Ten full hours passed before Su Ning slowly opened her eyes.
The surface of the pond around her was calm, yet the spiritual energy in the space was anything but. It had grown dense during her cultivation, drawn in by the steady pull of her meridians. When she finally exhaled, the breath left her lips in a thin stream, almost visible, as if even the air had become refined.
She remained still for a moment, sensing herself from within.
Her cultivation had stabilized firmly at the second stage.
It was no longer the unstable surge she had felt earlier. This time it was solid, grounded, like a mountain rooted deep beneath the earth. Power flowed smoothly through her meridians, no longer turbulent, no longer testing her limits. It obeyed her.
A faint smile curved her lips.
She extended her divine senses cautiously. Previously, her perception could only stretch over a distance of one kilometer before turning blurry.
Now, it extended an extra twenty meters more.
She rose slowly from the pond.
Water did not cling to her. Instead, the spiritual energy around her gently pushed it away, leaving her clothes dry as she stepped onto the stone platform. Her long hair fell beneath her waist, damp only at the ends.
Her gaze shifted toward the pond's edge.
Ah Fu and the others were still seated cross-legged, deeply immersed in cultivation. She could see the faint currents of Qi moving through their bodies—some steady, some uneven, some rushing aggressively against internal barriers.
She folded her arms lightly and observed without interrupting.
Then suddenly—
The air around Ah Fu rippled.
It was subtle at first, like heat distortion rising from stone. But then the Qi around him surged, compressing inward before bursting outward in a controlled wave. His brows furrowed deeply, jaw clenched as he forced the circulating energy through a bottleneck.
Su Ning's eyes sharpened.
He was breaking through.
The ripple intensified for a brief second, then stabilized. The Qi settled around him, denser and more obedient than before.
Ah Fu had entered the first level of the cultivation manual.
A few breaths later, Ah Mei and Ah Ting followed almost simultaneously. Their breakthroughs were slightly more turbulent, their auras flaring before stabilizing, but they succeeded nonetheless.
Su Ning's smile deepened.
Not bad at all.
Then, as if responding to each other, Ah Ling, Ah Wei, and Ah Ming's auras shifted at nearly the same time. The pond's surface trembled slightly as their Qi surged, then calmed.
Six breakthroughs.
All within moments of each other.
One by one, they opened their eyes.
They looked down at their hands, flexing their fingers as if testing unfamiliar strength. Ah Fu stood slowly, inhaled deeply, and then exhaled with visible control.
"Young Miss…" he said quietly, his voice tinged with awe. "The circulation is smoother. My senses… they're sharper."
Ah Mei touched her own wrist, eyes widening slightly. "I can feel the air pressure shifting around us. It's clearer than before."
Ah Ting clenched his fist and released it slowly. "The cultivation manual is extraordinary."
Su Ning walked toward them at an unhurried pace. "Congratulations," she said calmly, though approval was evident in her eyes. "You've all reached the first level."
They immediately bowed.
"It is because of Young Miss," Ah Ling said, her voice steady but reverent.
Su Ning shook her head slightly. "It is because you endured."
Her gaze sharpened just a fraction.
"But cultivation is only half of strength."
They straightened.
"I want to see how far you've truly progressed," she continued. "Theory is one thing. Real combat is another."
A subtle shift ran through them.
Ah Fu's lips curved slightly, his competitive spirit rising. "Young Miss wishes to test us personally?"
Su Ning met his gaze evenly. "Yes."
There was no hesitation in her tone.
Inside the training hall, the combat arena stood vast and open. The floor was reinforced, smooth but solid, designed to withstand violent impact. It was large enough for thirty people to fight without colliding into one another.
Su Ning stepped to the center and turned to face them.
Her posture was relaxed. One hand rested loosely at her side.
"Come at me together," she continued. "Your task is simple. Touch the tip of my clothes. If any one of you succeeds, you win this round."
Then Ah Ting blinked. "Just… touch your clothes?"
Su Ning nodded faintly. "If you can."
The air shifted.
Their blood began to boil from excitement. They had just broken through. Their bodies were brimming with power. To test themselves against her was an opportunity they would never refuse.
They exchanged glances, no words were spoken, but agreement passed between them instantly.
"Then we will not hold back," Ah Fu said.
Su Ning smirked slightly. "I would be disappointed if you did."
Ah Ting nodded once, his eyes sharpening. Ah Wei rolled his shoulders as though loosening invisible restraints.
Ah Ming adjusted her grip on the coiled whip at her waist. Ah Ling's gaze lowered slightly, calculating angles, distance, timing.
The air grew taut.
Su Ning did not move from her spot. She merely stood there, relaxed, her expression calm to the point of provoking them further.
"Shall we?" she asked.
The instant the word left her lips, the arena erupted.
All six of them moved simultaneously, their coordination instinctive rather than rehearsed. Their figures blurred as Qi surged through their legs, propelling them forward with explosive force.
To an ordinary observer, they would have vanished into streaks of shadow, but to Su Ning, the world unfolded differently.
Suddenly, time slowed.
She could see the minute contraction of Ah Fu's calf muscles before he shifted direction. She saw Ah Mei's fingers twitch subtly, signaling concealed weapons. She noticed Ah Ling's eyes narrowing as she searched for a clean line of sight.
Their movements were precise, but in her eyes, they were still developing.
She easily evaded their grips.
Time resumed.
Ah Ting's hand sliced through the space where she had been standing, his fingers grazing nothing but air. Ah Fu lunged from the opposite side, expecting to intercept her escape, yet found himself overextending as she pivoted just out of reach.
A flicker of disbelief passed through Ah Ming's eyes. She had calculated the timing carefully, yet their target remained untouched.
They did not retreat to reassess. Instead, they pressed harder.
Su Ning's expression did not change, but inwardly she approved of their adjustment. They were adapting quickly.
She rotated her body in a smooth arc, her sleeve fluttering inches from Ah Wei's outstretched hand before slipping away. Her foot barely lifted off the ground as she evaded Ah Ting's sweeping arm. Each movement was economical, precise, devoid of wasted energy.
"Weapons and tricks are permitted," Su Ning announced calmly, as though granting a teacher's allowance rather than a battlefield concession.
The words reignited their determination.
Ah Fu and Ah Ting locked eyes briefly, a silent strategy passing between them. Without warning, both of them dropped low and slammed their palms onto the arena floor. Qi surged downward, and their bodies seemed to dissolve into the ground itself, vanishing from sight.
Ah Mei immediately shifted position to distract Su Ning's forward vision, while Ah Wei adjusted his stance to intercept any sudden movement.
Su Ning's brows lifted slightly in genuine amusement. "You learned that faster than expected," she murmured under her breath.
She extended her divine senses outward. Beneath the surface of the reinforced floor, she perceived two faint silhouettes racing toward her from behind, aiming for a blind spot at the precise moment Ah Mei would launch a frontal distraction.
The coordination pleased her.
At the exact instant Ah Fu and Ah Ting burst upward from the ground behind her, their hands stretching toward the hem of her clothes, she sidestepped lightly.
Their fingers closed on empty space.
Before shock could fully register on their faces, Su Ning pivoted and drove a controlled kick into their sides. Qi wrapped around her leg in a condensed layer, amplifying the impact without losing precision.
The force sent both men flying backward. They crashed against the arena floor and slid several meters before stopping, stunned but not severely injured.
Ah Mei reacted instantly.
Silver needles flashed from her sleeves, slicing through the air in a tight formation aimed at multiple vital points. Each needle glinted faintly with a thin coating of poison, a testament to her meticulous preparation.
She lifted her hand and extended her fingers. Instead of dodging, she allowed the needles to approach within inches before releasing a concentrated pulse of Qi from her fingertips.
The needles shattered midair, reduced to fine metallic dust that scattered harmlessly onto the arena floor.
Ah Mei's breath caught sharply. "This..." she breathed, disbelief flooding her expression.
Before she could retreat, Su Ning appeared in front of her. There had been no visible acceleration, no dramatic burst of speed. She was simply there.
"Your timing was excellent," Su Ning said quietly, almost conversationally.
Then she flicked Ah Mei lightly on the forehead.
The motion looked gentle, but the compressed Qi behind it propelled Ah Mei backward with undeniable force. She hit the wall with a muffled thud and slid down, dazed yet conscious.
Determination flickered across Ah Wei's face, he leapt upward, channeling Qi beneath his feet to step against the air itself. From above, he aimed to descend unpredictably.
At the same time, Ah Ming slid low across the ground, her whip snapping forward in a sharp arc intended to entangle Su Ning's ankles.
Su Ning felt the shift in air pressure before either attack reached her.
She released a subtle fraction of her aura.
The atmosphere thickened instantly. Ah Wei suddenly felt his movement sluggish, as though he were pushing through water rather than air. Ah Ming's whip slowed mid-swing, the crack losing its sharpness.
In their perspective, Su Ning's figure flickered and blurred.
Then she vanished from their line of sight.
Panic surged through Ah Wei's chest.
Before either of them could fully turn, they felt a firm but controlled tap between their shoulder blades. The impact disrupted their balance entirely, sending them crashing forward and rolling across the arena floor.
Silence threatened to settle over the hall.
Then a sharp gunshot shattered it.
Ah Ling had waited patiently, conserving her energy, calculating the exact moment when Su Ning's attention would be divided. The bullet cut through the air in a precise line aimed not to kill, but to force an unavoidable reaction.
Su Ning's eyes gleamed with approval.
In her perception, the bullet's rotation was slow and clear, every ridge visible as it approached.
She tilted her body slightly.
The bullet passed within a breath of her shoulder and embedded itself into the far wall.
Before Ah Ling could lower her weapon, Su Ning allowed a thin strand of her pressure to expand outward.
The aura settled over the arena like an invisible mountain.
Ah Ling's breathing hitched violently. Her fingers trembled as the weight pressed against her chest. Her knees buckled, and she dropped to one knee, struggling to draw in air.
The others felt it too, though less intensely in their battered state.
Fear and awe crept into their hearts as they realized how powerful she was.
After a few seconds, the battle had ended, Su Ning withdrew her aura completely.
The oppressive heaviness vanished.
All six of them lay or knelt on the arena floor, chests heaving, eyes wide with a mixture of awe and stunned disbelief.
Su Ning looked at them for a long moment before speaking.
"You coordinated well," she said, her tone no longer teasing but measured and sincere. "You adapted quickly. You understood that overwhelming force alone would not be enough."
Ah Fu forced himself to stand first, though his legs still trembled faintly. He lowered his head deeply. "Young Miss is matchless."
Ah Mei pushed herself upright, pressing a hand to her forehead where she had been flicked. Her eyes, only burning determination. "We will train harder," she said firmly. "Next time, we will at least force you to move seriously."
Su Ning's lips curved faintly. "Good. That is the attitude I expect."
She walked toward them slowly, her presence once again gentle rather than overwhelming.
"Today was show you your current limits." she continued. "Remember this feeling and let it drive you. Continue cultivating. Continue training. Push your limits."
They bowed deeply in unison, their respect now layered with something stronger than loyalty.
It was conviction.
And none of them doubted any longer that the person standing before them was far beyond what the world outside comprehend.
She added, "Ah Ting. Ah Mei."
They straightened immediately. "Yes, Young Miss."
"Prepare yourselves, you will be coming with me to London."
"Yes Miss, we will prepare," Ah Mei said, her voice steady.
"I will summon you when it is time," Su Ning said.
They bowed deeply.
With that, she exited the space along with Ah Wei and Ah Ming.