Immediately, a rain of lightning came down on me as I struggled to maintain a barrier around me.

I had already exhausted the majority of my strength and qi from the two previous trials and fighting that sand snake, and I couldn't keep this barrier up forever. Large cracks were already forming on the surface as the lightning chipped away at its transparent cover.

I quickly converged my soul energy, and whatever qi, I had to prepare myself for the next wave of attack. Slowly easing back the barrier, I felt the electrification of the lightning as it started to course through my meridians[1] and dantian[2].

"Pfft," spitting out some blood, I ignored the pain as I tried to maintain my focus. With the little qi I had left, I decided to ease the power through my meridians slowly. However, it proved to be too much as I had no choice but to retreat.

The lightning went through and destroyed my meridians, one by one before slowly rebuilding them again.

I would've cried out long ago, but that's unbecoming of myself.

A lady shouldn't wail in pain like a shrew.

Biting back the pain, I chewed my bottom lip into a bloody pulp, and my hands dripped spots of red as my fingernails created crescent indents into my palms.

And although it was painful, I knew that this would be beneficial for my advancement to the next level, but I couldn't deny how excruciatingly painful it was. 

Finally, the lightning made its way down to my stomach, where it soon attacked my dantian.

Holding on to my consciousness for a bit longer, I felt the pain gradually subside as the lightning disappeared, revealing a calm evening sky.

My head felt faint, and I was on the verge of passing out until I felt the force come out once more as it circled me for a bit.

Seemingly satisfied, the force disappeared.

At last, with not a drop of strength left, I let myself succumb to the peaceful darkness.

---

Light trickled through an open window as it hit my eyes, luring me back into reality. Squinting eyes, against the sun, I found myself in a bamboo hut lying on a bed.

"Ah, it looks like you're awake," a warm voice caressed my ears. An older woman came through the hut doors and took off her straw hat.

I tried to speak, but my throat felt as dry as a desert.

"Em, drink some water, child," the woman smiled as she walked over, holding a bowl of water. Slowly drinking the cold liquid, I handed her back the empty bowl before she refilled it.

"Where, where am I?"

"Oh," the old woman smiled as she turned around and went over to a shelf full of medicinal herbs. "You're in the female medical ward of Yun Cai Peak. Around here, people call me Doctor Jing Xin," turning back to me, she crushed up some roots and placed them in a teapot. After filling it with hot water, she poured out a steaming cup of tea. "Here, drink this to regain your energy."

"How long was I here," reaching out, I grabbed the hot cup from her old hands and blew on its surface before taking a sip.

It was bitter at first but surprisingly refreshing as it traveled to the back of my throat.

"Not long," Doctor Jing Xin said as she poured herself a cup before sitting down. "They brought you in about two days ago at most."

"Did I miss the disciple selection?"

"Oh no, goodness, no," Doctor Jing Xin laughed. "The Sect Master was so pleased with this year's admissions that he extended the disciple selection date to the end of this week to let the admissions rest. Therefore, there's no need for you to fret."

"Oh," taking another sip of the tea, I let myself sort out this new information. "If I may ask, was there another girl with me?"

"Oh, yes," Doctor Jing Xin smiled. "She woke up earlier than you did and helped me take care of you. Ah, what a sweet girl," Doctor Jing Xin laughed. "You know, she volunteered in taking care of you as soon as she woke up. Feeding, bathing, and changing your bandages, my, she's a great help."

What.

"Ah, these old bones aren't what they used to be. It was so kind of that girl to offer her assistance even though she wasn't in the best condition," she paused before looking up.

"Oh dear, why have you gotten so red all of a sudden?" She placed her thin hand against my forehead to check my temperature. "Hmm, perhaps too much internal heat," Doctor Jing Xin mumbled.

"O-oh, no," I reassured as I calmed down and forced my embarrassment to the deepest corners of my mind.

"Eh, are you sure?"

"Em, I'm sure," I nodded. "Thank you for your concern."

"Alright," Doctor Jing Xin sighed as she stood up with the help of a side table. "Well, I must be going and tell the proctors that you're awake. Feel free to rest here until you feel capable of walking."

"Eh, thank you."

Left alone to my thoughts, my face immediately flushed red again. "Ahhh," burying my face into my pillow, I let myself calm down for a bit before I felt the sense of calm come back to me.

"Senior! You're awake!" Bursting through the door, a ball of energy violently swung the door open, nearly breaking the door off of its hinges.

"Zhu Na Ran?"

"Yep," she chirped as she skipped over to me, "and I came bearing food, too," and held up a small sack. "Doctor Jing Xin told me that you had woken up, so I got us some food to fill your stomach."

Plopping down on the stool next to me, she unceremoniously dropped the sack on my legs. Untying the bag, it revealed four steamed buns.

Grabbing one of them, Zhu Na Ran stuffed into her mouth.

It was sort of cute as she resembled a chipmunk as her cheeks puffed out from having too much food in her mouth.

"So," covering her mouth, Zhu Na Ran chewed as she spoke before swallowing. "How was your final exam?"

"It was" — reaching for one of the steamed buns —  "adequate," I felt it burn my hands slightly as it was still fresh.

How did she shallow this all in one bite? Tearing off a piece, I placed it in my mouth. 

"Adequate?" Grabbing another steamed bun, Zhu Na Ran smiled as she mimicked my actions and tore off a piece of the bun. "That's it? Nothing more?"

"There's no other words to describe it."

"Boo," she pouted as she threw one of the pieces into the air and caught it in her mouth. "Well, I thought it sucked. As terrible as that lightning destroying my meridians and all, I thought the monster we had to fight before was pretty bad."

"Really?"

"Yep," throwing another into the air, but unfortunately, she missed it as it quickly fell to the floor. "Five-second rule," she said as she picked it up and blew on it.

Wrinkling my nose slightly, I watched as she looked prepared to eat the fallen piece. "Don't eat that."

"Eh? But it's still good," she pouted.

"Just don't."

"Ah fine," reluctantly, Zhu Na Ran tossed the fallen piece out the window. "Anyways, what kind of monster did you see in your trial?"

"A level seven spirit beast, the Fiery Sandworm."

"Whew," she whistled as she continued eating. "That sounds pretty bad. However, have you ever been chased by a horde of frogs?"

"I'm sorry?" Frogs?

"Yeah," she nodded as she bites into her bun. "A whole wave of them. It was just my luck to land in a marsh of all places."

"Oh."

"Yep, would've roasted all of them too. It was a bit hard as darts kept shooting out its mouth."

"That sounds like the level two beast, the Bone Dart Frog. Alone they pose no threat, but as a group, they can quite deadly."

"Hmm, good to know," she nodded as she polished off the rest of her food. I saw her starting at the last steamed bun with longing in her eyes; however, she restrained herself.

"Take it," pushing the bundle towards her, Zhu Na Ran's face lit up.

"Thanks, Senior!" Taking the bun, she bites into its soft flesh as she stood up and did some stretches as she ate.

"Ah, it's so boring in here, don't you want to get out of here or something?"

"You're free to go as you wish, but Doctor Jing Xin said that I should rest here until I'm capable of walking around. "

"Perfect! Take this as an opportunity to get up and have some movement."

"I think I'll just rehabilitate in here." 

"Blah," she pouted. "You know, it's good for you to go outside and get some sunlight. Who knows, you might recover faster!"

"Uh-huh."

"Yep! Come on, let's go," she said expectantly. She even started to make some puppy eyes and enhanced her pout.

"Hah, fine."

"Yay!"

Peeling off the covers, I pulled my legs over the edge of the bed, my bare feet brushing against the bamboo flooring. Trying to stand up, I end up stumbling into Zhu Na Ran.

"Whoa, there," she laughed as she held onto my waist and helped stabilize me. "Careful."

My face burned in embarrassment and at our closeness. Pushing away from Zhu Na Ran, I got back into bed. "I'm not going."

"Wha! Come on! You can't be serious!"

[1] meridians - the network of vessels/channels in the body through which Qi flows. Like blood vessels, but for Qi instead of blood.

[2] dantian - refers to the region in the body where a person's Qi is concentrated. There are technically three dantians, but these novels simplify the concept and only use the lower dantian (located three finger widths below and two finger widths behind the navel).

IsaChiu

Just some more fluff. Side note:
Jing Xin (靜心) - to ease one's mind/calm down. Or literally, calm heart.
Also, the type of steamed bun that YLH and ZNR are eating is called mantou(鰻頭), which is a steamed bread/bun. The kind with filling inside is called baozi(包子).