"You are actually good. It's very rare to find someone who could make Master second guess his decisions. However, as far as I can see you are far closer to your goal than you are thinking."

Xiao Heng said with a soft smile as he looked at the young girl whose eyes immediately started glowing up at his words.

"Really?" Li Ming asked as she tried her very best to not show the excitement that was bubbling inside her.

A small chuckle skipped Xiao Heng's lips as he shook his head at her excitement.

"Umm-hmm. I would advise you to not listen to others who are trying to demotivate you because, in reality, you are so close to your goal that if you kept fighting for it, I'm sure you will soon get some good results." He said while playing with the spoon that was resting in the empty bowl.

Li Ming was silent for the next few minutes as she pondered on what she just learned from Xiao Heng.

She took out a jar of wine and offered it to the boy who lightly shook his head in refusal as he said, "I'm sure your wine would taste just as good as your food. Unfortunately, Master doesn't allow us to drink."

Immediately Li Ming closed the jar and threw it back inside her magical space.

Xiao Heng again chuckled softly at her behavior but did not comment.

"By the way, why are you so confident that I'm going in the right direction. So far I have only observed Master becoming colder and colder towards me. I'm even afraid that if I dared to do even one more thing to test his patience then he will bury me deep in the scary ocean." Li Ming said as she looked completely lost in her thoughts.

There was a slight uncertainty in her eyes. However, Xiao Heng had no idea if it was because she was uncertain about Master's reactions or about her own plans.

"I have been following Master for the last fifteen years. Even though I never succeeded in becoming his disciple, but you can say that I'm one of his most trusted disciples. I can tell when he's not being his normal cold and indifferent self." Xiao Heng replied.

Silence took over the pavilion as both Li Ming and Xiao Heng settled down in a comfortable silence.

It was only after an entire hour had passed when Xiao Heng finally stood up and dusted his clothes to get rid of imagery dirt.

"It's time for me to go and assist the master. I'll see you around. Remember to find me when you are being bullied, though I doubt that it's possible." He said with a soft smile.

"Thank you." Li Ming softly muttered as she looked at him warmly with her eyes filled with sincerity.

"Sister Li, even if you ended up becoming my Senior sister, I won't call you senior. Consider it as a repayment for my help. I'll boast around the entire academy that the High Senior Disciple of Array Sect's Master is my friend." Xiao Heng said in reply before turning around and leaving the pavilion.

At that moment, somehow Li Ming knew that she had found another person who would enter her list of favorite friends.

***

Days after days kept passing as Li Ming kept trying her very best to not give up and continue fighting for her goal.

It had been nine days since she was selected as the disciple of the Inner faction of the Array Sect and also nine days since she announced that she wanted to become Master's disciple.

Nine days filled with one after other failed attempts, never-ending mockery, halls, and classrooms buzzing with teasings and laughter as everyone pointed out exactly how overconfident and stupid Li Ming was.

The elders also tried to talk some sense into her since they all did not want to lose a brilliant student like her only because she was still locked in her dream of becoming the High Senior Disciple of the Array Sect.

But even though Li Ming kept fighting for the position of the high senior disciple with all her might, even she was losing her confidence.

Moreover, she only had three hours left because just as three hours would end, Master Lu would be entering his closed-door cultivation.

According to what she had heard from the elders and Xiao Heng, it was a rumor that Master would be in closed-door cultivation for more than three years.

All this meant that she won't get any more chance to learn array formations from him for the coming three or so years.

She was currently sitting at the foot of the stairs of the Lotus manor, the exact same pavilion where Master Lu was residing.

She had set her mind, there was no other option than to succeed in her aim. She could not fail and that only left the option of moving forward.

"Are you going to leave or not?"

A cold and heavy voice break through the silence that had taken over the Lotus courtyard.

As far as one could see, the lotus courtyard was filled with smaller ponds where lotus flowers were blooming in their full beauty, filling the air with their fragrance and developing a breathtaking scenery.

Very few people were allowed to enter this courtyard and Li Ming was certainly not one of them.

However, she still found her way inside the courtyard after Xiao Heng helped her a little to distract the guards that were stationed at the entrance of the courtyard.

The person who just came out of the manor to take a look at her was one of the few senior disciples that were allowed to enter the Lotus courtyard and it was only so that they could take care of the beautiful manor.

"I'm not leaving!" Li Ming replied as she kept kneeling there on the hard cold floor that was poking holes in her knee with the stones that were scattered around.

She knew that someone had intentionally spread the sharp stones all over the porch but she still kept bearing the pain as she felt the sharp edges of the stones piercing through her dress and then her smooth skin, making blood ooze out of the cuts.

"Little girl, there's no need for punishing yourself. No matter how much you try, Master would never accept you as his disciple." The young man tried to reason with the girl whose body was clearly at the edge of giving up.

If he was not wrong then the hours that Li Ming had spent kneeling in the past ten days could easily surpass the hours that he had spent kneeling in the entire year.

Not only that but it was also clear that since she was busy in making Master Lu see her sincerity and dedication twenty-four by seven in the last ten days, she had barely spent any time cultivating, leading to the depletion of her internal energy and spiritual qi.

"Even if I won't succeed, I want Master to answer one of my questions before he leaves for his close door cultivation." Li Ming answered as she let her body absorb the spiritual qi that was flowing through the lotus courtyard.

"And what's that?"

This time the person who asked the question was definitely not the young not who immediately bowed in greetings and steeped back a little.

Li Ming could felt the pressure of cold eyes that were piercing her through the back of her head.

It took almost all her energy to move her body so that she could face the man who was standing behind her.

However, her gaze met not only the Head of the Array Sect but almost all of the elders of the sect and even some of the senior disciples.

She could clearly see the disappointment and sympathy that was covering the expressions of all the elders and seniors.

They all were feeling bad for her, not only because she finally failed completely in her goal but also because she still was not able to give up on her dream.

But unlike all the rest of them, the expressions of Master Lu were completely empty. He was neither curious about her nor he showed any sympathy.

"Why are you not ready to except a disciple?"

Li Ming's question ranged throughout the silence of the courtyard as everyone looked at Master Lu as they waited for his answer.

The man kept looking at her coldly for a few moments before he finally replied.

"Initially it was because I never found someone who was worthy of this position. Over the years I have seen many who were even more persistent and stubborn than you. But none of them was the one I was looking for....."

The silence that met his answer was filled with a different kind of emptiness. It matched the feeling of emptiness that also started settling over Li Ming until --

"You should start preparing. We will be entering the portal in less than three hours. There's a long way to go and you will need all your energy to survive the coming few years."