Bai li yue was shown into the same testing room where she had been in previously. 

'Miss, I hope you don't mind if other people observe your exam. I assure you that you will be treated fairly.' 

She didn't mind the extra eyes apart from Examiner Hu who glared at her hate filled eyes. 

The broken array was still in place and a new time measuring incense was lit. This time, upon close inspection, the flowing energy was moving in different directions. At one point it went in two separate directions and formed two minor cycles. It was an array unto itself. They had found a way to integrate materials components into arrays. The materials became the foundation of the array providing the spiritual energy required to fuel the array. She now understood the insistence on array materials in the test. 

Time sped along while she looked at the array in wonder. She had made little progress in the time of two incense sticks. It had taken her this much time to figure out the framework of the array. To troubleshoot it, she would have to identify the materials used in the array and their properties as well as the underlying diagram. It would take her days if she was optimistic, months if she was realistic and willing to learn all she could about array materials in a short time. In conclusion, she had failed the test. It wasn't a major concern now that she knew for certain that she lacked the knowledge to even make a feasible effort. 

'I told you she was a ruffian. Do you believe me now?' 

Examiner Hu's voice rang out in the room, breaking her train of thought.

'This was the simplest exam and she can't even solve it. How is a person like this worth the time of the association?'

'Miss, if you aren't able to find the problem in this array or build an array in the next two hours, you'll be considered to have failed the exams.' 

The president silenced the excited Examiner Hu who was taking more in pleasure in pointing out his righteousness than defusing the situation. He was making a bad situation worse. President shao still had hope in persuading the lady to withdraw her complaint, but Examiner Hu wasn't making things easy for him.

What did he just say? 

Bai li yue slowly blinked, digesting the president's words. Did he just say that she could build an array instead of trouble shooting this one? 

Yes. She heard it. 

'President shao, is it? I'd like to lodge another complaint when i finish the exam.' 

Examiner Hu, who had realised his mistake of omission only now, looked guilty. He wished he was out of the room to avoid the coming condemnation.

'What do you mean?'

'I'll tell you in a second. Tell me the rules about building an array?'

'To qualify as a one star arraymaster, you could choose to take the written test and identify the defect in a broken array or forego the test by building a simple array. Few people, however, choose the second option.'

President Shao explained.

'This is the first time I'm hearing that i have another option. Tell me, shouldn't examiners provide us with all the information we need? The examiner didn't tell me anything about building an array. He just brought me here and told me to repair an array.' 

Her admission sealed Examiner Hu's fate. The first complaint could be considered an error in judgement, but if he had withheld pertinent information, then not even the president would be willing to vouch for him. 

Examiner Hu lost his nerve a second later and fled leaving the doors wide open. Elder Song and President Shao exchanged condemning looks before the auditor chased after him. They had to question examiner Hu further. How many test takers had he failed to inform of all the rules? With the revelation, president Shao was strongly praying for things to end well with the young lady. 

This was good news for Bai li yue. She'd been given a way out of her conundrum. All she had to do now was build an array in order to pass the test. She put the examiner's matter out of her mind and focused.

Hmm. What should i choose? And what is a simple array anyway?  

She had a wealth of choices to go with. A simple array: meaning an array containing one rune, usually took less than an hour to cast. She settled on an explosive array after giving it some thought and went to work. This was the first time she was working in front of a stranger. It wouldn't hurt to impress him. Working many times slower than her normal speed, she drew the explosive rune and the circle and activated the array by injecting her spirit into it. She left the array hovering above the ground in case he needed to inspect it. 

President shao watched her work with masterful efficiency. It was a long while later once his brain caught up with his eyes, that he realised what was missing in her work. He was like a blind man finally regaining his sight after years in darkness. 

'Did you-?'

He choked on his words.

Did she just build an array without using materials? 

The only people who could do that were formation masters of old. There were none in existence now. They had all abandoned the thousand auroras world or died and left no inheritance for posterity. The tradition had gone extinct except in historical records. It ushered in the dark age of arraymaking. However, the era had finally ended with the discovery of alternate means of building arrays. He himself wasn't knowledgeable on the subject but he'd read enough to be able to recognise the lost art. How was a young lady no older than twenty five able to learn something so rare? Much more use it?

There is no time to waste. I must inform the elder immediately.

'Young lady what array is that?' 

He asked, stepping closer to the array. He wished to inspect it up close; like an archaeologist going over a new find with a fine tooth comb.

'It's an explosive array.'

She said.

'As you can see, I used a different method to build the array. Does it still count as a pass?'

'As long as it works, an array is an array. We will consider it a pass.'

Bai li yue relaxed. The tense moment was over. 

'So i am now a one star arraymaster?'

'Yes, but it would be better if we could call an expert. Just to be safe. He knows more about this kind of array than I do. Do you mind?'

'Will I get my star regardless?'

'There is no question about. It's possible that you might even earn another star if he is able to examine your array.' 

Her eyes widened in excitement.

'Then what are you waiting for? Call him!'

Bai li yue was sitting in the president's office drinking tea and trying not to drown beneath the mountain of flattery. So far his attempts to dissuade her from lodging another complaint against Examiner Hu ended in failure. She simply smiled and sipped her tea. 

'When is the expert coming?'

'I was together with him in a meeting with some high ranking people guests before i was called here. He won't miss this chance to meet someone of your calibre, so he'll join us shortly.'

The door opened without so much as a knock. A young man strolled in and sank into a chair. 

'Is this the arraymaster?'

'Your eminence. I present to you Miss Bai li yue. Miss, this is my mentor, his eminence Zhou Jinhai, former president of the chenyang array masters' association. He is currently the elder of operations at the arraymasters' headquarters in the chu kingdom.' 

She bowed without taking her eyes off the young man. He looked like a person in his twenties. He looked much younger than president shao who was respectfully referring to him by a rarefied title. 

'If are curious, I took a rebirth pill on my deathbed. I regained the body of my youth and my health as a result.' 

He answered the question she was pondering.

Did he just read my mind?

'No,' he added, 'you just aren't the first to wonder. I wish to ask you one question before we begin. Are you wearing an amulet that conceals your realm?'

That question again. He spoke when she didn't immediately answer.

'Forget i asked. You don't have to answer if you don't wish to.'