Conflict
Heading off towards the Mechanics hall, Chen Hua decided to stop into a shop along the side of the road selling clothes.
「Excuse me, do you sell any robes that are good at concealing one's face here?」
「Yes, we have a few in the back, it is rare to find a youngster as polite as you now and days, you can just call me Auntie Xue.」
「Ok, Auntie Xue, I heard that the Li and Zhang Clans are up to something do you know if the rumours are true?」
「Ahh... You are talking about those, I am afraid that they are true and that the Li and Zhang clans are both on the move, I have a friend who works as a merchant in the central shopping district and he hears all the rumours. He says that the Li and Zhang Clans are just gathering information at the moment but will probably make their move within the next two months. We are here, over there on the left wall are our robes, they are 1 silver each.」
after spending a silver at Aunty Xue's place he continued on to the Mechanics Hall. Before entering he slightly altered his voice and walked directly for the arrays counter.
「This is the arrays branch, you look too young to be an array master, If you are here to make trouble I'd suggest that you leave immediately.」
「I am here to purchase some standardized inf for array making. I have inherited a brush and quite a few wood and stone slates from my late grandfather as well as a manual on the basics of array making. If you do not, believe me, I can show you my calligraphy technique here if you can provide ink, a brush, and paper..」
「Very well here is the brush and...」
Bang! the door was slammed open as two youths walked in. Looking around they spotted Chen Hua at the arrays counter.
「Move peasant, you are just here to make trouble.」Shoving Chen Hua off to the side he continued,
「Clerk, give me 3 bottles of ink, 100 Wooden slates and 10 stone slates.」
「The total price is 2 taels of gold and 25 silver.」
「Too much, lower it.」
「I-I'm sorry that is the best I can do, that price is the same in every branch across the continent.」
「Clerk, You suspect me of making trouble and suggest that I leave but when someone has entered and begins making trouble you do nothing?」Suddenly a sharp voice came from off the side. It was Chen Hua.」
「Who allowed you to speak, I certainly didn't」
「Do I need Your permission to speak?」
「Do you know who I am?」
「No and I don't care. I am 90% certain that you are some young master from the Li or Zhang clans because you are confident enough to cause trouble here.」
「That's right, we are the second young masters of the Li and Zhang Clans. Li Hou and Zhang Yong.」
By now there was a small crowd around the array branch counter with a clerk and 3 people at its centre, Li Hou, Chen Hua and Zhang Yong.
「Why have the guards not yet responded?」
「I know right? Have they defected?」
「Maybe they were bribed.」
As the crowd was wondering why the guards have not yet reacted around a dozen of them came from around back with the rarely seen branch manager in tow. Splitting apart the crowds the guards surrounded the three of them.
「So it is the two young masters of the Li and Zhang clans. Even though you are from the two clans that does not mean I will tolerate your troublemaking here in My branch of the Mechanics Hall.」
「How dare you threaten us! We are the second young masters of the Zhang and Li Clans, you cannot afford to offend us here in Fragrant Cloud City.」
「Although the Hall rules state that the Hall will not get involved in a struggle for power or take sides, they do state that I, the Hall's branch manager can if offended, request to have this investigated by the higher-ups and if approved, may lay siege to your clans until satisfied.」
「Are you sure you want to threaten Me? Usually, a request is processed and investigated immediately and a response comes within 3 days. Are you sure you can afford to offend me?」
「Fine, brother Li let's go, find all you can about that brat, I want his head! That manager is too overbearing. Let us see just how you can stay in this Fragrant Cloud City once we, the Li and Zhang Clans eradicate the Yan Clan.」
...
「Young man, Sorry for the inconvenience, your purchase today shall be on us. What would like to buy?」
「I just came here to buy a few bottles of the standard array making ink for practice.」
「Such a talent, practising to become an apprentice array master at such a young age, Liang go and get this young man 100 wooden slates, 50 stone slates and 10 bottles of the grade 1 standardized ink」
「That is too much Manager, I already have wooden slates, all I need is the ink.」
「Just take it, Young man, one can never have enough practice and practising will always require materials. Here is the recipe for the standard grade 1 array ink, it is no secret anyways unlike those stingy apothecary's recipes.」
Array masters are arranged into 9 different grades, simply called a grade 1 through 9 array master. This applies to not only array masters but the same system is used for mostly all the graded professions. In array making, the grade of arrays you are able to make determines your grade. Becoming an array master is not that heavily depend on one's cultivation until above grade 4. although to be a grade three the lowest one can be is a peak spirit gathering realm. The grade 2 minimum is peak body refinement realm, and grade one is mid-body refinement one.
「Thank you branch manager! I must take my leave now.」
Turning around he left the Hall and travelled through only the most crowded streets in an attempt to lose any potential followers from the Li or Zhang Clans. Once he was sure no one was following him he darted into a nearby alley and put the robe on.
「I did not think that I would need this so soon. I was planning to use this during the test, but... Just to be safe, I'll go to the other inn down the street and travel through the alleys to get back to the inn.」
Returning to the inn he took off his cloak and entered his room. Reviewing the contents of the Basic Array Making a book in his head he locked his door and laid out several wooden slates and a bottle of ink and started to begin drawing out a small grade 1 spirit storing array, the first and simplest array given in the book using the Dragons Traversing the Heavens calligraphy technique.
3 lines, 4 lines, 5 lines. There was a small nock on the floor, Failed! The dull lustre of the ink on the slate faded as the slate became useless. The nock had caused a vibration in the floorboards causing the brush to wobble from its path.
Failed.
Failed.
Failed.
Failed.
Success. On his fifth try, he had finally succeeded in creating a small grade 1 spirit storing array. Although it was ugly, it could still be considered a functional array. Small Spirit storing arrays are used to store a small amount of spiritual power but that spiritual power will leak out overtime at a fixed rate but the last 'drop' to leak out will burst out of the array at once. A lot of times these are used to create timers or timed traps. Continuing to familiarize himself with the arrays he unknowingly practised until midnight.
Dang!
Dang!
Dang!
The sounds of a gong rang throughout the surrounding streets. Shouts could be heard as a fire had started at the inn right down the street, the one he had run through to get back to his inn.
Dang!
Dang!
Dang!
Fire!
The few people still out on the road quickly hurried off to the side as a shuttle came rushing in. These are essential to every city, they have specialized arrays to turn spiritual power into water which is then shot in a direction. As the shuttle neared the inn a thick cloud of smoke arose and the anti-gravitational array on the bottom of the shuttle all of sudden stopped working sending it skidding to a halt.
「Spiritual inhibition mist!」
The use of Spiritual inhabitation mist is highly frowned upon in the continent, not illegal, but almost to the point of being so. The use of the Spiritual inhabitation mist is right in its name, it inhibits spiritual power from flowing properly, both through the meridians and arrays. Although the mist is fairly easy to resist for those mid spirit gathering realm and above it is still troublesome for low levelled arrays that are exposed to it. Although he felt a bit bad for implicating everyone in that inn in his problembs he also felt easier knowing that his enemies most likely thought that he was dead. deciding to retire for the night he cleaned up and disposed of the useless slates and stored the arrays he had just made.
---
In the morning he awoke to find the street teeming with City officials and City guards. Taking out the bottle of ink and a few more wooden slates he started to draw out a Grade 1 Energy Concentrating array. The use of these was to take the spiritual power put into them, concentrate it, and release it. Although these cannot be used individually when at a lower grade they are still widely used in spiritual cannons. Some of the extremely powerful and high-grade compound spirit gathering and condensing arrays can even gather spiritual energy and use it to create spiritual liquid, the liquid form of spiritual energy that will rarely form naturally.
After succeeding 3 times the sun was already high in the sky. Taking the cloak from the inventory he went to the back and scattered some dust onto it. After brushing the dust into and smearing a small amount of mud on the bottom of the cloak he tattered the ends and put it on and walked further into the alleys. Slowly he made his way to the centre of the city. Winding through the alleys he came to the side of a small old shop with an antique air to it. Walking in the called out to the shop owner who was just sitting by in a rocking chair. There were items piled up on to tables and shelves in the shop.
「Pick out whatever you want and I'll name the price, take it or leave it.」the old shop owner had lazily called out.
Looking around there were piles of old outdated spiritual tools, unlabeled bottles containing an assortment of items, most of which were seemingly unreliable pills, and spare parts. Walking around one of the piles he saw a crate stuffed into a corner. It was old and worn; it had a thick layer of dust on it as if it had not been moved for tens of years. It was the type of thing that most would overlook but when he looked at it he saw a title of one of the books it had contained, Array making fundamentals and theories. climbing over a few fallen items he made his way over into the corner.
「That crate of books was left here by a friend around 55 years ago. They were moving out of the city to go explore the world. When he left he told me to hide it there and someone would come by and eventually find it. He put a concealment array upon it making one overlook it. The array was designed to break once the conditions in the supporting conditional array were met. Just take it and leave; and, if in the future you happen to meet him take this token if you cannot meet him, then he must have left a name for himself by now so it will still be useful. Now shoo, Get out and stop disturbing my rest.」
Leaving the old shop he stored it in his inventory and continued on to the Mechanics Hall. Back in the shop the old man got up and started to pace around. going to the back he took out a large bronze mirror with many complex and abstract lines and runes carved upon it. For the first time in 50 years, the layer of dust was brushed away as a fresh layer of ink, shining brightly on the dull surface of the mirror, was applied
「Old Fu, you have finally found a successor, This old man admits defeat, there was really some that existed that could meet those requirements you had set...」
As the words faded another set appeared...