Days flew by, and before Lin Songmei realized, a few weeks had passed in a flash. Having settled into a routine, Songmei didn’t mind the passage of time as much, focusing more on schoolwork, cultivation, and just spending time with the people she had become close with. 

Through the few weeks that had gone by, Songmei’s routine wasn’t all that complex... 

It was relaxing to a suspicious point. She was doing work, improving, and learning but still... It kinda felt like there wasn’t much to worry about. 

Damn, privilege was nice. She never had to worry about going hungry again!

She still hoarded some food under her bed just in case though... 

Moving on from food, Songmei’s routine wasn’t much, she’d wake up early in the morning on the weekdays, go to class, eat lunch, do some guided cultivation training with the others, and then stay in the training field to either meditate or practice techniques until dinner. After dinner, Songmei would do homework in the courtyard with Yan Mingqing, fulfilling their previous little promise with each other. 

After homework? Well... time wouldn’t wait for anyone, so on most days it was more cultivation practice, under the tutelage of Liu Xueli though. 

However, there was still time for fun. Every Friday night, Songmei, Mingqing, and Xueli would gather and spend the night together, playing cards, watching a movie, playing video games, or whatever else they felt like doing.

Other than that, on the weekend, although most of the time was spent cultivating, Xueli still took her two precious disciples out sometimes. 

Songmei was unaware, but Xueli’s happiness was through the sky with her two disciples! Although Elder Wu Sen, the master of the other two disciples, was satisfied with them, Xueli, hearing the stories about what they did together, would have regurgitated blood! 

The disciples over at Wu Sen’s place were boring! Furthermore, even with their ridiculous training schedule, her disciples had still been cultivating faster!

Along those lines, today was a big day, it was a Saturday so there weren’t any classes; however, since Songmei and Mingqing had just opened up their first main meridian, it was time for them to begin choosing their primary cultivation art. 

Songmei was... she was apprehensive. 

This was like marriage! This was like choosing a major! 

... Didn’t the world know that she wasn’t good at committing to things... 

The world waits for no one though... 

So, here Songmei was, sitting on the wooden walkway, admiring the ever-beautiful courtyard in front of her. It was chill though. A few moments prior, Mingqing had cracked the door open to let her know that she was almost done getting ready, so she shouldn’t be waiting for too long. 

Laying back onto the wooden planks, Songmei couldn’t help but think back to the kind-hearted elder who was the librarian of the Divine Repository, although she hadn’t had much time, she’d still sometimes go by and say hi to him. 

The chubby, round old man truly gave off comforting vibes. 

“Helloooo~ from the other side~” Mingqing sang as she burst through the door with a smile, grabbing the attention of Songmei who was... as always, laying on the floor. “C’mon, c’mon, get up, let’s get going. It’s going to be exciting~ don't’ be so apprehensive~” 

Getting pulled up onto her feet, Songmei thanked Mingqing before checking her clothes to see if they had folded anywhere. “Alright, let’s get going then...” 

Songmei took Mingqing’s outstretched hand into her own, it was already a habit by now, walking towards Xueli’s courtyard where their master would inevitably be feeding her koi. 

Turn. Turn. Turn. 

Deciding to not walk straight through the courtyard, but instead the wooden walkway that ringed it, Songmei and Mingqing waved towards their master, getting her attention while sitting on the edge of the wooden walkway. 

“How are you two doing?” Xueli asked, setting down her koi feed and walking over, “Have you two fully digested your gains from breaking through?” 

Giving a nod, Songmei let the talkative Mingqing take the lead, Songmei wasn’t planning on becoming a professional bullshitter like Mingqing anytime soon anyway. 

“It certainly feels different.” Mingqing began, reaching out to let Xueli insert some Qi into her arm. “I feel stronger, have more Qi at my disposal, have more mental clarity, and my body feels more pure.” 

Giving a nod to show that she agreed with Mingqing, Songmei waited as Xueli finished up her little inspection. After a moment, Xueli began to murmur, “Hmm... Good... you’re looking very good. Solid start for sure. Songmei reach out your hand as well please~” 

Reaching out her hand, Songmei felt a little rush of coolness flow into her arm as Xueli did another impromptu inspection. 

“Looks good!” Xueli proclaimed with a wide smile, pulling the two up onto their feet and into a hug. “Let’s get going~!” 

Used to the hugs, Songmei returned the embrace before the three of them set off towards the Divine repository. 

--------

A tall building, a blend between a futuristic woven wooden style and a pagoda, the Divine Repository was one of the most famous buildings in the Starlight Lake Sect. 

For one thing, the building itself was famous for its unique architectural style. For other things, it used to be the physical storage place for all the techniques within the sect. However, now it was more a large library, holding media of various kinds along with providing access to the secure database of techniques held within the sect. 

Of course, the most important techniques were still only stored in physical copies... 

Right now, standing in front of the large Divine Repository, a building that had a floating island all to itself, Songmei was still impressed. Songmei had come here many times before, inside the building, there was a large reading area and a front desk where the elder would do his duties. 

Songmei still didn’t know his name though... maybe she’d find out today? ...Hopefully. 

Following along behind Xueli, Songmei and Mingqing made their way in, nodding at the elder before heading to the second floor to a waiting room. 

The room was nice, not too over the top, but not dilapidated either, just... clean and sleek. 

Sitting down, the trio waited for not too long before the door was pushed open once more, revealing the appearance of the chubby, old elder. 

Songmei couldn’t help but relax a little, the elder’s smile was always warm and welcoming. If he was younger by... a lot of years... and was a cute girl, Songmei was sure that he would’ve had a massive dedicated following. 

Walking in, the elder sat down on the couch opposite from Mingqing and Songmei, Xueli having sat on a separate chair on the side. 

“Nice to meet you two, especially you, young Songmei, you come by quite often. My name is Zhang Qiushan, head of the Divine Repository. I’ll be helping you two choose a primary cultivation technique today.” 

... Th... The old guy was the head of the entire Divine Repository??

Songmei was... stunned... 

... Dammit why are there important people everywhere... how did she keep running into them?!

Esiyx

GUESS WHAT I DID ITTT
I finally wrote TWO name explanations lmfaoooo
not much... but still, it was the two longest ones, Songmei and Mingqing

there was a lot more than i realized... I posted it on my discord if anyone wants to go check it outttt

uhh... yeah
Thanks for reading thoughhhh
I swear... slwoly... i'll slowly do my other stuffs
like... i'll slowly find the motivation to post my reference images

Take care though reader friends!!