Mei ran towards the teleportation array as fast as she could, after waving goodbye to her friends.

The last thing she wanted to do was to queue up with a hundred disciples!

As the array came in sight, Mei heaved a sigh of relief, slowing a bit to catch her breath. Only ten people in line! And some of them were children? What?

Oh right, thought Mei. Back then, the sect master bought in children too. She supposed they'd have to visit their families too.

As she got in line, she realised she could recognise two of them, though she didn't remember their names.

One was a girl with chubby cheeks who looked around 5. Her sect robes were oddly cute on her. The other was a skinny boy who looked 7. He was not in sect robes but in the shoddy clothes he came here in. From their resemblance, they were likely siblings.

Seeing Mei Xiu, the little girl hid behind the boy, looking frightened. The boy put on his bravest front and glared at her.

Mei felt a bit offended. What did she do for the kids to be so scared of her?

"Stay back!" he shouted.

"She's the scary senior sister who shouted and farted the scary black gas!" the little girl squeaked as she hugged him from behind. "Big bro! Save me!"

Mei: ...

The boy released his aura, the aura of a stage 3 Qi Gathering cultivator! Mei was not impressed.

For a moment, she considered releasing her aura to scare him, but that would be really petty of her. 

The older disciples gave her strange looks. Feeling wronged, Mei looked away and tried her best to ignore the kids and the stares. 

When her turn came, she felt a surge of relief. She passed her token to the elder who was in charge of the array, who was smiling. Mei gritted her teeth. He must have been laughing at her!

"Kids are like that sometimes. Don't take it to mind." she heard a voice in her head.

Aside from the creepiness of hearing someone else talk in her head, she felt a bit better.

The elder handed back the no longer glowing token.

"When you want to return, hold the token and imagine returning to the array."

Mei thanked him and walked into the array.

From a distance, the array looked quite plain. But up close, she could feel its powerful presence. Powerful qi was roiling in the array. It formed a glowing door covered in complex engravings. As it opened and she stared within, somehow, she felt like she could see infinity within, though she couldn't quite understand.

She did not hear any words, but somehow, the array seemed to be communicating with her. Its name was... Myriad Realms Heaven Array?

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Mei was prepared to enter the door, but before she could, the scenery faded away into thousands of swirling colours. She felt like she was travelling at extreme speeds, tunnelling through space itself. There was no sound, yet it felt like she could hear the sound of roaring wind.

And just as abruptly, a well came into sight. Off-balance, she fell and hit her head on it.

Mei braced herself for pain, but it didn't hurt much, though she felt a bit dizzy. There was now a crack on the stone where her head hit.

As she got up, she felt a strong sense of loss. It felt like something was wrong, lacking. Her pores were practically gasping. It was a terrible feeling.

The qi in the air was thousands of times thinner than in the sect. After living there for a week, her body had gotten too used to it and was hungry for more.

Around her, the townsfolk stared at her, dazed.

After shooing off the people basically saying "Oh heavens! You're a cultivator!", she started to head home. Trying her best to settle her pores down, she took in the sights as she went. The hot rays of the sun shone on the roads and the houses. They were so plain, so dingy compared to the grandness of her sect.

But deep down, her town felt more homely to her. Despite her slight queasiness, she was filled with a strange sense of comfort as she strolled.

It didnt take much time before she was before her dilapidated home. She reached out and knocked on the door.

"What is it?" an angry yell came from inside.

Mei flinched instinctively.

A skinny middle-aged woman with her hair in buns opened the door, glaring.

"Mom..." Mei said weakly.

Upon seeing her, all the anger melted away from her mother's eyes. Mei widened her eyes as she was caught in a bear hug. Somehow, she felt like she couldn't breathe despite her newfound strength as a cultivator.

"You scoundrel! Come here!" her mom turned back and yelled.

The sound of hurried footsteps came from within the house. A man with his hair tied ran out. His shirt was not put on quite straight and was soaked in sweat. It was clear he had hastily put his shirt on.

"Ah. You're safe, Mei," he said.

His voice did not carry much joy, though he sounded relieved. 

"Dad..."

"Go in! I'll get something for you." her mom said.

"Ah, but I have this..." Mei mumbled, looking at the box in her hand.

"Just go in!"

Mei was ushered to the table by her mother, where she sat. She put down the box.

Her dad sat at the table too, wordless.

From her seat, she could see her mother scooping out rice from a pot into bowls and adding boiled vegetables.

Her mother set out three bowls on the table.

Mei stared at it. It was a pitiful meal. Yet, she felt comforted.

Her mother had prepared more rice for her and was extravagant enough to add an egg. If her palate had not been tainted by the octopus's incredible cooking, Mei would be overjoyed.

Still, she ate with her parents. The mountain vegetables were bitter and bland, with barely any salt added. The egg was boiled for a little too long.

But Mei felt satisfied. She ate slowly, savouring it.

As she picked off the last grains of rice with her chopsticks, her dad finally spoke.

"How was your time at the sect?"

Mei began to describe everything. The moment she arrived. Wang Wei's strange attitude in the library. The boring lessons the kind sect master gave. Her friends. The antics she got to in the sect. By the time she was done, almost an hour had passed. Her parents had been silent the whole time.

"I see." her dad said, finally. "I'm glad you're enjoying yourself. That's good."

He reached out and patted her on the back.

Her parents looked rather sad. Mei finally realised something.

She cursed herself.

Was she daft? How had it not come to mind? She plucked her courage and spoke.

"Mom, dad... I'm not going to abandon you two just because I'm a cultivator now. Don't worry." she said, in her bravest voice. "Things are going to be better now! I'll be able to turn our lives around. We can finally live in a big house and not have to farm anymore. Mom..."

Mei paused.

"When I was younger... when dad was teaching me how to read and write. When I got frustrated... You told me if I studied hard, maybe I could get an important job and become rich. We wouldn't have to worry about money anymore."

For some reason, she felt heavyhearted.

"I can make that come true now."