Fu Yilan spent the next three weeks cultivating and practicing. Her Five Diverting Streams art was flowing more smoothly than ever, and she was only getting more proficient with her Bewitching Fox, Flowing Steps art. Her days were spent growing her strength, was it through cultivation or sleeping with her seniors. She was regularly visiting both Senior Xu as well as Senior Feng, taking their yang energy for herself. She could feel herself approaching the third stage of the earth realm steadily. It was exciting, advancing so quickly.
Today, she made her way to the sparring area, several smaller tiled squares for sparring arrayed around one central large courtyard. It was her first time there, now that she was ready to show everyone that she could use a fighting art. Even if it was purely defensive, it still needed to be practiced, testing it in real situations and against real people.
There were several variations on how to react to different attacks, the streams she was to weave slightly different in speed and direction. Walking onto the clearing, she could tell that several pairs of eyes immediately snapped over to her. She didn’t react though, taking in the picture. Light-gray, large tiles covered the entirety of the central courtyard. All over, there were people practicing, either going through their weapon arts with slow, intent-filled movements, or giving each other pointers. All of it was ringed trees and chest high grass, separating the central area from smaller sparring grounds.
The clang of steel hitting steel rang in her ears as Fu Yilan took all of it in for the first time. There had been no reason to come here before. Standing here, it felt like another milestone had been reached. Testing her skills against those of other cultivators. A cultivator like she herself was as well, despite her current focus on pleasure arts.
A raised platform in the back had a strong second-class disciple overlooking all of it, standing by to deal with any possible conflict that might arise. He flashed over to her when he noticed her looking around, seeming lost. Fu Yilan thought she could see slight burn marks on the floor where he had stepped. Definitely fire-aspected. This close, she could tell that he was strong. Sixth stage of the earthly realm, though weaker than Senior Xu and Senior Feng.
“Our famous Fairy Fu, come to join us sweaty men on the training grounds?” There was a clear innuendo there, but she ignored it. Fu Yilan knew, that her Senio Sister had been spreading rumors about her. She still needed to practice though; there was nothing she could do about it. “Unfortunately, this Senior Brother Deng must oversee all my cute juniors. But Junior Brother Song can give you some pointers.” He smiled at her and called over a man in his late twenties, in the upper part of the third stage. His hair was pulled up into a bun, a pointy chin and piercing eyes staring into her. He calmly twirled a long spear by his side, blade gleaming with a red tassel fluttering in its wake. He had a look of superiority to himself, aware of the difference in skill. He probably had a good bit of talent as well, to be in the good graces of one of their seniors.
“Pleased to meet you, Sister Fu.” He bowed, and she returned the gesture. “I had however been of the impression your battlefield lay… elsewhere.” He smirked, and Fu Yilan could feel some heat rushing to her face.
“I wish to practice a palm art, and Senior Brother Deng offered your help.” She tried to defuse the situation, despite the verbal slap in the face she’d received. She noted that her fellow disciple had not been admonished by their senior for his comment.
“Going to give me a massage, you bedchamber warrior?” He got a tap on the head with the scabbard of Senior Brother Deng’s blade. It was barely an admonishment, only the bare minimum for insulting her in front of a senior.
“I don’t know what rumors are being spread about me, but they are wrong. I am a disciple here like the rest of you, so please treat me as such.” She could see in his eyes that he wasn’t convinced. He was blatantly staring at her chest while she talked, barely listening.
“Mhm, sure. Whatever. Let’s get started, alright?”
Fu Yilan nodded and got in position, starting her dance. Her sandals moved over the ground slowly as she started painting the water qi streams into the air, around her. “It is defensive in nature, so please try attacking.” Brother Song started stabbing at her, slower at first. It had to feel odd, stabbing at an unarmed person, but each and every stab was pushed past her by one of her palms. He started speeding up, and even when he managed to get past her palms, coated in protective water qi, the streams they were trailing behind them pulled the attacks around her.
It became a game of him trying to find gaps within her stream, using his cultivation advantage to push harder than a first stage cultivator should have been able to. Fu Yilan was tempted to pull up her hidden qi, advancing to the second stage, but decided against it. It was too early. So, she pushed herself, trying to increase the speed. That didn’t work though; going too quickly would mess up the rhythm. Her qi could only circulate so quickly within her, and her internal circulation needed to match her body’s movement. It was a part of the art that it left some gaps, and up to the user to read their enemies attacks and preemptively close them in time.
She noticed from the corner of her eye that a few people had paused their practice to watch them. Her attention was pulled away however by an overhead slash, which she guided down her side in one smooth movement. She was dancing in the battle, seemingly untouchable by her opponent. She could feel looks at her chest and hips, moving rhythmically, swaying. Especially her chest was jiggling with the movements, but she was used to that by now. It was part of her path to have men stare at her body longingly. And with the Void Lotus Demoness art making it more and more beautiful in subtle ways, like her hair being smoother and her fingers daintier, everyone watching felt a certain pull towards her.
Brother Song was getting annoyed though. The woman in front of him was shaking her tits and ass, yet somehow her martial art let every attack slip by. He started to push himself further, now truly using his third-stage strength and speed. Fu Yilan’s heart was pounding. At first, it was from exhilaration, but now, fear was creeping in. Her control was slipping, and more and more stabs were getting through. He had enough control not to actually stab her, but each time he got through, his spear ripped her clothing.
Small tears started to grow, and it was already too late when she noticed that he had added a lot of cleavage to her outfit, as well as vertical cuts over and below her chest. More was ripped away along the side of her stomach, exposing smooth skin to all who were watching. Trying to step away, his spear tore a long gash along her thigh, freeing a leg. Her body was being unwrapped by him, without risking serious punishment for revealing too much.
“I yield!” She pushed out between gritted teeth. She hated the look of superiority in his eyes, despite breathing heavily.
“I hope I could be of help.” They bowed and Fu Yilan turned to leave. One arm was covering her chest, before she decided differently. If they wanted to look, why should she stop them? Everyone was already convinced that she was promiscuous anyway. Pleasure arts would take her to the top, a place none of them would reach.
So, she let her arms drop to her side and activated Bewitching Fox, Flowing Steps on her way out. Fu Yilan left the sparring court in stunned silence, all eyes on her as her swaying hips and tantalizing glimpses of skin kept their minds in a chokehold. It seemed that the bewitching effect of her movement art was enhanced when she showed was wearing something more revealing. Good to know.
Walking along the clean paths of the sect, Fu Yilan kept thinking about the spar. She was surprised how well the art performed, Five Diverting Streams letting her keep control for most of the fight. She had also noticed that there was a lot to work on. She had been following the movements while practicing herself, but in battle, she had to adapt to her opponent’s weapon and way of fighting. In hindsight, against someone who mainly used stabbing attacks, she could leave a few more gaps around the sides and focus on defending the front. She smiled. Despite everything, it had been a good idea to go to the sparring area. Her eyes had been opened to an entire additional layer of depth to the art, and she had only fought with it once.
Fu Yilan only noticed that she had arrived at her destination when she stood in front of the door to the sect’s tailor. Cloth Pavilion was written above the door, and she stepped into the cool interior. Inside, a dizzying variety of cloth, ranging from silk to linen, in a multitude of colors. A small man with a greying beard and mustache sat behind a counter, a magnifying glass in front of his eye, as nimble hands weaved a golden dragon onto red silk, right before her eyes. He was a cultivator at the third stage.
He looked up when she stepped close, tired eyes meeting hers. “Another one?!” His voice was raspy and high-pitched. “I swear, you numbskulls only know how to do one thing, and that is to rip up my clothes.” He paused for a moment, eyes zooming out and seeing who was wearing his clothes for the first time. He grinned. Fu Yilan rolled her eyes. They were all the same.
“Oh, who have we here. A beauty stepping into my humble store. What can I do for you? Just a repair?” Fu Yilan shook her head. She was done hiding.
“Something a bit more… elegant? I want to feel pretty, but not slutty.” He clapped in his hands, apparently delighted.
“Finally! Clothes for a woman. It’s been so long. I’m so sick of measuring out those brutes, cutting off the sleeves so their muscled arms hang out. Argh!” He took a few deep breaths, calming himself. A thin, golden needle was put to the side as he got up. “Yes, something pretty, elegant. A lady’s dress. The last time I did an outfit like that was for Little Li, though she’s grown to what, the fourth stage? Fifth?”
Senior Sister Li had visited him as well? By now, she probably had access to better tailors, being sent on longer missions as a second-class disciple, but it still spoke well for his skills.
“So, how much you willing to spend? Though I can’t imagine a first stage girl can afford much yet.” That had somehow slipped her mind. She had been doing some missions recently but had barely reached two hundred merits. “Haha, that won’t be enough. Not even close! Add a zero, then come back! Unless…” His hand snaked out, touching her ass. Fu Yilan shivered, half from disgust, half from involuntary pleasure. Moments like these truly made her curse out that Void Lotus Demoness art, as well as herself for not plugging it up sooner.
“Fine…” she agreed reluctantly. It wouldn’t do to be seen as loose. “But please, keep it a secret. Can I trust you?” She looked into his eyes and found amusement within. She couldn’t trust his nodded assurance, but it would be the best she’d be able to get.
He was half a head shorter than her, but he didn’t mind as his fingers fluttered around her body, swift and dexterous from sewing. “What’s this senior’s name?” she asked, holding back moans. He was skillful, letting his fingers slide in through the cuts Brother Song had made in her clothes.
“Just call me Grandpa Sun,” he said, enjoying the softness of her body. One hand had slithered down her robes and into her pants, finding slit and clitoris with ease. Fu Yilan could tell that she was starting to enjoy it, her hips grinding against his hand. “Oh, you’re quite needy, huh?” He got a suppressed moan in response.