At finally learning the invisible cultivator, Arianna’s name, I can’t help but reveal a smile.

I mouth my appreciation, since it’s easy to tell how important revealing her name is to her.

“That is a beautiful name. Thank you for telling me.”

I can see her gulp before turning red. Nodding once before shooting away on her sword. Still blushing.

I don’t intend to seem flirtatious, but I think it’s important to reaffirm a person’s individuality, especially after such a long period of isolation. As a faceless, voiceless being.

That’s quite interesting, though. Her name deviates from many of the names I usually hear from this part of the world. It makes me curious about her birthplace.

…but that’s a question for another day.

My eyes turn toward the building in front of me. The Healer’s Association Xinjiang Compound branch.

And so it begins.

I take a step inside, through the large doors of the building, only to find myself seeing a surprisingly calm area. A few office staff sitting at an intake desk. A place clearly setup similarly to the hospital entrance areas I’m familiar with. To separate patients, visitors, and staff accordingly.

I feel surprised, because I’m so used to being in hectic situations, that I was kind of expecting things to be like that here.

I guess that makes sense. After all, it doesn’t appear there are any major health crises here that need to be addressed. And even with this being a major merchant city, the healer’s association is constantly active, not just at their facilities.

This means they have small clinics positioned around the city itself to handle issues on the street level first. Unless it’s a major issue, the staff there will handle most things that people would need help with.

“Hi, what can I help you with?”

Snapping me out of my thoughts is one of the receptionists at the table.

“Oh, I’m here to get my accreditation as a healer.”

The receptionist’s eyes spark with brightness. Flipping pages to swiftly set things up.

“That’s great to hear! It’s always good to see people interested in getting accredited. Please follow the hall to my right, all the way to the back. You’ll exit to the courtyard and head to the large building to the right.”

She pauses before speaking a little more quietly.

“…and please make sure not provoke Madame Qian. That might make things a little tougher for you in your classes.”

I nod in appreciation, as advice like this is what can make the difference between a passing score and a failure. Of course, for me that won’t matter, but it shows her level of care.

“Thank you, I’ll make sure not to.

“Ah, one additional question. Who should I talk to, to take the immediate accreditation?”

…

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This is when the positive look in her eyes toward me fades. I can see she holds back a sigh, but remains polite.

“You’ll want to speak to Madame Qian then. She’ll be the one to determine your eligibility.”

…such a difference in demeanor. Once again, I can’t blame her.

With my age and cultivation level, this is as if a student coming into college for the first time, requested to take a test to become a full-fledged doctor for the first time. Something that would normally take 10-20 years in this world, considering required education and cultivation levels. Claiming that they already know what they are doing and had studied elsewhere.

Of course, that person could be right, but since they weren’t trained in-house, the bar to be acknowledged is that much higher. With the animosity at an all-time high.

This will only go over worse, since I want to be accredited for the highest level of healer.

I give the receptionist a smile and lay a half-silver in front of her before following her direction. An unexpected, unneeded tip, but one that leaves goodwill for her help.

I can sense that she gives a still frustrated, but appreciative smile, as I head down the hallway, passing curious staff members. When I reach the courtyard, I can feel the qi swirling within the air as multiple cultivators are sitting outside in circles, cultivating together.

A public place for them to keep moving forward with their cultivation, even as they support and learn within this institution. Moving past them along the right side leads me to the aforementioned building. An administration building meant for processing new students and personnel.

Right as I get close, I hear a bad omen.

“Don’t you know who I am?! I am the second son of Elder Ting of the Jinbang Sect. You WILL allow me to retake the certification exam.”

As I walk in, I see another young master yelling at an overwhelmed staff member.

Sigh.

I guess it couldn’t be all smooth sailing, huh? With the Jinbang Sect being a wealth-focused sect, and the one in control of this area, even I wouldn’t get much support going against them.

…that doesn’t mean I won’t do something if he goes too far, though.

I move a small distance behind him, awaiting my turn to speak.

Luckily, a brunette woman appears before us, her flowing robes and markings on them show she’s clearly of high cultivation and stature within the Healer’s Association.

“Young Master, we can allow you to retake the exam, though I ask that you keep things discreet. We can have you take it after others have left, if that is satisfactory with you.”

Ah, this must be Madame Qian. She’s doing a fantastic job of holding back the obvious frustration she feels from a young master demanding an unreasonable thing.

…this means she’s going to take all that frustration on me when he leaves and I make an unreasonable request, doesn’t it?

The young master, facing Madame Qian, becomes more reserved, giving her a bow.

“Madame Qian, thank you for your benevolence.”

Looks like this guy is the typical ‘weak against the strong, strong against the weak’. But it could also be viewed that he’s had his concern addressed, so now he’s satisfied. Unreasonable as it was, that is still a human reaction.

Nonetheless, he steps back, letting me move ahead to speak to her. Now she lets herself sigh aloud.

“So, I don’t recognize you… what were you here for?”

“Ahem, I was looking to take the accreditation exam for the Master level.”

To my surprise, she gives a kind smile.

“Ah… you must mean the certification exam under the Masters, right?”

It looks like there are many people make that mistake.

I’m about to say no, but her eye now twitches. Telling me she now has realized that I meant what I said.

She’s just begging for me to not say it now.

I take a breath.

“…I’m sorry, Madame Qian, but I do mean the Master level accreditation.”

Her head drops, as if defeated.

“…I should have known that today wouldn’t be easy.”

After a moment of silence, I can sense the young master behind me sneaking out of the courtyard, not even daring to stay to retake his exam. It looks like I’m not the only one that recognized this as the calm before the storm.

“…just to verify, you are asking me, and four other Masters to come and personally review whether you have what it takes to be called a Master Healer? And that if you are not even sufficiently qualified for such a request, that you will be ostracized from taking any of the exams for wasting five masters’ time? Among the countless other demerits that would come from such an action?”

Last chance.

I take a breath, using my conversation scan to smooth this over as best I can.

“Yes. I ask that you do not judge me for my appearance. For certain reasons, I am forced to hide my background and abilities until the accreditation is complete. I hope you can understand.”

This is what gives her pause, making her give me a hard look.

Then a sigh.

“Fine. I hope you know what you are doing.”

Time to show my stuff.