Seeing she has the class’s undivided attention Ling clears her throat and begins.

“Let us begin with the very basics. As I'm sure most of you are aware each realm is divided into four major stages, each of which are comprised of three lesser ones for a total of twelve. The major ones are as follows: lower, middle, high and peak. Every major stage is divided by what we call a bottleneck and has a far greater increase in power than merely advancing a lesser stage, albeit it is still incomparable to advancing a realm. Your cultivation has been measured upon entry into the sect and the speed of your advancement, your talent so to say shall weigh heavily on your chances to advance within the sect. There is only one chance to become an inner disciple every four years and the longer it takes you to succeed the lower your chances of ever advancing beyond the outer sect shall become.”

She has everyone take a horse stance before she continues, explaining it away as practicing their endurance and ability to focus while performing a straining task. When she sends Qiu and Shun out to correct their postures as she continues her lecture there are no questions as to why. Only the three of them know the real reason. Qiu can feel Ling’s eyes bore into the back of her head, her movements coming a bit choppy as she does her best to maintain her dignity through the drug fueled haze. She feels as if everyone is looking at her, their judgmental stares on her back whenever she turns away.

"Once the three month probationary period is over you shall no longer freely receive resources from the sect nor shall you be able to attend classes freely. Make sure you prepare accordingly as the truce shall expire at the same time, should you gain anything valuable ensure you have sufficient strength to guard it against your fellow disciples. Only once you have proven yourself worthy to join the inner sect shall this method of trial conclude."

Qiu's breath turns strained from the effort of splitting her focus between looking for any within the class whose stance slip, maintaining her composure without succumbing to her lust and moving in a way the long slits in her skirt do not grant line of sight to the growing wet spot on her pants. She's shaking out of her stupor when she notices the boy she is correcting look at her with a pained and saddened expression. She forces her mouth into a smile and steadies her breath.

"Hey little Lei, how are you doing?"

The boy takes a glance at Ling, only when he sees she is currently berating another student for falling and monotonously taking apart every flaw in his stance while he rights himself does he dare reply in a whisper.

"I'm fine. Don't worry about me, big sister. We'll get you away from that fiend in time, stay strong."

"Aww, so caring. No need to worry yourself over me, little Lei," She replies proudly while ruffling his hair. She leans a bit closer and whispers softly. "She's not as bad as she seems, you just make sure you're alright okay, big sis will do what she can to help."

Ling sees the kid's fist clench from the corner of her eye. Deciding they're pushing the limits of what they can reasonably get away with she subtly signals Qiu to continue on to the next student before turning back to the paling students. She fixes the one that fell with one last glare before she continues her lecture.

"The next advancement test shall be a year from now. During it the responsible elders shall not only test your current cultivation but also your natural talent as well as the strength of your affinities. The latter shall be the focus of these lessons. Affinities are potential. Without a potent affinity towards an element the amount of effort you shall be required to put in to manifest even the slightest hint of its power shall be vastly higher. Likewise not all affinities are equal. Take heat and fire for example. While similar the two differ greatly in both ease of cultivation and strength. Heat is weaker but stabler allowing you to advance in it without requiring even a fraction of the resources required by fire. Fire, as I'm sure all of you are aware, is powerful. Some of the most notable immortals are and have been fire cultivators. While a lot stronger however fire is far more erratic requiring vast amounts of external aids to stabilize and assist in advancing your cultivation. Unless you have a clan or patron that can firmly support you along that path you have no hope of ever advancing beyond Qi Gathering with it. Additionally without a potent affinity towards it fire qi is far more likely to run wild and burn you from the inside out should you nonetheless attempt to cultivate it."

She takes a moment to catch her breath. Taking stock she notices she has the class's full attention. There are many myths propagated regarding the subject after all and most have no choice but to start from scratch in discovering what they are capable of. With her lineage however they know the information she possesses is far more likely to be accurate than any other they have received so far. Spreading her spiritual sense over her two servants she notices Qiu approaching her limits. While she considers it for a moment she decides not to push her further. She suspects it would genuinely hurt the girl to be seen that way by her brother. As such she decides to conclude the introductory lesson and simply gives them each the task of gathering information about notable cultivators of at least three different affinities and making an essay on them and their most noticeable eccentricities. 

-----

Qiu collapses the moment the door closes behind them. She claws at her shirt, tearing it off in a vain attempt to breathe easier. She lays panting and twitching on the floor until a moist piece of cloth drops atop her face. Tilting her head to the side so it’ll slide off she looks up to see Ling standing over her in the buff. She gulps at the tantalizing sight, her tongue reaching up out of her mouth before she realizes. When Ling steps away Qiu lets out a hoarse groan, the intense sensations of the medicinal pill reaching a level where they are nearly unbearable to withstand. 

Shun frowns at the coldness in her lady’s eyes when she looks down at the redhead, she stiffens when those same eyes swerve up to stare right at her. 

“Shun. Think of how shameful it would be for you, a mere maid, to demand the ex-heiress of an entire major sect service you.”

“My la-”

“My orders have not changed.” Ling cuts her off in a frigid tone. “She will not find relief unless she manages to satisfy you. Think, my dear. How disgraceful it would be for her to be ordered around so. To have such a disrespectful maid, oh, the punishment I'd have to give her.”

Recognizing the look in her eyes Shun shelves her complaints for later and quickly removes her dress before sitting down on the floor with her legs wide open. She blushes fiercely and stutters her way through her commands. 

“S- Shen Qiu. Come over here at once and… and p- please me.” Her words trail off near the end, unused to being assertive. Her cheeks burn fiercely at the humiliation of what she’s just done and her breathing turns faster. Qiu turns over onto her stomach with a wheeze and drags herself to the maidservant. Using her enthusiasm to make up for her lack of energy she strains herself to lap away at Shun’s petals. A soft hand grabs her head from behind and jerks it side to side before pushing it between the brunette’s legs even harder.

“Isn’t it nice how quickly Shun puts her misgivings aside to help you.” Ling says with a kind smile that does not reach her eyes. 

“Your brother too, even after having to go through hardship because of you he cares so much for your whorish ass.” She adds while pulling her up and looking her straight in the eye with a look that sends shivers down her spine.

“Hu Qing as well. Don’t think I didn’t notice how she clung to you, even after you lost everything they all still care so, so much.” She laughs uproariously. “Isn’t it just great, Shen Qiu. They all love you. You failed. You threw away your freedom and pride. You lost everything! And they Still. Love. You.” Ling concludes while ramming the girl’s mouth against Shun’s taint.

“Lick it clean, as deep as you can.” Sitting down atop the redhead she turns sideways, grinding her ass atop her back as she does and forcing the air out of her lungs. “It shouldn’t matter if you lost your virginity too right? Everyone might even care for you more. Everybody loooves Shen Qiu after all.” She roughly pulls the Shen heiress's head side to side while placing her fingers against her wetness.

“Ling!” Shun shouts in horror. The ice princess’s face twists. She lets out an aggrieved shriek before going for her ass instead. Forcing three fingers in without mercy frustration overcomes her when she immediately feels Qiu's ass tighten and quiver. She pulls her fingers all the way out before ramming them in once more. Again and again she repeats the movement, stopping every time the girl is about to come. Anger turns to wicked delight at the squelching noises that begin to resound both from her rear and from her mouth forcefully being dragged all over Shun’s privates. 

Only when she hears Shun moan and sees her spasm does she permit the redhead relief, redoubling her efforts to piston her fingers in and out of her gaping rear. Qiu cries out like a wounded animal as her entire body shakes and she orgasms so intensely it frightens her, liquid squirting out of her with enough force to spray the wall behind her. Hit with a wave of exhaustion she rests her head on the brunette’s thigh and looks up at her flushed cheeks.

“Huh, I never got why Ling thinks freckles are cute but I understand now.” She mutters tiredly while reaching for Shun’s face, brushing her cheeks softly while the corners of her lips curl upwards. Ling’s heart aches when she looks upon the scene. She tries to disturb them as little as possible while she stands up and brings her hands to her chest, tightly gripping one arm with a trembling hand and taking several shaky steps back. When both girls turn towards her and gesture for her to join them she cracks. Shaking her head side to side she backs up until she hits the wall. Her breathing speeds up until she starts to hyperventilate and her shoulders shake, a sob forcing its way out of her throat.

"LiLi what's wrong?" Shun asks in a panic. She tenses and tries to stand up. "No! Don't come closer, just stay there. You two will be fine, you'll be fine, I promise."

"LiLi what are you talking about? Come here, whatever is eating at you we'll solve it together."

"No! I don't deserve it. I'm a monster, Shun.”

“What are you talking about?” Shun asks softly as if trying not to startle her while she guides Qiu’s head off her lap and stands up. Ling waves her arms to ward her off when she approaches.

“Don’t come closer, I don’t want to hurt you! It just keeps on happening, I keep snapping under pressure and you and Qiu are the ones that suffer for it. We can’t keep doing this Shun. I’m the only one in any position to get us out of the mess I've gotten us all in and I'm not good enough for it. I thought I could handle it, I thought I could get us allies, fortify our power base but I was wrong. Every move I've made has ended up backfiring while Qiu makes it look effortless.” She rants while gripping her head so hard her nails dig into her scalp. “Everyone Qiu meets just immediately wants to help her even after she’s lost her status! Lei, Qing, even us! What am I without my name? Would anyone even care if it weren’t for my rank? Would either of you stay with me if I couldn’t protect you?”

Shun slaps her across the face with all her might, her face twisted by fury. Ling’s eyes widen and she freezes when Shun immediately follows it up by wrapping her arms around her and hugging her tight.

“Don’t you ever dare take our feelings lightly again, Ling. Even if you lost your position. Even if you lost your cultivation. Even if you lost your arms and legs. We’d still be with you, LiLi. We love you and nothing will change that. For the last time milady stop trying to do everything yourself. Let us help you, it doesn’t make anyone think less of you.”

She can’t help but sob when another pair of arms shakily hug her and Qiu presses their cheeks together. “We care about you, Ling. We indulge you because we love you, Ling.” Qiu smiles smugly and jokingly raises her fist. “Don’t forget I'm stronger than you, I'll beat you up if you ever go too far.”

A relieved laugh forces its way out of Ling’s throat even as she begins to sob and sags into their arms. 'I don’t deserve this. Hells, I don’t deserve this in the slightest but I don’t think I ever want to let them go.' 

Jinx

Thank you for reading!