't have anything of sentimental value in her room except clothes and books, but knowing that someone was rifling through her affairs still didn't sit well with her, no matter how harmless the reason was. She clearly explained the notion of privacy of space and property to Meixiu hoping that her words sank in. Meixiu seemed to get the message. The issue never came up again.

Today, Bai li yue was taking a rest and drinking tea with Meixiu in the courtyard. The sect was abuzz with excitement as students rushed to finish their last minute preparations.

'I'm so jealous of you, li yue. You get to enter the immortal sword domain while i'm stuck out here being useless.'

'Don't worry. I'll try and bring you something good.'

'Really?' 

She exclaimed but the joy in her eyes died down a moment later. 

'I heard that it's very dangerous there. Promise me you'll take care of yourself. You don't have to bring me anything.'

'I can take care of myself, Meixiu. I can fight well and if that doesn't work, I can use my legs to escape.'

'Li yue, listen to me. If anything happens to you, I won't know what to do. If you encounter any problems go and find Brother Shen. I'm sure he'll help you for my sake. In fact, how about you just stick to his side? You'll be safer that way.'

Bai li yue could see how worried Meixiu was. She nodded to reassure her friend even though she had no intention of going to Shen duyi. The immortal sword domain was a personal challenge to all those entering it. Why should she rely on someone else when she could do fine on her own?

And what if he decides to keep everything to himself because i'm depending on him? Won't I have gone there for nothing?

She still didn't know what Meixiu saw in him. He was the only student of the Sword heaven sect, but apart from that, did he have anything else? He wasn't even on the sword tower leaderboard. If she wanted to ride on someone's coattails, she'd be better off relying on the sword tower leaders.