Array Master

After Mo Hua got up at Mao Hour, he began his usual cultivation.

An hour later, he finished cultivating and went to the classroom to wait for the Instructor.

Instructor was the collective term for the teachers within the sect. They taught Outer Sect disciples specific subjects such as cultivation, array techniques, alchemy, and artifact refining. At the same time, they supervised and guided the Outer Sect disciples' cultivation.

Like other sects in the cultivation world, the Immortal Gate divided its disciples into three categories: direct lineage, Inner Sect, and Outer Sect.

The sect's Outer Sect was open to the public. Its primary purpose was to impart the Dao, teach skills, and guide cultivation, earning income through the enrollment fees paid by disciples—in other words, tuition. Outer Sect disciples learned the portion of the sect's inheritance made available to outsiders. Once they graduated or withdrew, they retained ties of sentiment with the sect but had no actual entanglements with it.

The Inner Sect was the main body of the sect. Inner Sect disciples were attached to the sect and, beyond cultivation, managed its various enterprises, such as Spirit Mines, spirit lands, Cave Abodes, and merchant houses.

Inner Sect disciples could learn cultivation methods and spells that the sect generally did not pass on outside. Bound to the sect through master-disciple ties, they were inseparably linked to it. If an Inner Sect disciple committed wrongdoing outside, their sect could be held accountable. If an Inner Sect disciple betrayed their master's gate, it was often regarded as a monstrous act of treachery, with grave consequences.

The sect's direct lineage disciples were the direct branch among the Inner Sect disciples. These disciples either had blood ties to the Sect Master or elders, or shared exceedingly deep master-disciple bonds with them. Direct lineage disciples formed the core of the sect and would often succeed to crucial positions such as Sect Master or elder in the future.

Direct lineage disciples learned the sect's most core cultivation methods, along with other ultimate arts forbidden from being passed on outside. Should a direct lineage disciple betray the sect, they would surely be hunted to death.

Dao Law prohibited cultivators from carrying out private punishments or wanton slaughter. Hunting down a direct lineage disciple who had betrayed the sect violated Dao Law and would invite accountability from the Dao Court. However, matters of sect betrayal were mostly handled by the local Dao Court Office. The Dao Court held the greatest power, but its subordinate Dao Court Offices, which governed the various provinces, realms, and even cities, did not all have powerful cultivators stationed within them.

A direct lineage disciple's betrayal concerned the sect's core inheritance and was a matter of great importance. Ordinary Dao Court Offices would generally not interfere. Especially when it came to a major sect that dominated one region, even the local Dao Court Office would not dare meddle.

Still, none of this had much to do with Mo Hua.

He was merely an Outer Sect disciple of the First-Grade Immortal Gate. He was neither Inner Sect nor, needless to say, direct lineage. Even if he wanted to be hunted down, no one would think him worth the trouble...

Mo Hua wanted to enter the Inner Sect, but he had neither Spirit Stones nor connections. It was likely impossible in this lifetime, much less becoming part of the sect's direct lineage.

Mo Hua calmed his heart and focused his mind. After sitting quietly at his desk for a while, he saw Instructor Yan enter with a stern expression.

Instructor Yan was roughly forty or fifty years old, severe by nature, and already possessed Ninth-Layer Qi Refining cultivation.

Instructor Yan held a rather high position within the Immortal Gate, because among all the Instructors, only he knew array techniques. It was said that in a few years, he might pass the evaluation and become a First-Grade Array Master.

All Qi Refining disciples of the Immortal Gate studied array techniques under Instructor Yan. Whether they were disciples of a Lineage or ordinary Rogue Cultivators, Instructor Yan treated them all equally. If they made mistakes, he gave face to no one—those who deserved rebuke were rebuked, and those who deserved punishment were punished.

Thus, the disciples of the Immortal Gate both respected and feared Instructor Yan.

The sect's tuition was paid once a year, so classes were also held on a yearly basis.

Today was the final day of the Immortal Gate's annual cultivation term. After today came an annual break lasting more than half a month. The assessment results for the sect disciples' various subjects would also be handed out today.

Instructor Yan held a stack of report cards in his hand.

The disciples were anxious. Mo Hua himself had not felt much at first, but seeing the disciples around him looking as though they faced a great enemy, he began to feel nervous as well.

Before long, Mo Hua received his own sect assessment results.

As usual, he received an A in the array technique assessment. This was what Mo Hua excelled at most. There were not many disciples in the Immortal Gate who could earn an A in array techniques, and Mo Hua was one of them.

Mo Hua's cultivation was rated only B. It was not that he did not cultivate diligently, but that his innate bones were truly limited. With an inferior middle-grade Small Five Elements Spirit Root, no matter how he cultivated, that was all there was to it—insufficient compared to those above, with little to spare over those below.

As for the other subjects, if they could be mastered by spending time on them, such as Dao Calendar History and Qi Refining Fundamentals, he generally received As as well. But for subjects that required spending Spirit Stones on materials to learn properly, such as alchemy and talisman making, he received either Bs or Cs.

Mo Hua's family was poor. He could not even afford to borrow an Alchemy Furnace, so naturally he did not learn alchemy well. During assessments, he could only refine by feel, gambling blindly. Whether it succeeded depended entirely on luck. His grades did not merely rely on fortune—they fluctuated wildly and were terribly unstable.

Still, taken as a whole, his grades were quite good. As the saying went, one handsome feature hid a hundred flaws. Array techniques were difficult to learn, after all, and earning an A in them was already quite impressive.

After saying a few words, Instructor Yan temporarily left. The disciples in the room began comparing their report cards and whispering among themselves.

"Mo Hua, you got another A in array techniques!" one disciple said after sneaking a glance at Mo Hua's report card.

"Another A..."

"I've always gotten B..."

"I got C."

"Array techniques are so hard to learn. My head swells just looking at them..."

"..."

The disciples all crowded around Mo Hua.

"Hmph!" A Qian Family disciple wearing a silver-white Daoist robe saw this and snorted in displeasure. "What's so impressive about that? He can only get an A by drawing these simple sect array techniques."

"Then what did you get?" a disciple asked indignantly.

"Why should I tell you?" the Qian Family disciple said disdainfully.

Another disciple secretly peeked at his report card, then burst out laughing. "He got a C!"

The disciples froze for a moment, then the room erupted with laughter.

"You got a C, yet you're laughing at someone else for getting an A? Your face is thicker than a wall!"

"Thicker than an Artifact Refining Furnace!"

"And you're even a Qian Family disciple. You're so stupid—you're worse than me, and I got a B."

The Qian Family disciple flew into a rage from shame. "So what if he got an A? No Rogue Cultivator can become an Array Master. Do you understand?"

He pointed at Mo Hua and the others. "You Rogue Cultivators are frogs at the bottom of a well. Without an inheritance, for your entire lives—listen well, your entire lives—you will never produce even one Array Master. Bah, an A! Remember this: among Rogue Cultivators, a true Array Master can never emerge! If you don't understand, I can say it again."

"Rogue Cultivators will never be worthy of becoming Array Masters!"

The surrounding disciples fell silent.

Mo Hua looked at him as though he were an idiot. Then he rose, bowed toward the Qian Family disciple's back, and said, "Greetings, Instructor Yan!"

The Qian Family disciple was struck as if by lightning. He stiffly turned his head and, sure enough, found Instructor Yan standing behind him, his face livid.

"The sect exists to impart the Dao and cultivate the Dao, not for you to compare yourselves with and slander your fellow disciples!"

"Your own array techniques are too hideous to bear looking at, yet you still have the face to mock your fellow disciples?"

"Go outside and stand as punishment until nightfall."

"Then draw the basic Five Elements Array Pattern one hundred times. Show them to me when you enroll next year. If you cannot draw them, then there is no need for you to come back..."

The Qian Family disciple's face turned ashen, but he did not dare utter a single word of rebuttal.

Instructor Yan held a high status. Even direct descendants of the Qian Family could be reprimanded by him, much less a distant branch like him, with blood ties so thin.

The Qian Family disciple slunk away to stand punishment.

Instructor Yan stood before Mo Hua. After a moment of silence, he reached out and patted Mo Hua's thin shoulder. With a sigh, he said, "Don't mind what others say. Study well."

Mo Hua's expression remained unchanged. He respectfully bowed to Instructor Yan. "This disciple will remember."

Instructor Yan nodded. He then went to the Instructor's seat, gave the disciples a few more instructions, and announced the sect's annual break. They could go home.

The disciples suppressed their excitement as they bowed to the Instructor, thanking him for a year of guidance in cultivation. Then, with a rush, they scattered like birds and beasts.

The sect was on annual break, and the disciples were overjoyed.

Yet Mo Hua felt conflicted as he watched them.

Most of these Qi Refining disciples were still young, carefree and without worries, utterly unaware of the hardships of a life pursuing the Dao.

Thinking of the wounds covering his father after monster hunting, and his mother's haggard face, Mo Hua's heart ached. He could not help but sigh.

Becoming a First-Grade Array Master was still a distant prospect, but within the limits of his ability, he wanted his parents to live a little better.

Mo Hua put away his report card, tucked twelve Spirit Stones into his robes, and left the Immortal Gate. Rather than going home, he headed toward the market.