It didn't take long for Kairi to adapt to her new environment. It was like she had returned to the time when she used to live in Liu Sect. The women of the village were extremely lively and outgoing compared to the women who lived in the big city. Sometimes Kairi wondered if they had too much energy. She learned that most of the people who lived in the village were servants who escaped abusive masters, brothels, or were orphans from the previous war. It was Zhao Chen who had brought them all together. With no way to make money, they started stealing from the rich and greedy. Even though Kairi didn't agree to their way of life, she didn't rebuke them either. They had done what they could to survive. She thanked her lucky stars that she had met kind people like Grandmaster Liu and Madam Liu. If she hadn't met them, she was sure she'd be living in a brothel house by now.
Every night, Kairi attempted to communicate with Zhang Sheng through the jade hairpin but it was cold and lifeless. She knew it was useless but she talked as if Zhang Sheng could hear her. It was the only thing that could put her at ease.
After a week of recovering, she was quickly thrown into training. Kairi sat crisscross on a large rock by a waterfall. She had been attempting to cultivate but it was extremely slow.
"Strange. Such a massive aura yet you're cultivation is lacking," Zhao Chen muttered.
"The man who adopted me when I was young placed a strong seal on my core. It's what's causing my cultivation to falter," she replied.
"Seal?" Zhao Chen crouched down so that he was at eye level with her. He held out a palm in front of her abdomen then closed his eyes. Seconds ticked by and he finally removed his hand. "It's not just any seal. It's a death seal."
"A death seal...?" That didn't sound good to her at all. Why would Grandmaster Liu cast it on her? "What exactly is this seal?'
"Exactly what it sounds like. A seal that locks away your powers until your deathbed," he replied. Sighing heavily, he got back up to his feet. "Fortunately the person who placed it on you didn't have the full incantation. He managed to place the seal on you but didn't fortify it, which is why you can still gather bits of spiritual energy. It also looks like someone had managed to damage a part of the seal."
She thought back to the time when the assassin back at Lan Manor almost killed her. So the reason why a part of the seal was destroyed was because she nearly died. It still didn't explain why the seal had been placed but the only person who knew the reason why was Zhang Sheng and Grandmaster Liu and neither were around to tell her.
"Is there any way to remove the seal?" she asked.
"The only way to remove it is to pull the soul out of the body and place it back inside. In other words, you would have to die," he answered. Kairi felt dejected as she stared at her opened palms. In this world, it was always about survival of the fittest. With the way she was now, she wasn't sure how long she was going to last. Having seen the look on her face, Zhao Chen sighed heavily. "There is a way around this. As I said before, the seal isn't fortified and part of it is already destroyed. You can't get rid of it completely but you might be able to weaken it."
"How?" she asked feeling hopeful.
"It's going to be excruciating painful. You might even die from it. Are you willing to take that chance?" Zhao Chen asked. She contemplated at the thought. All her life she had struggled to survive. Despite the hurdles, she managed to jump over them. This was simply one of those hurdles. Taking in a deep breath, she strengthened her resolve.
"Yes, I'm willing to take that chance."
As it turned out, Yi Rue was a gifted apothecary master. It explained all the pill recipes and manuscripts from the loot brought back by the White Tiger Bandits. She had disappeared for days to collect herbs and make a certain potion. After the sixteenth day, she finally returned.
"I've finished making the potion bath," she exclaimed.
"Good. Let's head out," Zhao Chen ordered. The three of them traveled up the mountain without rest. It wasn't until hours later when they came upon a large waterfall.
"What are we doing here?" Kairi asked.
"Remember this place. If you manage to survive this ordeal, from here on out, this is where you'll be training," Zhao Chen told her. The waterfall spanned at least two football fields. Without saying anything else, they went right up to waterfall. Hidden behind some vines by the waterfall, was an entrance to a cave. Once they were deep within the cave, Kairi felt spiritual energy traveling to and fro inside. The amount of energy was similar to the underground cave in Liu Sect. If people knew of this cave, no doubt would they come swarming in to cultivate here.
A wooden tub placed deep within the waterfall cave was filled up with a dark, thick liquid substance. What was worse was the scent that wafted from the tub.
"It smells putrid," Kairi whined. Yi Rue squeezed her shoulder gently. She handed Kairi a dark blue pill, then explained the process.
"This pill is going to open up all your meridian points. Once it does, you're going to bathe in the potion for seven days and seven nights. The potion is made up of herbs meant to enhance one's core. The stronger the core, the more you'll be able to absorb spiritual energy. During the seven days and seven nights, you'll draw in as much spiritual energy as you can. I guess the theory is, the stronger the core, the less of an effect the seal is on your core. I must warn you. No matter how painful it is, you cannot stop drawing in spiritual energy until the seventh day is up. If you stop in the middle, everything might backlash and injure your core instead."
Kairi tried hard to understand the method. So if she had to compare the process, her core was like a balloon wrapped in bindings. If she could inflate it as much as she can, the bindings would be pointless. Easy enough, she thought.
"Okay, I'm ready," Kairi assured herself.
"We'll be back in seven days. Stay alive until then," Zhao Chen said. He patted his disciple on the head. For someone who barely knew her, Kairi could hear the worry in his tone. With a confident nod in their direction, she watched them leave the cave. Once they were out of sight, Kairi popped the pill into her mouth. She took off her clothes and entered the murky bath. Almost immediately she could feel the pill taking effect. The little bit of energy circling through her intensified and she could already feel her body slowly absorb spiritual energy without trying to. Sitting cross legged, she placed her palms together on her lap and closed her eyes. With the help of the potion, spiritual energy didn't enter her core but through all the open points on her body. Then an intense sharp pain came. It was as if someone had taken multiple knives and pierced her skin over and over. Zhao Chen was right. The pain could kill someone. How long has it been? An hour? Maybe two? It felt like an eternity as she struggled to keep conscious.
By the fourth day, Kairi realized that the pain had increased tenfold. All the energy she had absorbed was struggling to enter one place, her core. It was like stuffing an overfilled box with even more stuffing. No, she thought. She felt more like an overblown balloon. She could feel her body being overfilled with energy and it was excruciating as the energy had nowhere to escape because of the potion. With less than halfway to go, she ignored the pain.
It wasn't until the final day when the pain reached its maximum. Kairi wanted nothing more than to stop. She wanted out.
"Just kill me now!" she thought but a tiny voice at the back of her mind told her to keep going. The final day was almost over. And then, she felt something inside of her snap. The seal had weakened at last. Inside of her space, she could see the net like seal expand. The holes of the net widen enough to the point where all the energy she had been absorbing for the last seven days entered all at once. She couldn't see her core because of the seal but she could feel it rapidly evolving. Seconds ticked by and when it finally finished evolving, a blast of energy burst forth from within her. All the liquid within the tub erupted from the shockwave leaving it completely bone dry. The seal had weakened at last and the pain was gone. She could feel energy travel freely through her as if the seal wasn't even there.
"I did it..." she thought. Now that the pain was gone, she felt fatigue wash over her. Her eyelids grew heavy with each passing second. Just as she was wondering if Zhao Chen and Yi Rue were on their way, she completely blacked out.
When Kairi awoke from her long slumber, she was told that she had slept for more than four days as her body was trying to get used to the mass amount of energy swirling through her. She hadn't felt this much energy since the day she first met Zhang Sheng. For the first time, she was glad to have been kidnapped by the White Tiger Bandits.
Weeks went by and Kairi threw herself into training. Her body was constantly releasing spiritual energy to help her train but because she was rapidly losing energy, her body was also absorbing energy at the same time. It was as if she was looking to the right and left at the same time. It tired her out fast but she kept up with it. Eventually, she gained enough strength and energy for Zhao Chen to teach her the light maneuver technique. With this, she could cover a mile within seconds. Jumping and landing were now easy to her. It was as if gravity held no bound over her. She even learned to call for her sword from a distance away.
"Master, did you belong to any sect? How'd you learn all of this?" Kairi asked one day. Someone like Zhao Chen couldn't have randomly learn all of this by himself. His face darkened at her question and she suddenly wished she never asked. It was quite a personal question. Zhao Chen relaxed his stance signaling the end of their practice. She had assumed that he wasn't going to answer and started to get up only to hear him speak.
"In the west lands, there used to be a powerful sect that practiced unorthodox martial arts. I was just a servant boy who was struggling to keep alive day by day. When I turned seven, I snuck into one of the training grounds to practice with the students. The senior disciples were furious but one of them showed mercy and took me in as his disciple. He taught me all I knew. I had grown to respect him and the sect. I would take on dangerous missions as long as it benefitted the sect in return for them teaching me martial arts. Unfortunately, one of the missions went awry involving the death of a famous cultivator from another sect. My master took the blame and was killed to appease the other sect. It wasn't until after his death when I learned that a traitor among the sect had set it up. The traitor had ended up being the grandmaster. He grew jealous of my master's ever increasing skills. Not wanting to be overthrown, he purposely set him up. I swore revenge and after stealing all their manuals, I left the west lands where I started the White Tiger Bandits."
So this was why Zhao Chen was so strong, Kairi thought. She remembered his words when he first took her in as his disciple. He said that he didn't condone treachery.
"Master, I swear to become stronger than anybody so that one day I can protect you. I won't let the same thing happen to you like it did to your late master," Kairi swore and these were her true feelings.