Qiulan Mountain was so to speak, absurdly far away.

Mei was speechless as she viewed the massive map projected into her mind by the jade slip. The outer disciple region she was in was practically as small as an ant... Was this really all within the sect boundaries?

Even if she ran without rest, the trip to Qiulan would surely take at least a week. Though, thankfully, the slip offered transport. A certain building was marked in the outer disciple region, labelled as "Skyward Transport".

It wasn't particularly far away and she wasn't in a rush, so Mei decided to jog there at a leisurely pace.

"Skyward Transport" was an extremely tall pagoda. Big, as well, she was sure each of the floors could fit a hundred people with ease. The white walls of the building showed their lustre under the bright afternoon sun, orange-red roofs capping every floor. Mei squinted, her eyes darting over every segment... it had to be at least 30 storeys tall.

Windows as big as double doors lined the outside of every floor, a constant stream of huge aerial animals and people standing on various weapons flying out of them. One man who stood upon a large shield waved at her and proceeded to do a backflip, landing back on it. He laughed as he flew away into the distance.

Weirdo... well, she wasn't going to pretend that wasn't cool though.

Mei walked towards one of the many entrances and headed in. Several counters were inside, tended to by attractive young men and women. She walked towards one of them and plopped her jade slip on it.

"I'm heading to Qiulan mountain for a sect task, so uh..." she started.

The young lady at the counter smiled at her and received it.

"I see. Mei Xiu..." she said, examining it. "Outer disciple... I think it's fair to assume you don't have a flying tool of your own?"

"Yeah..."

If she had one, why would she be here?

"From your cultivation, you wouldn't be able to use a flying tool and our spirit beasts might not listen to you, so I recommend using one of our flying carriages."

"Uh-huh."

The attendant made a hand gesture, and a little yellow spirit flew over.

"This little fellow, Dian Dian will lead you to it. Have a safe flight!"

"Oh, thanks."

That was fast.

Mei followed Dian Dian as it floated towards a door, unlocking it, leading her up flights of stairs. Up and up and up... all the way to the top of the pagoda. Clouds could be seen all around her, the lofty heights inviting strong winds. Urgh, the sun was even brighter here.

Carriages... that was such an underwhelming thing to call them. When she thought of carriages, what came to mind was a "wooden box" pulled along by horses, seating 4-6 at most.

These things were "carriages"?! Carriages my foot, she cursed to herself.

They towered above her, being about 6 metres tall, lengthwise, 15 metres across. The sides of the vehicles were red with golden lines for decoration, the windows covered by yellow curtains that shimmered, likely silk; four large wheels of gold held them up. Paired with the large black roofs that capped them off, these carriages looked more like small houses. On wheels.

Mei was completely flabbergasted. So cool!

"This way, young lady." Dian Dian said, in a gruff, manly voice, leading her to one of them.

...why was this musclehead in disguise given such a cutesy name?

She thanked the spirit as she walked into the carriage. Dian Dian floated, phasing through the floor, taking the shortest path. Mei snorted. She didn't really get why, but she always found it funny when spirits phased through things lazily.

The interior of the "carriage" was just as well furnished. With how spacious it was, there was a second layer of seats, which made Mei pause. Would it be weirder for people to be sitting on top of her or below?

She decided to choose one of the higher seats.

"Hey! You!"

Mei turned over, and to her surprise, saw Junwei, the annoying guy she threw an axe at back in the tournament!

"Tsk." she clicked her tongue, looking annoyed.

To think she would see him here of all places...

Sitting on the upper seats, he glared at her, though it wasn't really all that threatening. Behind him, Guang Ai sat with a bored look on her face. That cheater! Mei was still unhappy about how she just used a dog to plough through everything. Now Mei had her core ring in her bag at all times, just in case she needed it.

Nearby, the two water disciples that were in their team sat as well. They didn't really make an impression on her, so Mei only vaguely remembered them. It seemed like these guys didn't just team out of convenience but already knew each other.

"Who are you again?" she asked, trying to annoy him.

"Don't pretend you don't know me! You threw an axe at me before I could fight back then!" he shouted.

Mei put on a puzzled face, faking a "deep in thought" look.

"Ah! You're that guy who got taken out by his own mount!" she said, grinning.

"Hey! Don't put it that way!" Junwei said. "Wait, weren't you knocked out back then?"

Mei smirked.

"My friends told me!"

"So you do remember me then!"

"Who are you again?"

"Hmph, whatever you say! When we reach Qiulan, let's compete to see who will earn more gathering herbs! We will settle this once and for all!" he shouted.

Hah, fat chance. Mei ignored him, walking off towards one of the back seats.

"Sorry, my friend's an idiot." Guang Ai said. "Just ignore him."

"Hey!"

"Hey hey hey!" one of the water disciples smirked.

"I don't say hey that much!" Junwei said defensively.

"Hey."

Seeing his own friend tease him like that, Mei felt a little bad for him.

"Fine, fine. We'll compete later, okay?" she said.

"Don't patronise me!" Junwei's face went red. "Just you wait, I'll beat you!"

"Yay!" Lesson end early!" Su Qing said happily, flying towards the dorms.

He flew into Mei's room, expecting to see his human friend there. To his surprise, she wasn't there, reading as usual.

"Not here..."

She must be at the library then!

Zooming there, he shot toward the counter, greeting Luye.

"Why hello there, little Su Qing! Here to play again?" the crow said.

"Yes! But I also look for Mei!"

"Ah, I've not seen her. Shall we go look for her together?" Luye said, hopping off her perch.

"Yay!"

"Hei Ye!" Luye called out. "I'm heading out for a bit, so take my spot!"

A moment later, a very grumpy crow flew over, landing on the perch.

"You can't be serious! Stop asking me to take your place!" he yelled. "Do I look that free to you? Take your job more seriously!"

Hei Ye turned to look at the two ferociously, intent filled with anger oozing off him. Su Qing squeaked and hid behind Luye, who opened her wings defensively.

"And to play with some dumb little spirit? Really?"

"Kakaka!" Luye flew off with the frightened Su Qing in tow. Hei Ye stomped the perch angrily, making loud banging sounds and causing the floor to tremor for a moment.