Indeed, the Stairway to Heaven is only one of multiple methods, and it's even the second most difficult method, but despite that, it's the most used method by Cultivators since the other methods are somewhat unrealistic." Feng Yuxiang said, and she continued, "The first method, as most people know, would be to breakthrough the Spirit Grandmaster realm and become a Spirit Lord. Once that happens, you will be able to access the Stairway to Heaven and ascend the staircase without needing to clear the trials as you have already qualified to ascend with your cultivation."
"For our second method, as you know, would be to challenge the Stairway to Heaven and attempt to clear the trials to gain recognition and the qualifications to ascend. This is the most commonly used method simply because this allows Cultivators who have not reached the Spirit Lord realm to ascend to the upper heavens. Of course, it's not an easy thing to achieve, and only a couple of Cultivators will manage to pass the trials and ascend to the next realm every 100 years."
"As for the third and final method… while this is technically the easiest way to ascend, it's also the most unrealistic method, as it requires someone from the upper heavens to come down to the Lower Heavens and take you to the upper heavens. This is something only the Seven Legacy Families and the Four Ancient Families can achieve, as they have families in the upper heavens."
"However, even if they can do such a thing, it requires a tremendous amount of resources for someone in the upper heavens to come down to the Lower Heavens, hence why they only do that once in a blue moon when they have someone extremely talented."
"I see…" Yuan mumbled as he obtained a firm understanding regarding the upper heavens and the Stairway to Heaven.
Sometime later, Yuan said, "I am going to log off now. Too many things have happened today and I need some rest."
"See you later, Young Master."
"Goodbye, Brother Yuan."
Yuan logged off the next moment.
Once he returned to the real world, Yuan took a few deep breaths to calm his mind before he started cultivating until Yu Rou entered his room.
"Brother, you probably know about this already but apparently something amazing happened in Cultivation Online today!" Yu Rou said to him as she cleaned his body.
"Huh? What happened?" Yuan asked her.
"Many Players within the Eastern Continent heard a loud beastly roar that traveled hundreds of thousands of miles! Some even said it sounded like a dragon's roar! Maybe there's going to be a special event and the roar was some sort of sign!"
"R-Really? I didn't hear anything, though." Yuan mumbled.
Although Elder Xuan had spoken to him about his performance at the Carp Leaping Over Dragon's Gate Tower, Elder Xuan never mentioned the dragon escaping the tower, nor did he mention the loud roar that came from it.
"If it's true, you must try to participate in this event! Who knows what you might be able to get from it!" Yu Rou said to him.
"Okay," Yuan said.
"I will also keep my ears peeled for any information regarding this event. Once I learn something, I will immediately let you know!"
Sometime later, Yu Rou left his room and returned to her own room.
Yuan continued cultivating for the rest of the night afterward.
After his morning routine, Yuan dived back into the game and wondered to himself, "What should I do today?"
Yuan retrieved the guide book and began flipping the pages until he found something interesting.
"Oh, right. I have wondered what the Mission Hall looked like ever since they introduced it to the disciples. I should take a look at it now."
With this in mind, Yuan went outside.
However, he did not immediately leave and turned to look at Min Li's house, almost like he was expecting her to come out and follow him around.
But to his surprise, Min Li didn't show up.
"I guess I'll be alone today," Yuan casually shrugged before making his way to the Mission Hall.
As Yuan walked away from the area, Min Li peeked through her window curtains and watched Yuan's back disappear from her view.
Once Yuan was gone, Min Li squatted and covered her face with her hands in an embarrassed manner.
"What in heavens' name was I thinking yesterday?! Why did I offer myself to him?! He must now think I am some slut who'd offer her body to anyone that can help me achieve my goals! Aaaaah! I shouldn't have spoken without thinking about it!" Min Li cried out loud with her face flushed with redness, feeling like digging a hole and jumping into it.
"I want to follow him and see where he's going today, but I don't have enough courage to stand before him and act like nothing happened yesterday! Ahhhhh! Damn it! I should've waited a bit longer before inviting him to join the Min Family!"
Sometime later, Yuan arrived at the Mission Hall. It was a large two-story building that took up an entire block with disciples constantly entering and leaving the place, being one of the most active areas that Yuan has experienced in the sect thus far.
But that's to be expected since this place is where most disciples go to earn their contribution points, which is mandatory if they want anything from the sect.
162 Visiting the Mission Hall
After taking a moment to admire the outside view of the Mission Hall, Yuan entered the building through the wide entrance that could fit even 10 adults if they stood side-by-side.
"Wow…"
Yuan was immediately baffled by the atmosphere in the Mission Hall, as it looked like some sort of unorganized office with papers pinned all over the walls. In fact, one wouldn't be able to avoid seeing these papers no matter which direction they looked.
After entering the building, Yuan approached the pinned papers on the walls and began reading a couple of them.
"The Chun Family is looking for someone to escort their carriage from Huang City to Jin City. 100 gold as a reward. Fourth level Spirit Apprentice and above preferred. 5 Contribution Points."
"The Ming Family is looking for Cultivators to clear out the magical beasts that have been roaming dangerously close to their city. 1 gold coin for every magical beast slain. Third level Spirit Apprentice and above preferred. 1 Contribution Points for every 30 magical beasts slain."
"Sect Elder Bai from the Golden Lance Palace is looking for perfectly extracted 'Poison Sacs' from Demonic Spiders. 1,000,000 gold coins each. No cultivation requirements. 5 Contribution Points for each exchange."
"The Jie Family is looking for someone to manage their household while they go on a business trip for 7 days. 15 gold coins. No cultivation requirements. No Contribution Points."
"The Lord of Sparrow City is looking for someone to slay the 'Red Demon' that is running rampant around their territory. 10,000,000 gold coins. Fifth level Spirit Warrior or above preferred. 50 Contribution Points."
After spending a couple of minutes looking through a few missions on the walls, Yuan noticed one thing. The majority of these requests were related to slaying monsters or acting as a guard for some families with some missions requiring only materials, and very few of them were not related to Cultivators. As for those missions that did not require any cultivation, the majority of them did not give Contribution Points, so one can assume that they were meant for disciples who only wanted to fulfill their duty as a disciple and nothing else.
"Oh? Those papers are colored differently." Yuan noticed the yellow papers gathered not too far away from him and approached them.
"Inner Court Disciple Huang is looking for a sparring partner. 1 Contribution Points for every hour of sparring. First level to second level Spirit Warrior. Meet at Lonely Peak in three days at 3 PM after the posting date."
"Outer Court Disciple Gong is looking for someone to clean his clothes. 1 Contribution Points for every 50 batches of clothes. No cultivation required. Meet at building #2,910 in the Outer Court."
"Core Disciple Xing is looking for someone to give her massages once a week. 5 Contribution Points every session. No cultivation level. Female disciples only. Meet at building #55 in the Inner Court. An interview is required before being hired."
Yuan read these yellow-colored missions with his interest piqued, 'So even disciples are allowed to create their own request to put in the Mission Hall, huh? However, won't disciples be able to abuse this by coordinating with each other so they can complete each other's mission and avoid doing real missions to fulfill their disciple duties?'
However, after looking around some more, Yuan noticed a large paper that said, "Requests commissioned by fellow disciples will not count towards your disciple duties!"
"Oh… I guess this solves it…" Yuan mumbled to himself.
Yuan then looked at the Contribution Points he had left.
'781… I should be fine for a while even if I don't do any missions. However, I do want to experience what it would be like to accept a mission. I don't want to travel outside the sect so I'll pick one created by a fellow disciple.'
With that in mind, Yuan began looking through most of the missions that were requested by disciples in the Dragon Essence Temple.
After looking for a few minutes, Yuan's gaze suddenly stopped at a particular mission, mostly because it mentioned a word that immediately caught his attention.
"Core Disciple Fei is looking for an Outer Court disciple surnamed 'Yuan' who is experienced with the zither. 50 Contribution Points to anyone that can provide accurate information that leads her to him."
'50 Contribution Points just to find me?! That's the same level of reward as the other mission that required one to fight some 'Red Demon'! Fairy Fei? Isn't this the disciple who played the zither at the Dragon Pavilion? Why is she looking for me?' Yuan mumbled to himself.
After pondering for some more, Yuan turned to look at the disciple standing beside him and gently tapped the disciple's shoulder.
"Excuse me, this is my first time in the Mission Hall. How do I accept a mission?" Yuan asked the disciple in a friendly voice.
"Oh… You can just tear the request off the wall and take it to the counter over there—" The disciple pointed to the desks near the entrance.
"Thank you very much," Yuan said to the disciple before taking Fairy Fei's request off the wall and walking towards the desk.
"I'd like to accept this mission from Core Disciple Fei." Yuan showed the request to the sect elder behind the desk.
"Core Disciple Fei?" The sect elder looked at the request with wide eyes.
"50 Contribution Points for a request of this level?" The sect elder was speechless, as this is possibly the most overpaid request he has ever seen before.
However, since this is Core Disciple Fei who is known for being rich with Contribution Points because of her contributions at the Dragon Pavilion, it wasn't too shocking that she'd spend so luxuriously for something so simple.
"What's your name?" The sect elder asked.
"Disciple Yuan," Yuan responded.
"Eh?" The sect elder looked at Yuan in the face with a gawking expression. What on earth was going on here? Is he the same person Disciple Fei was looking for? Why is he turning himself in?
'Ah, whatever. It's not my job to care about such matters.' The sect elder thought to himself and decided to ignore their situation.
163 Disciple Fei
"Here, take this, you'll need it to enter the Inner Court since you're still an Outer Court disciple. You can also locate Core Disciple Fei's living quarters with this." The sect elder handed Yuan a token after writing a few things down in his book.
"Thank you," Yuan accepted the token and turned to walk out of the Mission Hall shortly after.
After leaving the Mission Hall, Yuan followed the map in the token to Fairy Fei's living quarters.
An hour later, Yuan reached the end of the Outer Court that was also a border between the Outer Court and Inner Court.
"I would like to enter the Inner Court for a mission," Yuan handed the token to one of the sect elders stationed there.
"Hmm… let me see…"
The sect elder looked at the token and nodded, "I see… Okay, here's your permission slip. Make sure you don't lose it, and you are only allowed to stay within the Inner Court for 4 hours. Once your time is up, the permission slip will destroy itself. If you're caught inside the Inner Court without a permission slip, you'll be punished, so make sure you keep that in mind. Of course, you can extend the time by coming back here. However, I am only allowed to extend your time if you still haven't completed your mission."
"I understand," Yuan nodded.
After entering the Inner Court, Yuan continued to follow the path towards Fairy Fei's house, and as an Outer Court disciple inside the Inner Court, Yuan naturally attracted the gazes of the Inner Court disciples there.
Although he'd encountered a few Outer Court disciples on his way to Fairy Fei's house, it was only like one out of one thousand disciples that were Outer Court disciples there.
Many minutes later, he arrived in the area where Core Disciples live.
"Let's see… building #7…" Yuan walked around the spacious area and looked at each building individually.
After walking for about ten minutes, Yuan suddenly stopped walking when a distinct sound entered his ears.
"This sound… Someone's playing the zither. It's most likely Disciple Fei."
Yuan proceeded to follow the sound of the zither and arrived in front of this large building a few minutes later.
Right as Yuan stepped onto the doorstep, the zither music stopped, and the sound of people clapping followed immediately afterward.
"That was amazing, Senior Sister Fei! It's only been a week since I last heard you play the zither and you have already improved to the degree where I almost couldn't recognize your music!"
"Me too! If I didn't watch you play, I would've thought it was someone else!"
"Congratulations, Senior Sister! Your Zither Arts has improved to another level yet again! At this rate, it won't be long before you are able to use 'that' Zither Technique!"
Yuan could hear a couple of unique voices coming from the other side of the house, and they were all female voices.
*Knock* *Knock*
Yuan knocked on the door a few moments after the zither music stopped.
"Are we missing someone today? I thought we weren't expecting any more guests today."
"I don't think anyone else is supposed to be here."
"I'll go see who it is…"
A few moments later, a pretty Inner Court disciple opened the door and appeared before Yuan.
"An Outer Court disciple? Do you know whose door you're knocking? What do you want?" The Inner Court disciple asked Yuan with an irritated expression on her face, mostly because she saw Yuan as a nuisance who was disturbing their time with Fairy Fei.
"I'm here to see Disciple Fei," Yuan said to her.
"D-Disciple Fei?" The Inner Court disciple looked at Yuan with a gawking expression on her face, almost like she was in disbelief.
"Y-You're just a mere Outer Court disciple! How dare you address a Core Disciple so casually? Do you think you are friends with her or something?! Get out of here before I shove my foot up your butt!"
Yuan was speechless. Why did the Inner Court disciple suddenly become so aggressive?
"Calm down, Junior Sister Feng. A young lady shouldn't speak so vulgarly, especially not when you're in Senior Sister Fei's house. What's with the commotion, anyway?" Another Inner Court disciple appeared before them.
"Hmph! Blame this disrespectful Outer Court disciple!" Disciple Feng said while pointing at Yuan's innocent-looking face.
"Hm?" The second Inner Court disciple looked at Yuan's handsome face for a moment before speaking, "What did you do to anger my Junior Sister so much?"
"I… I don't know." Yuan shrugged his shoulders in an innocent manner.
"Y-You little thing!" Disciple Feng immediately fumed again. "How dare you say that you don't know! You addressed Senior Sister Fei as 'Disciple Fei' like you're her friend! That is unacceptable for an Outer Court disciple!"
Yuan looked at her with wide eyes, "Really? What's wrong with calling a fellow disciple 'disciple'?"
"Are you seeing this, Senior Sister Ying? This guy has no awareness at all!"
The other Inner Court disciple shook her head with a bittersweet smile on her face, and she said, "You're here for Senior Sister Fei, right? Since you were able to come here, it must have been approved by a sect elder. Why do you need to see her?"
Yuan then retrieved the mission paper and showed it to them, "I'm here for this."
"Let me see that…" Disciple Ying took the paper from his hands to look at it closely.
"Did you know about this? I didn't know that Senior Sister Fei had created a request in the Mission Hall. And who's this 'Yuan'?"
"Uhh… That would be—"
Before Yuan could even finish his sentence, another voice interrupted him, "What's going on out here? Who's outside disturbing my performance?"
A few moments later, Fairy Fei appeared before them.
"H-Hello…" Yuan said to her with a stiff smile on his face.
"Y-You are!" Fairy Fei's eyes widened with shock after seeing Yuan's face, and she staggered backward until she bumped into a wall.
164 Do You Know This Outer Court Disciple?
"Y-You are! What are you doing here?!" Fairy Fei pointed at Yuan with trembling fingers and a shocked look on her face, dumbfounding the Inner Court disciples there.
"S-Senior Sister Fei? Are you okay? Do you know this Outer Court disciple?" Disciple Ying decided to ask her.
"I… I…" Fairy Fei was speechless. How is she supposed to answer such a question? Tell them that she was defeated by this Outer Court disciple in her own field of expertise?
"T-This Outer Court disciple… is my assistant!" Fairy Fei spurted out without thinking.
"Your assistant?" They all looked at her with wide eyes.
'Since when did Senior Sister Fei need an assistant?' Disciple Feng wondered to herself.
'Since when did I become her assistant?' Yuan asked himself with his eyebrows raised in a funny manner.
Fairy Fei immediately panicked, and she corrected herself after clearing her throat, "I-I meant to say that he's my student! That's right! I am currently teaching him how to play the zither!"
"What?! You accepted this Outer Court disciple as your student?!" Disciple Feng exclaimed in a baffled voice. Why did Fairy Fei accept an Outer Court disciple as her student— a man at that— when she, an Inner Court disciple and her friend, has been asking Fairy Fei to teach her the zither?
"He may not seem like it but he has great talent, and I believe that he will eventually surpass me one day…" Fairy Fei spoke whilst trying her best to not choke on her own words due to how ridiculous it sounded for her.
Fairy Fei looked at Yuan with her heart beating like crazy, but when she noticed that Yuan wasn't saying anything, much less call out her bullshit even a few moments later, she sighed in relief inwardly.
"I-If you think I have made a mistake by accepting him as my student, why don't we let him play the zither so you can determine whether he's truly worthy or not?" Fairy Fei suddenly suggested.
The disciples there turned to look at Yuan with suspicious gazes.
'Can he really play the zither?' They wondered inwardly because usually only women would pick up the zither.
"What do you think, Disciple Yuan? Can you play the zither for us? Just one song will be enough…" Fairy Fei looked at Yuan with a stiff smile on her face.
"I don't mind, since I would also like to play the zither again…" Yuan nodded his head after pondering for a moment.
"Great! Come inside!" Fairy Fei's face beamed with delight after seeing Yuan's approval.
"Uhh…"
Disciple Ying and Disciple Feng looked at Fairy Fei with a dumbfounded look on their faces, as Fairy Fei looked to be the most excited one for some reason.
Sometime later, Yuan entered Fairy Fei's house and closed the door behind him before following Fairy Fei and the Inner Court disciples to the yard behind the house, where two more Inner Court disciples were waiting.
"Welcome back, Senior Sister Fei. What took you so long? My ears have gone cold from waiting for your next song!" One of the disciples there said.
"Hmm? Who's that? Eh? An Outer Court disciple? And a man at that? Why is he here?" The other disciple asked after seeing Yuan's figure.
"Junior Sister Zhao, Junior Sister Gu, this is Disciple Yuan, an Outer Court disciple and also my student," Fairy Fei introduced Yuan to the two girls and vice versa.
"S-Student? Senior Sister Fei's student? How come this is my first time hearing about this?" Disciple Gu mumbled, as she has known Disciple Fei for many years now.
"Because it was only recently that I'd accepted him as my student." Disciple Fei said.
"Anyway, Disciple Yuan is going to play one song for us as an introduction."
"You can use that zither over there." Disciple Fei pointed at the beautiful zither sitting on the table a few meters away.
Yuan nodded and sat down behind the zither a moment later.
'Senior Sister Fei is actually letting a man touch her zither? This is… Shocking would be an understatement...' The disciples there looked at Yuan sitting behind the zither with dumbfounded expressions on their pretty faces.
They all knew how much Disciple Fei treasured her precious zither— so much so that even they had never touched her zither before.
Meanwhile, Yuan stared at the elegant azure-colored zither before him with a calm gaze.
After a moment of silence, Yuan lifted his head to look at Disciple Fei and asked her, "Which song should I play?"
"Do you remember the first song you played on that day? You can play that one."
Yuan nodded and took a deep breath before lifting his arms in a slow but smooth manner.
The next moment— Ting~!
A string on the zither trembled, creating a clean and crisp sound that immediately pulled the heartstrings of the disciples sitting not far away from it.
Another beautiful zither note resounded in the area not even half a second later.
'W-What is this feeling?' They all wondered to themselves the indescribable feeling in their heart, completely unaware that they'd just been bewitched by Yuan's zither skills.
Meanwhile, Disciple Fei had long closed her eyes to fully indulge herself in Yuan's zither music.
Time passed very quickly, and before the disciples were aware, Yuan played the last note on the zither.
"What do you think?" Yuan asked the disciples, snapping them out of their daze.
"I… Uhh…"
The disciples were speechless, and they turned to look at Disciple Fei with perplexed looks on their faces. While it was obvious that Yuan's performance was superior when compared to Disciple Fei's performance that occurred before Yuan's appearance, they didn't dare to say it to her face, as that might anger her and get them banned from listening to her performances in the future.
"C-Can you play another song? I don't think I can tell your skills just from a single song…" Disciple Zhao suddenly said.
When the other disciples heard Disciple Zhao's words, they quickly agreed with her, "Yeah! Play another song for us so we can judge properly!"
__
Discord is available now in the Author's Note!
165 In Need of a Partner
When the female disciples began demanding a second song, Yuan turned to look at Disciple Fei, who quickly nodded her head, giving him the approval to continue using her zither.
Thus, Yuan placed his fingers on the zither strings once again and began playing another song.
The atmosphere immediately changed again, and Yuan's zither music echoed throughout the area, allowing disciples far away from their location to enjoy the music as well.
"Wow! This must be Fairy Fei's zither performance! I think she has improved yet again!"
"As expected of a genius, her talents with the zither are off the charts!"
"What beautiful music… I can listen to this all day if it was an option…"
Yuan finished his second song a few minutes later, and the world turned quiet again, even feeling a little bit lonely without the music.
"A-Again! Play another song, Disciple Yuan!" One of the Inner Court disciples said with a slightly bashful look on her face.
"Yeah! Two songs are not enough! You need to play at least a dozen songs!" Another one said.
"A dozen songs…?" Yuan raised his eyebrows.
"You can play until you are satisfied," Disciple Fei suddenly said to him.
Yuan nodded, and he began playing the zither again shortly after.
Meanwhile, the Inner Court disciples and Disciple Fei closed their eyes and fully indulged themselves in the music, feeling their minds entering an indescribable state that allowed them to think with more clarity, almost like there was some sort of special effects coming from Yuan's zither play.
An hour later, Yuan suddenly stopped playing the zither, as he'd run out of songs to play.
"Eh? Why did you stop? I was so close to entering a state of enlightenment! At least that's what it felt like!"
"Don't stop! Play some more!"
The Inner Court disciples immediately began complaining.
However, Yuan shook his head and said, "That's all the songs I know."
"Just repeat the songs then!" One of them quickly responded.
"Okay, calm down, Junior Sisters. Disciple Yuan has already showcased his abilities enough. Let's give him a break." Disciple Fei said, and she continued, "Furthermore, this gathering was supposed to end over an hour ago. Come back next month, perhaps Disciple Yuan will be here again."
"If you say so, Senior Sister Fei…"
Although the Inner Court disciples were reluctant to leave, they had no choice.
"I'm sorry for being rude to you at the beginning, Disciple Yuan." Disciple Feng said to him with an apologetic expression on her face before leaving the place.
"I would also like to apologize for doubting your abilities, Disciple Yuan. Thank you for today's performance." Disciple Ying said to him with a friendly smile on her face.
"If you ever need anything, you can find me at Building #921," said Disciple Gu.
"See you next time, Disciple Yuan. Make sure you're here next month, too!" Disciple Zhao said to him.
Once all of the Inner Court disciples left the place, leaving Yuan and Disciple Fei alone, Disciple Fei immediately lowered her head slightly and spoke in an apologetic voice, "I am really sorry for calling you my student and pressuring you to play the zither again!"
Yuan shook his head and spoke in a calm voice, "There's no need to apologize. I don't mind it, and I also wanted to play the zither."
Disciple Fei nodded, and then she said a moment later, "By the way, what are you doing here? Why were you knocking on my house?"
"Oh, right… I nearly forgot…" Yuan showed Disciple Fei the mission that she'd created.
"Ah… that…" Disciple Fei immediately blushed, looking like someone who was caught doing something embarrassing.
"I wanted to look for you regarding something coming up, but I didn't know where you lived or who you were even after asking many sect elders, so I could only resort to such a method…" Disciple Fei said, and then she continued, "And since you showed up yourself, I guess it technically means that you have completed my request, so I'll give you the 50 contribution points now. Give me your identification token."
Yuan nodded and handed Disciple Fei his identification token.
"Hm? This is a bronze identification slip. What happened to your gold one?" Disciple Fei asked him when she noticed this.
"You mean this one? I only use it when I need contribution points since the bronze one has none," Yuan explained.
"Y-You have two identification tokens?" Disciple Fei looked at him with wide eyes.
Why would they give him two identification tokens? It was almost as though the sect was trying to hide Yuan's real identity.
However, Disciple Fei decided to not think too deeply about this for now and transferred the contribution points to him.
"I gave you 60 contribution points instead of 50 because of your performance just now," Disciple Fei said to him after returning the identification token to him.
"Thank you," Yuan said afterward.
"By the way, you said that you were looking for me? Why?" Yuan asked sometime later.
"About that…" Disciple Fei suddenly began acting hesitant.
A few moments of silence later, she spoke, "Well… I am in need of a partner…"
"Partner?" Yuan raised his eyebrows.
"What kind of partner?" He asked her with an innocent face.
One would normally think of 'lovers' when they hear the word 'partner' from a female, but Yuan was too innocent to think of such things.
"There will be a large zither competition next week, and I need a partner in order to even participate. I have been looking for someone who can play the zither even half as decent as I can, but there's no such person in the Dragon Essence Temple. However, you… you can definitely do it! Please! I will pay you as many contribution points as you want if we can participate in this competition!" Disciple Fei said to him in a slightly desperate voice.
"Zither competition, huh? What's so special about this competition anyway?" Yuan asked, his interest piqued.
166 Zither Competition
Hearing Yuan's question, Disciple Fei said, "This zither competition is one of the largest competitions in the continent that occurs only once every three years, and as you may have expected, it gathers the best musicians from around the world. Despite my abilities that are widely praised by the entire sect, I'd only placed 7th in the last competition out of thousands of participants."
"Seventh out of thousands? That's already very good…" Yuan said with slightly wide eyes.
"Seventh place may be good but it isn't good enough! I want at least 3rd place, as that's when you get the real rewards!" Disciple Fei said.
"What kind of rewards?" Yuan asked, his interest piqued.
"For the last competition, third place got some Earth-rank Zither Art as a reward. The second place received a Heaven-rank Zither Art, and the first place received a Heaven-grade treasure that is also a zither."
"Zither Art? What are those?" Yuan asked.
"They are… Here, let me show you instead. It'll be much quicker that way."
Disciple Fei then sat behind her zither and took a deep breath before pulling one of its strings.
Ting!
A sharp and aggressive music note that Yuan wasn't familiar with resounded and a somewhat transparent arc that resembled Yu Rou's Wind Blade technique flew from the zither before hitting a teacup on the table a few meters away and cleanly slicing it in half, almost like someone had slashed it with a thin sword or a sharp weapon.
"What you've witnessed just now is Zither Art without any techniques. By infusing some spiritual energy into your fingers and releasing it with the zither, you can turn the zither into a deadly long-range weapon." Disciple Fei said to him.
"Turning instruments into weapons?" Yuan looked at her with a gawking expression on his face, as he would've never imagined that such a thing could be possible.
Disciple Fei then continued, "As for this year's competition… Because they will be receiving support from the Heaven and Earth Palace, the rewards have become much more valuable and desirable. Third place will receive an Earth-rank Zither Art technique and an Earth-grade treasure. The second place will receive a Heaven-rank Zither Art technique and a Heaven-grade treasure. As for the first place, shockingly, you will receive a Divine-rank Zither Art technique and a Heaven-grade treasure! Do you have any idea how valuable Divine-rank techniques are?!"
"A Divine-rank Zither Art technique…" Yuan mumbled in a low voice.
However, despite the temptation of a Divine-rank technique, Yuan was more interested in the Heaven-grade treasure, as he wanted a zither of his own.
"And you want me to participate in this competition with you, right?" Yuan asked her a moment later.
"That's right! With your zither skills, we'll have a great chance of reaching the top 3! If we reach the top three, we'll share the Earth-rank Zither Art and you can keep the zither since I already have one! My current Zither Art is only Mortal-rank after all! What do you think? I'll even pay you contribution points for your participation!" Disciple Fei looked at him with a pleading gaze.
After pondering for a moment, Yuan nodded his head and said, "Okay, I'll participate in this competition with you. Just let me know when."
"Thank you very much! I'll let my Master know later!" Disciple Fei was so excited that she unconsciously grabbed Yuan's hands and shook them vigorously.
"By the way, now that we're going to be partners in this big competition, we'll need to practice and hone our skills before the competition. Since you cannot enter the Inner Court easily as an Outer Court disciple, I will come to your living quarters instead so that we can practice together. Where do you live?" Disciple Fei asked him later.
"Building #70," Yuan answered with a calm face.
"That area, huh? Well, it's not too surprising since you have a gold identification token. Okay, I'll see you there first thing tomorrow morning!" Disciple Fei said.
Sometime later, Yuan left her house and the Inner Court, returning back to his own house.
'A music competition, huh? How long has it been since I'd last participated in one…?' Yuan thought to himself. As someone who has participated in hundreds of competitions before, he couldn't help but feel excited about participating in another competition after so long.
Once Yuan left, Disciple Fei also left her house to seek out Elder Shan, her Master.
"Master, I have something important to tell you."
"Hm? Disciple Fei? What's the matter?" Elder Shan stopped working and looked at her.
"This is regarding the zither competition next week."
"Oh, right, the one backed by the Heaven and Earth Palace. What about it? If I recall correctly, you are required to bring a partner this time. Did you find one yet?" Elder Shan asked her.
Disciple Fei nodded and said, "Yes, I found someone, and he's that Disciple Yuan I mentioned not too long ago."
"D-Did you just say Disciple Yuan?!" Elder Shan exclaimed in a shocked manner.
"Y-Yes… Is there a problem with that?" Disciple Fei asked with a nervous look on her face.
Elder Shan did not immediately respond to her and silently pondered with a deep frown.
A moment of silence later, Elder Shan spoke, "Disciple Yuan… What did he say?"
"Uhhh… He'd agreed to participate in the competition with me," she responded.
"I see…" Elder Shan closed her eyes and sighed.
After another moment of silence, Elder Shan stood up and said, "Follow me."
"Eh? Where are we going, Master?" Disciple Fei raised her eyebrows as she followed Elder Shan outside.
"To meet with the Sect Master."
"The Sect Master?! W-Why?! Did I do something wrong?!" Disciple Fei exclaimed with a nervous look on her face because only disciples who are in deep trouble with the sect would meet the Sect Master.
"Calm down, you're not in trouble. This is about Disciple Yuan. I don't know how much you know about him but I'm sure that you can tell that his existence within the sect is a unique one." Elder Shan said to her.
"D-Disciple Yuan? Is he's really that special?" Disciple Fei looked at her with a dumbfounded face.
"Special is an understatement, my dear disciple. You'll understand more about him in just a moment." Elder Shan said as she brought Disciple Fei to the Sect Master's headquarters.
167 What Did He Do This Time?
"Sect Master, this is Elder Shan. I have something important to talk about regarding Disciple Yuan," Elder Shan knocked on Long Yijun's door and said from the outside.
"Disciple Yuan? What did he do this time?" Long Yijun immediately sighed and stopped working.
"Come inside!"
Elder Shan opened the door a moment later and entered the room with Disciple Fei following behind her.
"Hm?" Long Yijun raised his eyebrows after seeing Disciple Fei, wondering what she's doing there and how she's related to this situation.
"Disciple Fei, go ahead and tell the Sect Master what you told me before coming here," Elder Shan looked at her and said.
Disciple Fei nodded and stepped forward before bowing to Long Yijun in a respectful manner, "Core Disciple Fei greets the Sect Master."
After greeting Long Yijun, Disciple Fei began to speak, "I will be participating in the zither competition that will be held in a week with my partner, an Outer Court disciple surnamed Yuan."
"Zither competition? With Disciple Yuan?" Long Yijun's jaw loosened a little bit after hearing her words. Since when did Yuan become a zither expert?
Disciple Fei nodded and said, "Disciple Yuan has outstanding talents with the zither, and I believe that we have a good chance of obtaining third place if he participated in the competition with me."
"Third place? If I recalled correctly, you'd placed 7th place for the last competition," Long Yijun said with a pondering face.
"That's correct, Sect Master."
After pondering for a moment, Long Yijun spoke, "I am aware that this competition is being backed by the Heaven and Earth Palace, so the competition will be much fiercer this year. What makes you think you will be able to achieve 3rd place?"
"If you'd listened to Disciple Yuan playing the zither, you would understand my feelings, Sect Master. I… I'd managed to obtain zither enlightenment after listening to his zither play."
"What?! Enlightenment? Just like that?!" Long Yijun exclaimed in a shocked voice, as this is his first time hearing of such a thing.
Disciple Fei nodded.
'Maybe I should also listen to Disciple Yuan play the zither…' Long Yijun thought to himself.
Sometime later, Long Yijun said, "Anyway, I understand the situation now, but letting Disciple Yuan leave the sect is not as simple as you think, Disciple Fei, as his existence within the sect is… a little special to say the least…"
"If I may ask, just who is Disciple Yuan, exactly? He's clearly someone with an important background, but I do not recognize him at all, nor have I ever heard of someone like him!" Disciple Fei said.
Long Yijun took a deep breath before speaking, "To tell you the truth, Disciple Fei, we also have no clue as to what Disciple Yuan's true background is. There are speculations that he's from one of the Four Ancient Families, but that is only a speculation at best."
"The Four Ancient Families?!" Disciple Fei's jaw dropped after hearing this.
Even if it is only speculation, it was still incredibly shocking that they'd evaluate Yuan as someone worthy enough to exist in one of the Four Ancient Families.
After a moment of silence, Disciple Fei asked Long Yijun with a worried look on her face, "Then what's going to happen now? Are you going to forbid him from participating in the competition?"
"What? Of course not!" Long Yijun quickly responded with a surprised look on his face.
Although he won't say it because it would affect his face and position as the Sect Master, he actually didn't dare to confine Yuan inside the sect despite his value to them, especially after promising him that they would not restrict his movements and freedom.
"Then he can participate in the competition with me?" Disciple Fei asked again with a slightly excited look on her face.
"If that's what he wants to do, there's no reason for me to refuse, especially if you are so confident that you would achieve 3rd place in the tournament. After all, any reputation or recognition you gain from the competition will also affect the Dragon Essence Temple." Long Yijun nodded.
He then turned to look at Elder Shan and said, "I hope you don't mind, and I am not doubting your abilities, but since Disciple Yuan will be coming with you, I want Elder Xuan to accompany you just in case."
Elder Shan nodded and said, "Don't worry, I completely understand. I won't be able to sleep for the rest of my life if anything were to happen to him while we are outside. In fact, even if you didn't mention it, I would've personally asked for help."
Long Yijun nodded and said a moment later, "Then I will look forward to your results, Disciple Fei."
"Thank you, Sect Master. I will try my best to bring glory to the Dragon Essence Temple." Disciple Fei bowed before leaving the place with Elder Shan shortly after.
"Zither competition, huh? I just hope that he doesn't make a commotion there…" Long Yijun sighed as he laid back on his seat, experiencing an uneasy feeling in his chest for some reason.
After leaving the Sect Master's headquarters, Disciple Fei asked Elder Shan, "Master, do you really think Disciple Yuan belongs to one of the Four Ancient Families?"
"Honestly, I have a feeling that his true background might even surpass that of the Four Ancient Families. You weren't there to witness it, but Disciple Yuan's cultivation talent… It's so ridiculously insane that it's scary."
"Above the Four Ancient Families? Does a power like that even exist in the Lower Heavens? I thought the Four Ancient Families are the strongest within the Lower Heavens." Disciple Fei said.
Elder Shan shook her head and said, "The Lower Heavens may seem small compared to the upper heavens, but there are many powerful and hidden backgrounds in this world that prefer to remain lowkey or unknown to the rest of the world as a method of survival, and the Four Ancient Families is just scratching the surface of what might exist— at least that's what I think."
168 Abandoned Shed
After returning to her own place, Elder Shan asked Disciple Fei, "What are you going to do now?"
"I am going to prepare myself for the competition and practice my zither arts with Disciple Yuan until then. If what he said is true— that he has never played the zither before until very recently, I believe that his skills will reach an unbelievably high level within a week before the tournament."
"W-Wait a second… Did you just say Disciple Yuan has only recently started playing the zither?" Elder Shan looked at her with wide eyes.
Disciple Fei nodded and said, "I know it's really hard to believe such words, but I don't see a reason for him to lie, and he doesn't seem to be the kind of person to lie about such things."
"Hard to believe? Haha! That's hardly true!" Elder Shan suddenly began laughing, dumbfounding her.
And she continued a moment later, "With his comprehension skills, it would be more shocking if he doesn't learn so quickly!"
"I-Is that so?" Disciple Fei mumbled in a slightly dazed word.
"Anyway, you can leave now and prepare for the competition. I'm already being overworked by the Sect Master because of the Mystic Realm. If I don't finish this work before your competition starts, things will get even more complicated for me!" Elder Shan sighed.
"Then I won't bother you any longer. Thank you, Master, for your time." Disciple Fei bowed to Elder Shan before leaving the place and returning to her own home to prepare.
Elder Shan shook her head with a bittersweet smile before returning to her own work.
Meanwhile, after returning to his own home, Yuan logged off the game and proceeded to cultivate in the real world until Yu Rou returned from school.
"Brother! I have some big news!" Yu Rou came into his room shouting.
"What's the matter?" Yuan asked.
"I just saw this from the forums as I was coming home, but there's going to be some sort of large competition that'll be happening in the Eastern Continent sometime next week, and it's related to playing the zither! Rumors have it that you can obtain a Divine-rank technique if you achieve first place!" Yu Rou said to him.
"Oh, that zither competition? I know about it since I will be participating in it." Yuan responded in a calm manner.
"WHAT?!"
Yu Rou nearly tripped on herself after hearing Yuan's unexpected words.
"Y-You're going to participate in a music competition again?!" Yu Rou exclaimed afterward, her gaze on Yuan filled with shock and excitement.
"It's only a competition inside the game, and I doubt I will be able to achieve any good results since I have only learned about the zither only very recently," Yuan said.
"You're underestimating yourself, brother! Did you forget who you are? The number one musical prodigy who has mastered dozens of instruments from around the world before the age of seven! One week is more than enough for you to completely master the zither!" Yu Rou said.
"If I recall correctly, you'd even mastered the piano in less than 3 days!"
"Genius, huh? I don't really like to associate myself with that word, but that's probably because I have been called such a word countless times that I am tired of hearing it," Yuan sighed.
"There's nothing you can really do about it, brother. What do you expect to do? Call you the opposite of what you are? If you're a genius, people will naturally call you one." Yu Rou said.
And she continued, "The only other way is to not let people know that you are a genius, but brother, that's easier said than done. How does one even hide their talents? Especially someone like you... Even an ignorant person would be able to tell that you are a genius just by your performance at something."
"Anyway, you'll be participating in this zither competition, right? Although you can't see my face right now, I am actually really bitter that I won't be able to witness your brilliance in the competition, brother." Yu Rou sighed.
"Don't worry, there will always be another chance," Yuan said.
"I hope so…"
Sometime later, after dinner, Yu Rou left Yuan's room, but she didn't immediately return to her own room like usual and instead took a detour to a large shed behind the main house with Meixiu follow behind her.
"Young Lady, this place is…" Meixiu looked at this shed with a perplexed look on her face. Why did Yu Rou suddenly decide to come to this place? It has been many years since they visited this seemingly abandoned shed.
"Do you have the key for the lock?" Yu Rou asked her.
"Yes. Here is the key, Young Lady." Meixiu handed her a somewhat rusty key the next moment.
A few seconds later, Yu Rou unlocked the heavy lock that kept the doors closed for many years before walking inside and flipping a switch.
After a few flickers, the light turned on, revealing the inside of the shed that had many shelves and display cases placed inside, and sitting on these display cases were golden trophies of all sizes and shapes that were won from small contests to major competitions with all of them related to music.
"No matter how many times I come here and look at these trophies, this breathtaking scenery always leaves me speechless," Yu Rou mumbled in a low voice as she approached these display cases and looked at the golden trophies.
[Awarded to Yu Tian for taking 1st place in the 23rd National Piano Competition]
[Awarded to Yu Tian for his breathtaking performance during 'Battle of Talents']
[Awarded to Yu Tian for ranking 1st place in the Rising Stars Grand Prix]
Over three hundred of such trophies filled the shelves and display cases inside the large shed, turning it into some sort of trophy museum. One can only imagine how long it'd take to collect all of these trophies even for a group of geniuses, let alone a single prodigy— Yu Tian— whose name occupied every single golden trophy in this room without a single one of them ranking below 1st place!
169 Trophy Room
"I haven't been to this place ever since Brother Tian stopped participating in competitions…" Yu Rou sighed while surrounded by hundreds of golden trophies.
"Then why did the Young Lady suddenly decide to return to this place?" Meixiu couldn't help but ask her out of curiosity.
Hearing her words, Yu Rou turned around with a beautiful smile on her face, and she said, "Because he'll be participating in a competition soon!"
"Participating… in a competition? The Young Master?" Meixiu looked at her with a dazed look on her face, unsure of how to think or feel about this.
"Yes! Brother Tian will be participating in a music competition inside Cultivation Online! Although it's not a real competition, it's the closest thing we'll get!"
"The Young Master… participating in a competition…" Meixiu mumbled with a profound look on her face, seemingly in deep thoughts.
Sometime later, Yu Rou clapped her hands together and bowed to the trophies in the room before mumbling in a sincere voice, "Good luck, brother… Let the cultivation world know of your musical talents..."
After spending a couple more minutes admiring Yuan's trophy room, Yu Rou locked the doors before returning to her own room.
"By the way, do you want to play Cultivation Online with me?" Yu Rou suddenly asked Meixiu.
"Me? Play games with the Young Lady? I wouldn't dare…" Meixiu quickly shook her head with a scared look on her face.
"Why not? You can consider it as work since you'll be 'serving' me inside the game instead of the real world. Furthermore, I know how hard you work for me, so I want you to relax and have fun sometimes." Yu Rou said to her.
"But… my mother…" Meixiu sighed.
"If you're worried about your mother scolding you, I will personally talk with her later."
"Thank you, Young Lady…" Meixiu nodded.
Although she doesn't show her emotions often or complain at all because of the way she was raised as a maid, Meixiu is also a young lady just like Yu Rou who has desires and aspirations, and while she doesn't show it, she's actually quite jealous of Yuan who can play games all day, not including his condition.
"Don't even mention it! I should be the one thanking you!" Yu Rou said as she entered the bed.
"Goodnight, Young Lady." Meixiu closed the lights before leaving Yu Rou's room and returning to her own and immediately going to sleep, as she has to wake up earlier than Yu Rou and prepare breakfast for her.
The following morning, after his morning routine, Yuan returned to Cultivation Online and waited for Disciple Fei to arrive at his house so that they could practice with the zither.
Meanwhile, after she'd prepared for the day, Disciple Fei left her home with her zither in her hands. While she can store the zither in her storage pouch or spatial ring, she preferred carrying it around more, as it made her feel more authentic as a zither expert.
"Look! It's Fairy Fei! She must be going to the Dragon Pavilion today!"
The disciples immediately jumped in joy when they saw Disciple Fei in the Outer Court, and because it has been many days since her last performance, it made them feel even more excited.
"Finally! I have been waiting for her to return to the Dragon Pavilion! Her zither arts must have improved even more since her last performance! I cannot wait to listen to her play!"
"Me too! I was going to train my sword techniques at the practice area, but I'll save that for another day!"
Thus, news of Fairy Fei returning to the Dragon Pavilion spread throughout the sect like wildfire, causing disciples from around the sect to gather at the Dragon Pavilion, crowding the place.
However, little did these disciples know that Disciple Fei had no intentions of going to the Dragon Pavilion anytime soon and that she was actually going to an Outer Court disciple's house today which would definitely cause mayhem if found out.
"Where's Fairy Fei? I heard that she was going to show up here today!"
"I don't know, I saw her in the Outer Court carrying her zither, but I came here as fast as possible to get a decent seat so I don't know where she actually went."
"Fuck! You mean to tell me that you'd only seen her walking around in the Outer Court!? She could've gone anywhere! What made you think she was coming to the Dragon Pavilion?!"
"Don't ask me! I was not the one who spread the rumor!"
A commotion occurred in the Dragon Pavilion when Fairy Fei hadn't shown up even after waiting for over an hour.
While the disciples that could not afford to dine in the Dragon Pavilion could not complain because they were all standing outside for free, the disciples that'd paid to sit inside the Dragon Pavilion were livid about Fairy Fei's absence and even looked like they were bloodthirsty afterward, as they'd wasted contribution points due to some unfounded rumor that Fairy Fei would show up, feeling like they'd been played.
Meanwhile, Fairy Fei strolled in the opposite direction of the Dragon Pavilion, slowly approaching Yuan's building.
"Hmm? Who's that?" Min Li noticed Fairy Fei's beautiful figure in the distance from the window, mostly because of her Core Disciple uniforms that stood out.
"T-That's a Core Disciple! What's someone like that doing in the Outer Court?" Min Li mumbled to herself as she watched Disciple Fei approach her building.
"Huh? Is she here for me?" Min Li raised her eyebrows when Disciple Fei suddenly stopped in front of her house to look around, looking like she was searching for something.
A few moments later, Disciple Fei began moving again, but she'd only walked a few more steps before stopping again.
"T-That's Disciple Yuan's house! Is she here for him? But why is a Core Disciple looking for him?" Min Li pondered with a frown on her face.
"W-What if she's his partner? Maybe this is about my offer to him!" Min Li cried, feeling somewhat paranoid.
Meanwhile, Fairy Fei approached the doorsteps and knocked on the doors.
170 Practicing for the Competition
After hearing the door being knocked on, Yuan went to open the doors and greeted Disciple Fei.
"Hello, Disciple Fei. Come inside." Yuan invited her inside with a nonchalant look on his face.
Disciple Fei nodded and entered the building.
Sometime later, once they were sitting in the living room, and Yuan asked her, "So? What are we going to do, Disciple Fei?"
"First and foremost, you can stop calling me 'Disciple Fei'. Although it's only temporary, I am now your partner," she said in a calm voice.
"Then what am I supposed to call you?" Yuan raised his eyebrows.
"Fei Yuyan, that is my name, and you will call me as such when we are alone," she said with a stern look on her face as she glared at Yuan.
Yuan nodded without thinking too much about it and said, "Okay, Fei Yuyan. What are we going to do now?"
A moment later, Fei Yuyan placed her zither on the table and said, "What else? We're going to practice the zither for the entire week until the competition!"
Yuan looked at her with raised eyebrows, and he said, "We're both going to use the same zither? Wouldn't it be better if there was another one?"
"Of course not! I know you probably don't have a zither, so I brought an extra one with me." Fei Yuyan said as she retrieved another zither from her spatial ring.
"You'll be using this one for now. Everyone at the competition will be provided with a zither of similar quality so you don't need to worry about unfair conditions because you don't have a good zither."
Yuan nodded and looked at the familiar-looking zither, as it was the one he'd first played at the Dragon Pavilion.
"Anyway, before we begin our practice, allow me to explain a little more about the zither competition in more depth."
"First and foremost, there will be three main judges— each of them a top zither expert with hundreds of years of experience under their belt so you can expect a fairly accurate judgment for your skills. Of course, you won't see them until the final part of the exam."
"The previous competition was split into three parts, and we will be graded for each part. In the end, whoever has the most points will win the competition, simple as that."
"However, they might do things differently this year because of the Heaven and Earth temple. Furthermore, we will have a partner this time, so anything can happen."
Yuan nodded and asked, "What did you do last year?"
"We were graded on our hand techniques for the first part, so how you play the zither will be very important."
"If you do not meet their expectations, there's a good chance that you might not be able to proceed to the second round so keep that in mind."
"For the second part, you will be given one hour to memorize and play a random song that will be provided for you. Once again, if your performance is not satisfactory, they will fail you on the spot."
"By the time you reach the final part, there will only be a dozen participants remaining at best. And as for the final part for the competition, if you can make it there, you'll have to play the zither with one of the judges."
"Huh? Playing music with the judge?" Yuan raised his eyebrows in a surprised manner, as this is the first time that he's ever heard of such a thing in a music competition.
Fei Yuyan nodded and said, "One of the judges will pick a song, and you'll have ten minutes to memorize the song. Once time's up, the judge will play the song and you will follow along, and you will have points deducted for every mistake made. The judge will not stop playing even if you make a mistake, but if you suddenly stop playing, you will automatically fail, so you must continue playing the zither even if you make a mistake."
"Wow… What an interesting way to do a musical competition…" Yuan mumbled with a somehow excited smile on his face.
Fei Yuyan shook her head at him and said, "I know it sounds fun, but it's actually really difficult. I myself made over a dozen mistakes during the song. Furthermore, the judge's performance will easily distract you because of how amazing it sounds."
"Anyways, let's start practicing now. We don't have much time before the competition. For today, we'll take turns playing the zither just to get ourselves familiarized with each other's playstyle. Starting tomorrow, we'll begin practicing for the competition for real."
Yuan nodded.
"Then I will start first."
Fei Yuyan took a deep breath, and she began playing the zither shortly after.
A few minutes later, she said to Yuan, "It's your turn now. Try to play the song I'd just played even if you don't know it. This will be good practice just in case you'll have to do the same during the competition."
Yuan nodded and closed his eyes to recall every music note Fei Yuyan had played and all of her hand movements.
A few moments later, Yuan began moving his fingers on the zither strings, following Fei Yuyan's movements perfectly.
'This Disciple Yuan… He's really a genius…' Fei Yuyan mumbled to herself as she silently admired Yuan's zither skills.
Even though this is her first time playing this song in public, Yuan had managed to play the song perfectly without missing a single note, perhaps even slightly better.
"What do you think?" Yuan asked her afterward.
"Good enough," Fei Yuyan responded with a stiff expression on her face.
"I will now play the next song."
Fei Yuyan began playing a few seconds later, and Yuan started playing after she stopped, repeating the song.
They repeated this for the entire day, playing over 100 different songs by the end of the day.
'T-This guy is a freaking monster!' Fei Yuyan stared at Yuan with wide eyes and her body sweaty from playing the zither so much.
171 Is This Breaking the Sect Rules?
'T-This guy! Why is he so good with the zither?!' Fei Yuyan cried inwardly after their practice session ended.
'We played over a hundred songs and I'd made mistakes for a third of them, but alas, this guy! This guy managed to not only repeat my songs after hearing it once, but he'd even done so flawlessly without any mistakes! How the heck is that even possible?!'
One normally wouldn't be able to pinpoint mistakes in something they're not familiar with, so it was only normal to assume that Yuan wouldn't be able to pick out her mistakes when he has never heard of the song before. However, that was not the case, and to Fei Yuyan's surprise, Yuan had managed to do just that!
"It's been years since I've last played an instrument for such a long time without many breaks. It's really refreshing," Yuan said as he wiped the sweat from his forehead with a satisfied look on his face.
"You have played before?" Fei Yuyan looked at him with wide eyes, and she continued, "I thought you were new to the zither."
Yuan nodded and said, "Indeed, I am new to the zither. The first time I heard of the zither was at the Dragon Pavilion almost a week ago, much less touch one. However, I am not new to music since I used to play it professionally. As for the instruments… they're mostly nothing like the zither."
"What do you mean by playing it 'professionally'?" Fei Yuyan asked with her eyebrows lifted in a puzzled manner, as the concept of 'professional' musicians was not a thing in this cultivation world.
"It's when I play a certain instrument on a stage before tens of thousands of people, sometimes even millions," Yuan briefly explained.
"How is that any different from what we are about to do in the competition? After all, there will surely be hundreds of thousands of people watching you." Fei Yuyan asked.
Yuan shook his head and said, "The only difference is that it's not a competition. There's only you and the audience, and it's almost a routine, as we travel around the world."
"What? Travel around the world to play music for people? I don't understand what you'd get from that besides reputation because it sounds like a waste of time for me." Fei Yuyan shrugged.
Traveling around the world sounded very time-consuming, and as Cultivators, it sounded like a pain to travel around the world to play music for others, even if she loved the zither.
"Where I am from, it's nowhere as vast as the cultivation world so traveling around the world is not as crazy as it sounds."
"Where are you from, anyway?" Fei Yuyan noticed this chance to ask him about his background and directly went for it without any hesitation.
"I am from a faraway land called Earth…" Yuan said with a nonchalant look on his face.
'Earth? Never heard of such a place…' Fei Yuyan wondered to herself what kind of place was this and if it existed in the Lower Heavens or somewhere in the upper heavens.
"What about your family?" she asked him a moment later.
"My family? They're just regular people and musicians," Yuan said.
"M-Musicians? So you come from a family line of musicians?" Fei Yuyan mumbled in a dazed voice. It's no wonder he was so talented with the zither, as it appears that he was from a family who specializes in music!
Of course, Fei Yuyan had no clue that Yuan's parents were only ordinary mortals and that they've never cultivated before. If she'd known this, she would've definitely reacted a lot more differently.
After talking to Yuan some more, Fei Yuyan stood up and said, "Where's the bathroom? I am going to take a shower."
"Uh… It's over there…" Yuan pointed to a certain room in the building without thinking too much about her words.
Fei Yuyan nodded and said, "I will be right back."
Yuan nodded and said, "Then I will continue practicing the zither for a little bit longer."
Thus, Fei Yuyan went to the bathroom to clean the sweat she'd accumulated whilst Yuan played the zither, making Fei Yuyan spend more time in the bathroom than she'd anticipated because she accidentally absorbed herself in Yuan's performance.
'Third place is definitely achievable if I have someone like him as my partner!' Fei Yuyan tightly grasped her hands into fists with motivation and excitement on her face.
Sometime later, Fei Yuyan returned to the living room with a fresh appearance, looking like a fairy more than ever.
"You can use the bathroom now," she said to Yuan.
Yuan nodded, but he didn't immediately leave, as he waited until he finished the song before he stood up and walked to the bathroom.
Fei Yuyan looked at the zither that Yuan had been using for practice, and to her surprise, the ordinary zither was emitting a joyful aura, almost like it was satisfied by Yuan's performance!
'This is… I have only heard of Zither Masters being able to achieve such a thing— giving auras to the instruments they play, yet he…' Fei Yuyan stared at the zither with a shocked face.
Sometime later, once Yuan also returned with a fresh appearance, Fei Yuyan suddenly asked him, "Do you have an empty room?"
"An empty room? There are plenty in this large house, but why do you ask?" Yuan raised his eyebrows.
"In order to practice efficiently, I have decided to live here until the competition, so that is what I shall be doing. You don't mind, right?" Fei Yuyan said with a slightly nervous look on her face, clearly aware of the risks behind her decision.
"Uhh…" Yuan was speechless. She wanted to live in the same house as him? Although he didn't mind it, would they be breaking any sect rules by doing such a thing?
"Give me a moment… I want to make sure that we're not breaking any sect rules by doing this" Yuan said as he closed his eyes to recall the rulebook.
"S-Sect rules?" Fei Yuyan stared at him with a gawking look on her face, clearly in disbelief.
172 A Lot Can Happen in a Single Nigh
After taking a moment to recall the sect rules, Yuan opened his eyes and spoke in a nervous voice, "According to the sect rules, male and female disciples are forbidden to share the same living quarters unless they are married or have a high-ranking sect elder's permission, and the punishment is at most 3 months of confinement in the Disciplinary Cave..."
Fei Yuyan was speechless. Albeit subtly, did Yuan really just refuse her company in his house? What kind of man would refuse to let a beautiful girl stay in their house even if they might receive punishment? If it were any other men that were in Yuan's shoes right now, they would definitely let Fei Yuyan stay in their living quarters without hesitation even if they were to get kicked out of the sect the following day!
Fei Yuyuan then spoke with a slight frown on her face, "That rulebook is outdated— it was created thousands of years ago and nobody except a few really even follows it anymore, especially the Inner Court disciples. Furthermore, as a Core Disciple, I have more leeway in the sect. In other words, I can do almost whatever I want without restrictions if it doesn't affect the sect."
"And I highly doubt that living in a house with a male disciple will affect the sect in any way. Therefore, you can just ignore it."
"Even if you say that, I think it'd be for the best if we received permission from one of the sect elders, as you can never be too safe or you might regret it in the future. I know a few of them, so I can ask them." Yuan suddenly retrieved Elder Xuan's jade slip and activated it using his spiritual energy.
"Uhhh… Senior Xuan, can you hear me?" Yuan spoke to the jade slip.
Meanwhile, sitting behind his desk inside his living quarters, Elder Xuan felt the jade slip in his robes tremble, causing him to stop working and look at it.
'Hm? Disciple Yuan? Did something happen to him?' Elder Xuan frowned with a worried look on his face, wondering what Yuan had done this time.
"Senior Xuan, can you hear me? I hope I am not bothering you," Yuan's voice resounded from the jade slip a moment later.
"Yes, I can hear you. What happened?" Elder Xuan asked him.
"Well…" Yuan proceeded to explain the situation to Elder Xuan, dumbfounding him greatly.
'What the heck? Core Disciple Fei? What's she doing at his house? And why are they staying together? Don't tell me that they're...' Elder Xuan stared at the jade slip with wide eyes filled with shock.
"Anyway, do you think she can stay here? It'll only be for a week at most," Yuan asked him again afterward.
"A-Ahem! I don't see the problem." Elder Xuan said in a stiff voice after clearing his throat, and he continued, "Whatever you do inside, just try to keep it contained within the house."
"Eh? I understand…?" Yuan said, sounding a little confused by Elder Xuan's words.
Once Yuan ended the communication, Elder Xuan slumped back in his seat and sighed, "I told him to remain lowkey for a while, and he ends up bringing a female disciple into his home, even wanting to let her stay there for an entire week, and this disciple is even a Core Disciple…"
"Well, I cannot blame the guy. Talented people like him will attract women as easily as breathing."
After a moment of silence, Elder Xuan retrieved another jade slip before activating it and speaking to it, "My granddaughter, can you hear me?"
A few moments later, Xuan Wuhan's sleepy voice resounded, "What's the matter, grandpa? I don't plan on returning to the sect until next week even if you beg me."
Elder Xuan sighed and said, "This is about Disciple Yuan…"
"Oh? Yuan?! How's he doing in the sect? Nobody's bullying him, right?" Xuan Wuhan's voice immediately sounded much more energetic after hearing Yuan's name.
"Yeah, he's doing great. In fact, he's doing so great that he'd managed to woo a Core Disciple to stay at his house for an entire week! If you continue to laze around at home, someone will definitely take Yuan before you can do anything, and with his otherworldly talents, there will be some very powerful contenders."
"W-WHAT?!" Xuan Wuhan's voice resounded in a shocked manner after, almost like she'd just heard something impossible.
"I-Is that true, grandpa?! Who's this Core Disciple!" Xuan Wuhan's obviously panicked voice resounded from the jade slip, causing it to tremble.
"I don't know. I only know that he'd asked me for permission to allow a female Core Disciple to stay in his living quarters for a week. As for the reason, I have no clue since I didn't bother to ask." Elder Xuan lied with a straight face, as he knew very well it was Fei Yuyan that was at Yuan's house.
"And you agreed?! Why did you do something like that, grandpa?!" Xuan Wuhan exclaimed.
"What else was I supposed to do? Refuse? This is a Core Disciple and Disciple Yuan that we're talking about. I may be a Grand Elder, but there are some things even I have no control over, especially when Disciple Yuan is involved."
After a moment of silence, Elder Xuan asked, "Well? Do you feel like coming back to the sect now?"
"I...I will be back in three days!" Xuan Wuhan responded a moment later in a resolute voice.
"Three days, huh? A lot can happen in a single night, much less three days, my granddaughter." Elder Xuan said, trying his best to not burst out laughing from teasing Xuan Wuhan.
"Fine! I'll come back now, okay?! Anyway, I'm leaving!"
The jade slip turned lifeless after Xuan Wuhan ended the communication with Elder Xuan.
"Silly little girl…" Elder Xuan shook his head as he placed the jade slip back into his robes.
Meanwhile, Yuan said to Fei Yuyan with an innocent smile on his face, "Now that we have permission, you can stay here without breaking any sect rules!"
"You are really… I don't even know what to say..." Fei Yuyan rubbed her eyes like she was exhausted.
173 Unable to Sleep
"Anyway, now that we have permission, I'll be staying here until the competition finishes." Fei Yuyan said to him in a slightly angry voice, clearly unhappy about the way Yuan had handled this situation.
"By the way, I won't be here at night and will return in the morning." Yuan suddenly said to her as she went to look for an empty room.
"What? Why not? Where are you going that requires you to stay outside all night?" Fei Yuyan asked him with raised eyebrows.
"I'm not going anywhere— I just won't be available until the morning," Yuan said.
"Is that so? I won't need you at night, anyway," Fei Yuyan quickly responded in a somewhat weird tone, and she left the place to look for her own room.
Sometime later, Fei Yuyan settled in the room that was only two doors away from Yuan's room.
"We will begin practice tomorrow morning at sunrise. Good night and get plenty of rest because we'll practice even harder tomorrow," Fei Yuyan said to Yuan before retiring inside her room.
However, Fei Yuyan was unable to sleep like she normally would, as this is her first time sleeping with another individual in the same building after she became an Inner Court disciple, much less a male disciple!
In fact, this is definitely her first time staying overnight at a man's house, and she would've never imagined that it'd belong to an Outer Court disciple either!
Meanwhile, after returning to his own room, Yuan logged off for the night and waited for Yu Rou to return from school.
After dinner was served and Yu Rou brushed his teeth, Yuan proceeded to spend the rest of the night cultivating.
However, inside cultivation online, only an hour after Yuan logged off, Xuan Wuhan appeared outside of the Dragon Essence Temple with an irritated frown on her face, looking like someone who'd their peace disturbed.
"S-Senior apprentice sister Xuan! Welcome back!" The guards standing at the entrance of the sect immediately bowed to Xuan Wuhan who was not only a Core Disciple but also Grand Elder Xuan's granddaughter, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that she was as famous if not even more popular than Fei Yuyan.
However, Xuan Wuhan ignored these guards and walked directly into the sect.
The guards turned to look at her with scared looks on their faces, and they wondered to themselves what had happened that made her appear so angry, as they have never seen her act in such a way before.
"Welcome back from your vacation, Senior apprentice sister Xuan!"
"Greetings, Fairy Xuan!"
"How was your vacation, Senior apprentice sister Xuan? I hope you enjoyed it because you earned it!"
Almost every disciple in the Outer Court recognized Xuan Wuhan and greeted her the moment they saw her, and even if the disciples didn't recognize her face they recognized her uniform that only Core Disciples are qualified to wear, so they still greeted her with respect.
"Thanks." Xuan Wuhan responded in a nonchalant manner before walking away with wide strides, dumbfounding these disciples.
"Did something happen to Fairy Xuan? She's usually cheerful and easy to approach, yet she's acting the total opposite today."
"Maybe something unpleasant happened during her vacation."
"Wait a second, I thought Fairy Xuan wouldn't return to the sect for another week? Maybe that has something to do with her behavior?"
"That must be it. I wonder if this is related to what happened not long ago at the Carp Leaping Over Dragon's Gate."
"Maybe they are gathering all of the Core Disciples for a meeting."
"Do we know the identity of the disciple who cleared the tower yet?"
"No, not yet. The sect elders aren't saying anything but that's because they also don't know anything— at least that's what I was told when I asked some of them."
"What? Not even the sect elders are aware of the situation? This situation must be more complicated than we'd expected…"
"Think about it, this is the first time anyone has cleared all 100 floors in the tower, and even the Founder could only clear 99 floors, failing on the last floor. I doubt the sect would be willing to reveal a talent like that to the rest of the world right before the Mythic Realm."
"Oh, right. The Mythic Realm is only around the corner, huh? I cannot wait for this year's tournament. I heard a certain rumor that the other elite sects also accepted a couple of cultivation prodigies."
"Really? I wonder how they'll fare against our disciples."
"Hmph! Do you even need to ask that question? Of course, our disciples won't lose!"
"I guess…"
Sometime later, Xuan Wuhan arrived in the area Yuan lived in and looked around for building #70.
Meanwhile, Min Li, who was getting ready for bed, noticed Xuan Wuhan's appearance from her window.
"Isn't that Grand Elder Xuan's granddaughter? What's she doing here?" Min Li mumbled to herself as she tried her best to watch Xuan Wuhan from the window without being noticed.
Once she'd found her target, Xuan Wuhan approached building #70 and knocked on the door after stepping onto the doorstep.
However, when nobody answered the door even a minute later, Xuan Wuhan knocked on it again, this time with even more force.
'D-Don't tell me that they've already started doing 'that'?!?!?!' Xuan Wuhan cried inwardly, feeling uncomfortable all over her body for some reason.
"Yuan! Are you inside?!" Xuan Wuhan knocked on the door while shouting out loud, sounding a little bit desperate, "It's me! Xuan Wuhan! Hurry up and open the door!"
But alas, Yuan had long logged off the game and would not be able to hear her voice no matter how loud she shouted.
However, it was a different story for Fei Yuyan, who'd recently fallen asleep with much difficulty, and Xuan Wuhan's constant knocking eventually woke her up.
"Damn it! What kind of rude person would knock on the door so loudly this late?! And I'd finally managed to sleep too!"
Fei Yuyan quickly got off the bed and went downstairs before opening the door in an agitated manner.
"Who's barking so loudly in the middle of the night?! What are you, a dog?! Name yourself!" Fei Yuyan spoke in an angry voice as she opened the door.
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174 Why Are You Here?
"Who are you calling a dog?! I am Xuan Wuhan, a Core Disciple!" Xuan Wuhan responded to Fei Yuyan's words.
"Disciple Xuan?" Fei Yuyan's eyes widened with surprise when she saw Xuan Wuhan's familiar face standing right in front of her, and she continued, "What are you doing here so late at night?"
"Eh? Disciple Fei?" Xuan Wuhan's eyes also widened with shock when she saw a familiar face.
She then looked at the building number to make sure that she was in the right place. However, she suddenly recalled that they were currently at the Outer Court. Even if this wasn't Yuan's building, what is a Core Disciple like Fei Yuyan doing here?
"You… This is Disciple Yuan's house, right?" Xuan Wuhan decided to ask her.
Fei Yuyan immediately began sweating cold sweats, and she stared at Xuan Wuhan with a nervous look on her face, clearly hesitant to tell the truth. However, since Xuan Wuhan mentioned Yuan's name, Xuan Wuhan is clearly related to him one way or another so there was no way she could lie in this situation.
"Y-Yes, this is Disciple Yuan's house…" Fei Yuyan answered after a moment of awkward silence.
"..."
After another moment of awkward silence, Xuan Wuhan spoke, "I-If you don't mind me asking, what are you doing in another disciple's house so late at night? And a male disciple too…"
However, Fei Yuyan didn't answer her question and instead asked, "I-I can ask you the same… Why are you looking for Disciple Yuan so late in the night? I thought you wouldn't return to the sect until next week?"
Xuan Wuhan frowned slightly and said, "Well, my schedule has changed and I have returned now, okay? As for why I am here— I was the one who introduced Yuan to the Dragon Essence Temple. Of course, I would want to see how he's doing in the sect now that I have returned."
"What? You were the one who brought Yuan to the sect? Does this mean you know his background?" Fei Yuyan's eyes widened after hearing Xuan Wuhan's words.
"T-That's right! I know his background! I know everything about him!" Xuan Wuhan lied to Fei Yuyan without even thinking about it.
"Can you tell me? I've been trying to figure out his background, but I can only assume that he's from one of the Four Great Families…" Fei Yuyan sighed.
"F-Four Great Families? Yuan?" Xuan Wuhan looked at Fei Yuyan with a shocked look on her face.
"Eh? You mean he's not?" Fei Yuyan raised her eyebrows, looking a little suspicious of Xuan Wuahan's reaction.
"I-I am not telling you anything! After all, I'd promised him that I'd not reveal his identity to anyone! If you want to know so badly, why don't you ask him yourself?" Xuan Wuhan decided to play the 'it's a secret' card, narrowly escaping the hole she'd dug herself.
"Hmmm…" Fei Yuyan narrowed her eyes at Xuan Wuhan before shaking her head a moment later and saying, "Anyway, I don't have the time or energy to entertain you right now. If you're looking for Disciple Yuan, he's already retired for the night. Come back tomorrow morning."
Fei Yuyan proceeded to close the door on Xuan Wuhan's face, but a quick reaction from Xuan Wuhan's foot stopped the door from closing.
"Wait a second, I have answered your question, but you still haven't answered mine. What are you— a Core Disciple doing in Yuan's living quarters at this time? Don't tell me you're staying here?"
"Why does it matter? It's none of your business what I do with another disciple. But if answering your question will make you go away then yes, I am currently staying in Disciple Yuan's home for the time being."
Xuan Wuhan gritted her teeth at Fei Yuyan. Although there has been no enmity between the two of them before today, their current situation has definitely lowered their opinions of each other.
"Now if you don't have anything else, please go away. I would like to get back into my bed and sleep, something you disturbed with your rude knocking," Fei Yuyan said as she tried to close the door again.
However, Xuan Wuhan refused to move her foot, blocking Fei Yuyan from closing the door on her.
"What is your problem, Disciple Xuan? You may be the Grand Elder's granddaughter, but even you have to follow the sect rules, and what you're doing right now is definitely breaking the sect rules."
"What sect rule am I breaking, exactly?" Xuan Wuhan shamelessly asked her.
"You…" Fei Yuyan was speechless. Unlike Yuan, she did not memorize the rulebook, hence why she could not answer Xuan Wuhan's question.
"How about this? To make sure you're not defiling my innocent friend, I'll also stay in this house to keep watch." Xuan Wuhuan suddenly suggested,
"D-Defile?! H-How dare you! Who do you think I am?! Why would I defile anyone?!" Fei Yuyan exclaimed. "And what are you, a guard dog?!"
"You're acting mighty suspicious, Disciple Fei. Why are you not telling me your reason for being here if you have nothing to hide?" Xuan Wuhan said with narrowed eyes.
"Because I…" Fei Yuyan rubbed her eyes and sighed.
"Fine, I'll tell you. Will you leave me alone if I do that?"
"Of course…" Xuan Wuhan nodded.
Fei Yuyan took a deep breath before explaining to Xuan Wuhan about the zither competition and Yuan becoming her partner, hence why she's staying over at his house— so they can practice more efficiently.
Xuan Wuhan was speechless after learning the situation, even feeling somewhat guilty for her behavior.
"I-I am sorry for misunderstanding the situation, but if it's only something like this, why did you try to hide it like you're doing something immoral?" Xuan Wuhan said afterward.
"I...I don't know…" Fei Yuyan said.
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