A void.

A vast empty void.

That was what Mei felt her soulsense was being sent into. Before the immensity of the tree, it was almost as if a mere drop of water fell into the ocean.

To the tree, that sliver of soulsense was like a lone ant trying to get the attention of a sleeping elephant.

Mei didn't know whether she was relieved or disappointed. Maybe she could ask the sect master?

She shifted her legs into the lotus posture and continued to perform cycles. Because she was already at the peak of Qi Gathering, the 9th level, the dense qi under the tree wasn't actually all that helpful. Still, she liked to cultivate here, as she found the soothing atmosphere helped her concentrate.

After roughly 2 hours, Mei went back to her dorm to sleep.

"Bad! Bad! Lesson so bad!"

Mei got up groggily to Su Qing's usual babbling. For some reason, the 3 spirits decided to end lessons in the morning, so the little spirit had sort of become her alarm.

She yawned, turning towards the windows. Outside, the sun was just beginning to rise, casting beautiful orange light over the distant buildings from the sect.

The majestic buildings stretched further than she could see. Sometimes, Mei would subconsciously forget how huge the sect really was. She spent a few moments to admire the view... urgh, for the first time, she realised she could actually see Qiao Shun's dumb white block of a building from here.

While it was in the midst of a bamboo forest instead of being near other buildings, it still was kind of an eyesore with how plain it was compared to the other buildings. Honestly, at this point, Mei wasn't even sure if she disliked the building for how bland it was or because of Qiao Shun.

Mei picked the face-down book off her drawer and read for a bit, then decided to head downstairs to have breakfast.

Leaving her room, she saw to her surprise that the wrapping paper was still outside her door. How did it not get blown away yet?

...

Eh, whatever. Someone would eventually pick it up.

After picking her food leisurely, Mei headed to their usual spot with a tray in her hands. She was in the mood for something different today, so she had taken a bowl of soup noodles with wonton dumplings and vegetables instead. For some reason, Su Qing thought it would be funny to 'bathe' in the soup and hopped in, so the soup was shimmering with cyan light.

A few people gave her bemused looks, but she ignored them as she headed to her usual spot. From a distance, she saw a tall figure sitting there, clearly not any of her friends. Annoyed, she was thinking about how to convince the person to find another spot when she got closer and realised it was actually... Senior Han! What was he doing sitting here?

His expression was rather sour as he turned to face her.

"G-good morning Senior Han!" Mei stuttered, a little soup splashing out of her bowl and scalding her left hand. "Ow!"

What was with that look? Did she or her friends somehow upset him?

"Morning..."

Senior Han sighed as he went back to eating. Speechless, Mei began to eat as well. Su Qing didn't want to get out of the bowl, but the little spirit didn't really get in the way of her chopsticks with its incorporeal nature. Honestly, Senior Han didn't feel like the same person at all without his constant chatter.

Shortly, Xiuying and Wang Wei arrived.

"Good morning!" Xiuying said cheerfully.

"Good morn- Oh, Su Qing is in the soup!" Wang Wei burst out laughing.

Mei found that a little childlike of him. She didn't mind though, it wasn't really a side of him she saw often, despite his youth.

"Senior Han, why do you look so glum today? Did something bad happen?" Xiuying asked.

"Not really," he mumbled.

Xiuying hesitated for a bit, then spoke up.

"It's not good to bottle up what's upsetting you, you know? Telling your friends or family what's wrong can really lift the burden off your shoulders!" she said. "Or in this case, juniors, I guess?"

Senior Han gave her a slightly exasperated look, making the girl laugh nervously.

"Come to think of it, why do you like to eat here anyway? Or wear outer disciple robes for that matter." Wang Wei changed the topic. "There's no way you're actually an outer disciple, right?"

Mei nodded as she ate. What type of insane sect she would be in if Senior Han was an outer disciple? He had to be at least core disciple, right?

"Well, in the inner division of the sect, there's no free food... I asked the Sect Master why, but he said we didn't need to eat anyway. The food in the inner sect is insanely expensive! I mean, I get that it's supposed to boost cultivation, but some of the dishes are even hundreds of Jade per plate! Of course I'm going to eat here! As for not wearing inner disciple robes, it's obviously because I don't want to attract attention. Do I look like an attention hog?"

With the help of that little bit of indignation, Senior Han soon went back to normal with all the chattering. Wait... inner division? He was only an inner disciple?! Mei brushed off her shock and decided not to worry too much about it, going back to eating.

Soon, Liu Qiang arrived as well, with Yingyi last.

"-that! Oh yeah, are you all prepared for the tournament? It's coming up in 3 days." Senior Han said something that caught her attention.

"Wait, in 3 days?" Mei spluttered.

When was the date mentioned? She didn't recall the Sect Master mentioning it in his lectures. But then again, she would zone out occasionally during the lectures anyway.

"Yeah. By the way, the Sect Master likes to hold one for the outer disciple after 1 and a half months. Today should be your 42nd day in the sect, if I recall correctly."

Time really did pass fast, huh?

Mei pushed open the wooden doors, entering the library nervously. Today, she wasn't here for entertainment, but to find a battle technique.

If she had known it would be so soon, she would have learnt one sooner. Well, she wasn't exactly unprepared though, since Xuefang, the axe elder had trained her.

The crow was slightly surprised as it saw her walk into the "Techniques" section for the first time in a while. It hopped off its wooden stand, flying after her.