Next, she inspect the runes in the badge. She had gotten the idea of the control tablet by copying the idea of the badge which was a simple form of a control tablet. It could activate and deactivate the array, but the control tablet would be more complex.

The sword array was broken down, but the other two were only dormant. It was likely, the later generations of the sect had forgotten about its existence. Instead of getting to work, she copied the intricate diagram onto a small jade tablet to study later on. The diagram was intricately linked and so required further study to take it apart. Although, it would save her more work, repairing the spirit gathering array would be like displaying wealth to your neighbours when your door was wide open. You were basically inviting trouble. The sect wasn't in a position to protect itself so why should they invite more trouble before they were able to truly protect themselves? 

The spirit gathering array can be repaired once the sect is stronger. 

The most important arrays were the protection array and the sword array. They both went hand in hand. 

Morning came too soon. The first elder personally showed her to the three courtyards located nearby. They had been cleaned from the rafters to the floor during the night. He left the keys with her while she looked around. 

'The arrays in my courtyard have to be independent from these ones otherwise one will suction energy from the other.' 

She concluded after a while. 

She cast three spirit containment arrays in the first courtyard and repeated the same in the other two. In the past she would have required a few hours to finish casting an array, but now that she had advanced to the sixth level of the master realm, one array couldn't come close to tiring her.

She packed a light lunch and left for the forest the next day. Inspecting the cloaked spirit arrays didn't take much time. She ate her lunch near a stampede of red coat buffaloes napping under the shade to avoid the afternoon sun. They watched her with a wary eye before turning away when she sat down to eat.

Finding new places to cast more spirit gathering arrays proved trying to her patience. She finally found a dense thicket that could do the job. The modus operandi was one she was familiar with since she had done it before. Spirit gathering array, cloaking array and finally an amplification array. She linked all of the arrays just after midnight two days later and dragged her tired body around in the darkness to inspect whether the arrays were working to perfection. The arrays were collecting spirit energy in preparation for the final linking to the containment arrays in the sect. She returned home. 

Home.

She didn't know when the sect had become home, but she didn't fight the realisation. Everyone needed to belong somewhere.

The next few days were spent separating her copy of the sect array into parts. She began by isolating the spirit gathering array from the rest. Her calculations showed that the array contained in the hill wasn't big enough to envelope the whole sect. She had to find the other nexuses before she could get a full picture of the amount of work she was committing herself to. Reconstructing the complex diagram will take a bit more time, but once she was able to reconstruct it, she was confident she could restore that part of the array to working condition. 

At night she casting the linking array to connect the spirit gathering arrays to the newly created arrays in the three courtyards. 

When the second elder arrived on the agreed upon day, he found the keys to the courtyards waiting for him. 

'Little ancestor-' his voice shook as he spoke.

'There's no need to say anything.'

'I still thank you on behalf of the whole sect.'

He saw himself out after drinking his tea. His eagerness couldn't be concealed so she saw him off moments later.

Like that, time sped by like the waters of the flowing river on its way to meet the sea. Soon the day of the tournament arrived. The whole sect had been filled with anticipation the day before. Many of the student population had already taken leave from the sect. If they wanted the choicest seats, they had to arrive early. 

Just before dawn, Bai li yue arrived early at the meeting point near the gates. There were already several students representing the thousand bamboo immortal sect who had arrived before her. Of the thirty, only ten had arrived. The rest appeared in groups. The largest group was made up of five ladies including Wen shan shan and their entourage. The ladies drew admiring looks when they arrived. Bai li yue admired nature's touch on each of them until her eyes met Wen shan shan's gaze.

Wen shan shan recognised her and threw her a dirty look before proceeding to ignore her. Luckily, Lu dou's group arrived soon after. They all looked different after undergoing three months of intensive training. Fang shi's face had lost some of it's childlike innocence. He now wore a serious look that disappeared the moment he spotted her.

'Miss Bai,' He ran to her side and greeted her.

'How have you been?'

'I'm well. How is life in the inner sect?'

'Ahh! If only you knew. Too tough. Too tough. We didn't even have a minute to ourselves outside of training.' he complained in a loud voice eliciting knowing nods from the surrounding students.

As they waited in quiet conversation, a shrill whistle from the sky broke the tranquility. A large fan carrying three people flew toward them. The students had never witnessed such a sight and watched in wonder as the fan came to hover in place a few feet from the ground in front of them. The sect leader standing behind the second elder who was controlling the fan called down to them.

'Get on. We don't have time.' 

He ordered.

Bai li yue and Lu dou and his friends flew up to join their seniors who were the first to jump up. They landed on near the back toward the centre. There was a slight give as the fan dipped to accommodate the increased weight. From here, Bai li yue could see that the fan measured about twenty metres. It was large enough to carry them all with ease.  

The second elder gave another whistle when everyone was on board. The fan rose swiftly lut of the sect till it became a little speck. The lights from the courtyard grew distant as did the people on the ground. They soared at a safe distance from the ground amid the oohs and ahhs of the students.

Bai li yue got a brief view of the surrounding area as the fan flew toward the Purple wind sect. With the view, she had already found three hills jutting out of the landscape that she believed to be the nexuses she was looking for. Now that she had them located, she could focus on trying to repair the array.

Several of the students elected to sit down after the fan's movement caused a few of them to stumble. The novelty of the experience had died down and they were now focusing on the competition ahead. 

Bai li yue, who did not have any of their concerns, marvelled once again at the existence of the fan. She had believed that this world didn't have anything resembling airplanes. Apart from the shape and onboard service, this was an aircraft through and through. The second elder controlled the flying fan with a practiced hand that filled Bai li yue with envy. The fan whizzed over the forest entering into the deeper parts. Soon, the sect leader pointed out the purple and white flag of the Purple wind sect. 

The Purple wind sect wasn't as expansive as the thousand bamboo immortal sect, but the new buildings were in stark contrast to the immortal sect's decaying facade. There was a huge difference between the two. The Purple wind sect had spared no expense in showcasing their vitality. Thousands of students milled about the main square adorned in colourful robes. In contrast, the understated uniforms of the immortal sect looked drab to say the least. 

Three elders run over to meet the new arrivals where the fan landed outside the sect. They looked disappointed seeing that it was only the thousand bamboo immortal sect and not a three star sect or the two star sect that sect leader Lei had invited. They couldn't imagine how the dying sect got its hand on such a treasure.

'The Thousand bamboo immortal sect has a flying artefact. Inform the sect leader immediately.'

The elder in the lead ordered one of the two elders with him and sent him running with the message for their sect leader.

'Distinguished guests, welcome to the Purple wind sect. My name is Elder Xuan. Sect leader and fellow elder, allow me to show you to where our sect leader is receiving guests. My assistant will show your students to their rooms to freshen up before the start of the tournament.'

He nodded to his assistant who proceeded to usher the students to their residence. Before they left however, Wen shan shan threw her travel bag at Bai li yue's feet.

'Didn't they bring you along to cater to our needs? Do your job.'

Seeing this, a few of the students threw their bags at her feet and left. Bai li yue was amused. She waved Lu dou and his friends away and hoisted the bags onto her back. Wen shan shan looked at her a few times with a look of condescension which Bai li yue ignored.

If i had known that i'd be forced to be a mule, i would have just come on my own.

Her friends looked at her with concern. For a second she feared that they'd ignore her pointed looks and berate Wen shan shan for creating work for their miss bai or worse, carry the heavy bags in her stead. Wen shan shan was annoying, but she was also an important part of the sect. 

'I can afford to be tolerant for the sake of peace.' she assured herself.

She hoisted the bags higher on her back and followed them.