If there was one class— out of all of them, all the myriad options they’d been offered and the ten she’d ended up with— that Lily was most excited for, it would without a doubt be the class on Formations. She was practically vibrating with excitement as she stood outside the lecture hall in time for her first class— her very first class! Counting down the minutes until the class began.

  Introductory Formations and Arrays, taught by Min Gongwen… oh she was so excited! She’d come an entire hour early, unable to withstand the wait, and now that she was finally here the excitement hadn’t diminished at all. Finally she’d get to learn formations from cultivators! Not that Master Mingtian’s formations were bad or anything— they’d taught her everything she knew, and she’d forever be grateful to them, but he was a mortal. It just wouldn’t be the same…

  Hazy images of divine formations and heavenly treasures floated through her mind as she skipped from one foot to the other, staring at the door with an almost ravenous hunger. Just a few minutes left…

  A few other students started to slowly arrive, but no sign of the instructor yet. That was probably for the best— Lily wasn’t sure if she could restrain herself from embarrassing herself in front of the instructor, that’s how excited she was…

  None of the other students seemed quite that eager to be there, which… perhaps that was fair. It was early enough in the morning that the sun had barely rose, so early still that the scarlet of late dawn still washed the pagoda in front of them a lovely orange and transformed the mulberry leaves into so many crystals of orange-gleaming glass… which meant that everyone here this early for their class had woken up well before the sunrise. There was plenty that could be said about that, but not much that had to be—

  It was an elective, so everyone had chosen this of their own volition. She wasn’t too stuffed full of hubris to think that she was the best at formations there— sure, she knew she was better than Xinshi, who’d shown up looking just a little haggard— but that didn’t really reveal anything she didn’t already know. They’d had the same class, and she’d been at the top of it by a wide margin… no, it wasn’t Xinshi she was most interested in, but the other cultivators around them. And wasn’t that weird, to know that everyone around her was one of those vaunted few…

  Some of them looked like her— dressed in casual clothes, looking more like schoolchildren than the very best students of their year, elevated to Shedding by the largess of the sect— but others… not so much. Two stood together off to the side, wearing matching black robes with gold filigree, swords clasped to their waists and enough jade dangling off their robes that they looked more like cultivators out of a movie than real people. A few others were similar. Not just the very brightest of their generation, but also clearly the wealthiest. The amount of money it would’ve cost just to buy the amount of jade hanging off their clothes was probably more money than she’d ever had over the course of her entire life— and that was including the spirit stones that Mingtian had given her that once. Though, maybe if she’d sold the spirit fruit instead of using it to make a pill for Avyr…

  She shook her head. That was beside the point— and it was obvious they weren’t just pieces of regular jade, which were expensive enough— no, they were spiritual implements of some sort, crafted of spiritual jade. The wealth represented just their… she wondered what sort of resources they’d been able to leverage in their education. And here she’d thought that Xinshi had been handheld from birth!

  Finally, just when she was starting to get so impatient that she’d seriously started considering bothering someone until they talked, their instructor appeared. Or at least the person she assumed was their instructor, given how she was practically ancient compared to all the students there, what with the white hair and cane that she wasn’t actually using…

  Min Gongwen was an unassuming sort of person, at first. If she’d seen her in the 32nd Precinct, Lily wouldn’t have thought anything of her presence— just another elderly woman going about her day, whatever that entailed. Now, though… as a cultivator, she could see the sheer weight of presence that she exerted on the environment around her. It was nothing compared to Zhihu when she was upset, sure, but it was still heavy. Moreover, it carried with itself a quiet… respectability, almost. An aura of wisdom that somehow made her almost more impressive than the more powerful cultivators she’d met. How she actually managed that, Lily had no idea, but… she had an inkling of a guess.

  Swirling and pulsing, stitching and breathing and almost living, her cane was covered in formations. So many formations layered over and atop one another that she had trouble discerning where one began and the other ended, such was the sheer density of them— not to mention the way they shifted. It was the most striking detail about them— none of the runes seemed to stay still. For a moment she’d thought that the woman had someone how managed to make runes completely untethered to any sort of material reality— which would have been truly awe inspiring— but no, as she looked at it closer she realized that it was just a clever metaformation, directing the qi through thousands upon thousands of pre-carved lines that spilled over the surface of the cane so subtly that it at a distance it looked perfectly smooth if one wasn’t paying attention.

  Now that was cool. Were they going to figure out how to do that? She sincerely hoped that they were going to be taught how to do that— “class.” The single word cut through her almost feverish excitement, snapping her back to attention. “I’m glad to see you all here— that the younger generation finds value in learning the glorious art fills me with a suffusing joy. What happiness! That you’ve all come here to hear about the supreme path in the world of cultivation… your futures are bright. Follow me.” She waved her cane dismissively, and Lily only barely caught the complex interweaving of qi that burst from the spiritual implement and sank into the giant doors of the pagoda before it opened up for them.

  The inside was… smaller than she’d expected, but about the size she should have thought it’d be, given that the pagoda wasn’t one of the larger ones in the University campus. It was also a whole lot cosier than she’d thought it was going to be— instead of the traditional lecture halls she’d long since gotten used to as part of the academy’s elites, it was just a few desks scattered around the floor and a small lectern placed at what Lily assumed was the front of the class.

  Instructor Min headed straight for the lectern, waving her staff again and materializing a book from thin air. That caught everyone’s attention like nothing else had— though Lily was pretty sure that it wasn’t actually a real book. She wasn’t an expert in spatial formations, or… really knew anything about them at all, but she was confident that everyone said they were only available to Sundering cultivators and above. And while she was sure that the sect spared no effort in making sure that the elite cohort got the very best education they possibly could, she was rather confident that their classes weren’t going to be taught by someone with the power to pulverize mountains and sever seas.

  “Alright.” She flipped through the page— but the qi fluctuations between her staff and the lectern revealed it for the illusion it was. Subtle, but still— she recognized it well enough from her own experiments on the matter. “There should be eighteen of you here…” her gaze scanned over the classroom for only a second, before she nodded sharply. “Good, everyone’s come on time, good… I understand that some of your instructors will be forgiving of truancy— greatness incurs burden, and you lot are the greatest of the entire city, and I understand that some of you are well versed in the various critical subjects… but I will not be one of those instructors. Without a valid excuse— and those are few and far between— I will not tolerate truancy or misbehavior in this classroom. If you cannot respect my time, the time of the University of East Saffron, and the Bloody Saffron Sect, then you might as well pack your bags and go back home to your rich clans and beg them to accept you as a menial disciple. This is not the space for the weak of will and feeble of heart. Do I make myself understood.” The entire class nodded mutely, earning them a scowl. “I said, do I make myself understood? I want to hear a Yes, Instructor.”

  “Yes, Instructor!” Even the unfairly wealthy scions looked a little cowed after that speech, which was… probably the point, now that Lily thought about it.

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  Suddenly, the instructor was all smiles once more. “How wonderful! Good, good, glad to meet all of you— I’m sure I’ll get to know you all well over the course of the year, and perhaps even beyond if you chose to continue your studies in the most glorious art of formations here at the university. I encourage you all to do so— if there is one art that will serve you most in life, it is this. It is not surprising that the most lasting artefacts on Aurelia are the works of formations. The world tethers, which have since time immemorial connected us to the rest of the observable realm. The Harmonious Swords of Zhongshi, famous for their ability to withstand even the strongest cultivator’s blows. The Heavenly Array of Beixian, which— though tragically destroyed in the last war— existed since the time of the Empire of Twelve Constellations and was renowned throughout the entire realm for its aura of tranquility. None with eyes to see can doubt the power of formations. Now…” she waved her cane at the blackboard behind her, and a diagram shimmered onto existence atop it. “That said, can anyone tell me what this is?”

  For a long moment, the entire class was silent. It was a complex little formation, almost entirely constructed out of some of the more advanced components she recognized, as well as some runes she didnt… frowning, she quickly scanned over all the runes that’d been incorporated into its form… at the most basic level, it looked like some sort of… water formation? Heavily yin aligned at that, which meant that it was probably an ice formation, acutally… except, the way the qi would flow through the diagram, the way the runes had been set up… especially some of the connections that seemed entirely contradictory to the idea of materializing an effect on the—

  Oh! Her hand snapped up, and Instructor Min nodded toward her. “It’s a shielding formation! It makes a sheild—”

  “Yes, obviously.” The sheer level of dry, biting wit in the instructor’s voice made her mouth snap shut immediately and her face flame with embarrassment. Some of the other people in the class snickered— though not, she was surprised to see, Xinshi. “Now, I didn’t ask what it does— any formation artist of reasonable skill can look at the runes of a talisman or formation and take a wild guess at its functionality.” But… that wasn’t what she’d done in the slightest? She dared not interrupt the instructor, though… “I asked what it is. Can anyone else answer the question?”

  “I can.”

  The instructor raised an eye towards the young man who’d spoke out— one of the two who’d dressed in black and gold, and jade, and ostentatiousness. “And you are… ?”

  “Song Banwei, Instructor.”

  “Very well, Mr. Song. Tell the class— what is the formation that I put on the board?”

  “The An’aizen pattern protection talismans.” He hesitated for a second, then continued on after the teacher didn’t interject. “Made by a Catatapharan formations sage several thousand years ago, and considered to be one of the great developments in the talisman art after the collapse of the Empire of Twelve Constellations’s fall; it can be used by the weakest mortal, drawn by a child— if they have enough dexterity— and even, with modern production techniques, mass produced by spiritual factories.”

  “Wonderful! A wonderful response, truly encapsulating everything that makes the An’aizen formation so special. You would do well to remember it— it will be the subject of an entire unit later on, addressing its strengths, its weaknesses, and its uses throughout the ages. Now…”

  That was more or less how the rest of the class went, much to Lily’s dismay. There were no heavenly formations— not that she’d really expected any, but it was still a disappointment that at no point did Instructor Min pull out some immortal’s legacy or whatever usually happened in a good TV drama’s plot— but even worse than that, there was no actual teaching about formations. Most of the class was just them going over a variety of different famous formations that Lily had never heard about before— surely they couldn’t all be that good if she’d been making similar, if perhaps slightly weaker versions— all by herself? Either way, the Instructor thought they were the best thing since cultivation, and she’d handed out textbooks to all of the students at the end with the firm instructions that they’d need to memorize all the formations within it by the end of the semester. It wasn’t a thin textbook, either!

  It was… not what she’d been expecting, that was for sure. Not in the slightest. If she wasn’t being quite so generous, she’d say it was thoroughly and utterly disappointing. It didn’t even feel like a formations class, just… memorization. Memorization of specific formations, which was about as useless for actually learning the art as it got.

  Whatever. Perhaps her expectations had been too high. Actually… she hummed a bit, kicking back in her chair and letting a smile dance across her face. In a different light, at least it proved that Master Mingtian was super awesome and cool and good at formations!

  Still sucked, but… as ever, she endured.

  ………

  The skies over East Saffron hung heavy with the promise of coming rain as they filtered out of class and once more onto the beautiful university campus grounds To most of the students, there was an undeniable anticipation, that half-crouched almost nervous thing clinging to their every movement, evident in the way they carried their brand new textbooks and the touch of eager motion with which the group chattered amongst themselves. However, if one was to look closely at the small crowd of dispersing students, at least one of them should have stood out amongst the rest.

  Not nervousness nor anticipation nor anything else— just… disappointment. As Lily slowly picked her way once more into the tangled mess of buildings and gardens that was the central part of the University’s campus, she could not help but feel disappointed.

  She sighed. The classwork wasn’t even fun. She’d read through the syllabus in the lecture, and they weren’t even expected to make a single formation…

  “Lily.” She squeaked, startled, whirling around in a moment and catching glimpse of a familiar, stern figure— hear heart racing for a moment before rationality reclaimed its role and reminded her that she had nothing to fear from this man. Not anymore. “If you would hold a moment before you run off to… whatever your next class is.”

  “Xinshi.” On the other hand, though, she had no idea what he was doing talking to her. She’d not heard from him once since they’d arrived at the university, and now… she leveled a questioning look at the man as they passed beneath the boughs of a gnarled willow, its verdant leaves spilling over the stone-lined way and waving, amongst the wind a waterfall of green-coin leaves. “For what reason do I… to whom do I…” she frowned. “Whatever. Why are you here?”

  “To speak with you.”

  “Obviously.” She rolled her eyes. “Why do you want to speak to me?”

  He shrugged. “No great reason. At least, no ulterior motive… I was simply… surprised. Yes, that’s a good way of putting it— I was surprised at how very lacking the university’s resources were if this was the best formations teacher they were able to source.”

  “Don’t say that so loud!” She glared at Xinshi. “Unless you want to get in trouble?” Honestly, she wasn’t even sure if that was allowed or not, but she hadn’t come this far only to stumble at the last moment because some passing cultivator heard the wrong thing at the wrong time. Who knew what the senses of higher-realm cultivators were like? Well, Avyr, obviously, but what normal person knew that sort of thing?

  Xinshi just rolled his eyes, though. “Loud or quiet, it doesn’t change the facts of the matter— namely, that I’m right, and this so-called formations class is little better than an exercise in brute memorization that any half-wit toddler could do.” He shook his head, grimacing for a moment. “Perhaps I should be a little more charitable… the instructor, at least, seems to know what they’re doing. With their own formations, not with the class— the curriculum is stupid.”

  “Are you trying to get in trouble?”

  “Of course not. I’m simply saying what’s true. The Bloody Saffron Sect is a righteous organization— I’m sure they won’t punish someone for saying what’s evidently obvious.” Lily just sighed. Of course… she’d almost forgotten just how arrogant Xinshi could be. That, and… well. He wasn’t wrong.

  She found herself nodding slightly before she could stop herself, a bitter expression crossing her face. “I was hoping that I’d get to really and truly advance my formations, but this is just going to be… boring. I mean, I guess these formations have to be pretty famous if they’re in an academy textbook, so I’m sure that I’m going to be able to get at least something out of them, but… you know.” She waved a hand, disgruntled. “It’s going to be like pulling teeth. Difficult in the extreme.”

  “At least you’ll be able to get something out of this… I can’t help but think the class is going to be a waste of my time entirely.” She gave him a curious look, and he glanced away, the edge of his face catching on the cloud-shrouded gloom with something that approached but didn’t quite reach sadness. It was an emotion she couldn’t quite put words to— even Avyr was easier to read. “I… don’t have the same sort of talent as you… in formations as you do.” He corrected. Yet, that edge remained. “Have a good day, Lily.” Then, come the next branching path, he turned away and left her alone, beneath the cloudy skies and verdant gardens, and stones, all twisting and turning with the sinuous grace of water and shadow and all fickle things.

  Curious.

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