After spotting that pipa, the dragoness knew she wanted it. With that in mind, Yasenia looked at the man and asked. "Now that I think about it, I haven't asked for your name. I am Yasenia Dravory."
The man clasped his fist and bowed. "It is an honor to get your name, Lady Yasenia. I am called Yue Xuan, but Lady Yasenia can call me Little Yue if you want."
Yasenia nodded. "Yue Xuan, I want to buy this pipa. Give me a price."
Yue Xuan smiled. "Healing me is enough payment to have my entire shop. You can take that one pipa for free. Moreover, it feels like you and it are fated. That pipa has been in my treasury, without anyone who could play it, for a few hundred years."
Ilarune blinked, and her soft wings flapped twice. "Young Miss, give it a try."
Yasenia saw that Ilarune wanted to give it a try as well, so she smiled and asked. "Do you not want to try it?"
Ilarune smiled and nodded. "I do!" Then, she chuckled. "However, I don't want to. I want Young Miss to be the one managing to suppress that instrument. It feels like it is special~."
The dragoness looked at the pipa and squinted. "Oh? Well, let me try then." With confident steps, she approached it and extended her hand, grabbing it by the edge.
As soon as she did so, a terrifying pressure exploded from the pipa, trying to suppress Yasenia. The pressure was Dragon Might, a very powerful one at that. Yue Xuan sighed and shook his head. "It seems that she was not the one."
Ilarune asked, confused. "Does this happen every time that someone tries to touch it?"
Yue Xuan nodded. "Yes. It has an incredibly strong aura, likely due to the materials used in its creation. I heard the body was crafted from the core of a dragon. The jade color symbolizes the dragon's legacy, as profound as nature itself. The neck was made from the horns of a qilin, giving it its otherworldly essence. As for the strings, they used the plumage of a white phoenix, imbued with an ethereal flame that fused everything into a single creation. Crafted by an ancient expert, this pipa has never been played by anyone, as it has never bowed down. Its remaining dragon pride runs as deep as the ocean, leaving all who encounter it awed and overwhelmed."
Ilarune raised her eyebrow. "That's interesting. Sadly for it…" Ilarune's lips arched as she looked at Yasenia's back. "It has encountered my Young Miss."
Yue Xuan asked, confused. "What do you mean?"
After he questioned, an answer came in the form of Yasenia's actions, not words.
"A dragon is trying to make me bow down?" Yasneia's words were cold and overbearing, like a tyrant speaking down to his subject. "You are not worthy to seek such actions from me." Her gorgeous wings extended, and terrifying pressure burst out from her body. "[Cosmos Dragon's Imperial Suppression]."
Her dragon aura erupted outward like a deep ocean, swallowing the entire room into a dense sea formed by her presence. The imposing dragon aura coming from the pipa was suppressed so helplessly that its efforts to push back Yasenia's dragon aura looked more like whines from a puppy toward an adult wolf.
"Surrender to me. [Monarch Intent Level 9]."
BOOM!
The maids and Yue Xuan felt a wave of dreadful pressure exploding from Yasenia, and they all kneeled down. The maids did it on purpose, as they didn't resist. In contrast, Yue Xuan couldn't even resist, his body going down as if the hand of a giant was pushing down his head.
The pipa that was being grabbed by the dragoness started trembling. The intimidation from the pair of seductive golden eyes was such that it felt like the facial features of the dragoness were obscured, leaving two glowing golden orbs of a primordial predator.
After a few seconds of deafening silence, the pipa's humming calmed down, and its strings played by themselves. The sound was a deep and prolonged melody. Note by note, unusual for a pipa, its cords resonated one by one and created an ethereal aura around it.
Then, the dragoness felt the pipa asking for permission from her to make a connection. The pipa's intention was to make a blood connection. Similar to what she has done with her other treasures. Yasenia's eyebrow raised, and she said. "As long as you survive inside, go ahead. You are free to take a drop of my Blood Essence and become tied with me, [Dragon's Melody of the Three Sacred Beasts]."
The space around Yasenia twisted for a second, and the pipa got absorbed into Yasenia's Dantian. Right after, the dragoness stopped using her auras and gently folded her wings. She turned around and looked down at the maids and Yue Xuan. "Stand up."
"Yes, Young Miss!"
The maids orderly and formally rose simultaneously, while Yue Xuan did so with trembling legs. 'H-Her aura feels like one of those kings. So vast and profound… what's her cultivation level?'
Yasenia looked at Yue Xuan and smiled. "Sorry for that. The pipa was naughty, so I needed to scold it. Well, my scolding will feel like a light reproach when those guys get a hold of it. Ah… Yeah, it is crying for help… Well, whatever."
Yue Xuan blinked and asked. "Um, what is happening? Why is it crying for help in your spatial ring?"
"Spatial Ring?" Yasenia tilted her head. "I sent it to my dantian."
"..." Yue Xuan decided that asking more than he did was rude, so he just nodded, as if he understood.
The dragoness looked around and commented. "Well, Yue Xuan. Gather everything in this shop whenever you are ready and come to us. We'll do the healing then. This is our location."
Yasenia gave him a jade card with the street name engraved on it, turned around, and left. Yue Xuan blinked a few times. 'Um… What does she mean by gathering all my instruments and going?'
When they left, Alaia coughed. "Young Miss. You forgot to tell him your plans."
Yasenia paused and hummed. "It would be awkward to return now, so whatever. I got what I wanted from him. If he trusts me, he will come, and I will explain it later. If he doesn't… Well, I got a free treasure, so everything is okay."
Then, she continued walking.
The maids laughed and followed. Their laughter was cut short, though, as a powerful aura rushed at them from the distance. Their faces changed and instantly moved around Yasenia, deploying a war formation while they activated their auras to the peak.
Yasenia reacted right after, similarly forcing her energy to surge and getting ready to use the [Celestial Pearl] at any second. Yasenia asked aloud. "Who goes there!?"
"Oh? You could detect me! That's impressive."
A handsome man with arrogant eyebrows and a charismatic bearing stepped out from the side of the street. The man's aura was as deep as the ocean, and his eyes reflected nothing, as if he could swallow entire worlds with one look.
Yasenia's instincts all warned her to run, as it was an impossible enemy to beat. 'Transcendent Realm Cultivator…'
She knew that the difference was large. After all, she had lived between them for a long time. However, back then, she was too weak to feel how vast their aura truly was. 'This… Ha, ha… Really absurd.'
Yasenia didn't allow her feelings to surface, keeping a calm facade. She clasped her fist in respect and bowed once in respect. The person in front of her had enough strength to be worthy of her respect. "Senior. We are sorry for being on such high alert. However, your strength is immeasurable; therefore, we must keep up our guard. I hope that you can forgive our disrespect."
The man rubbed his chin as he looked at all the maids. "Do you think you can stop me with this group?"
Yasenia shook her head. "Not at all. However, it gives us peace of mind to keep up our guard. Please understand."
"Hmm…" The man nodded. "Okay, I'll allow it for now. This King's name is Gu Chen, you can refer to me as Lord Gu or Lord Gu Chen."
Yasenia repeated formally. "Lord Gu Chen."
"Great." He smiled and spoke. "So, I sent a group to welcome you. However, I heard from them that you rejected them quite hardly. Care to explain that, junior?"
Yasenia didn't act stupid. She spoke honestly. "As senior should be able to imagine, there have been plenty of Lords who have invited this one with no good intentions. It was my mistake for not listening. However, I hope Lord Gu Chen understands that if I were to hear all the explanations of all the groups, I would go nowhere and be listening all day."
"Hahahaha." the man laughed. "You are not wrong, junior. You are indeed one of the most charming beings I've ever seen, so I can imagine how hard it is to walk around. Lust is quite a prevalent nature in mortal men."
The dragoness smiled. "Lord Gu Chen would be surprised how many mortal women share traits with such men."
"Women?" Lord Gu hummed. "I have heard a bit. However, since I've never been targeted often, I guessed it must be myths."
"That's because Lord Gu Chen's charm is above mortals. No secular woman would dare to disrespect you." Yasenia gave him gentle praise.
Lord Gu smiled. "What about you?"
Yasenia blinked. "Lord Gu Chen, I really hope you are not after my beauty."
Lord Gu squinted and stepped forward, and his body disappeared from sight. However, the maids were trained by people several times stronger than Lord Gu Chen.
Even when his speed was ridiculous, the maids' heightened senses, thanks to the battle formation, allowed them to react, and many attacked him without holding back a single bit of strength.
This surprised Lord Gu so much that he forgot to defend himself.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Several attacks landed on him, creating very faint marks, and his body got thrown back, flying, smashing against a house at the side. "Huh?"
Yasenia had a talisman between her fingers, pressed it so tightly that the faintest movement would break it. It was a mass teleportation talisman that would send all of them into the room they had reinforced with formations. Yasenia spoke coldly. "Lord Gu Chen, please be careful. We really don't want anything to happen between us."
Lord Gu snapped out of his daze and looked down. 'Huh? Was I injured? Injured by mortals?'
He landed on the street and patted his robes, his face still full of disbelief. He looked at Yasenia and asked, confused. "Who are you? No, who are your people? You are not from this world."
"We are not," Yasenia answered. "Therefore, I ask this of you, Lord Gu Chen. Don't force our hand. You might think you are invincible under the heavens as long as you don't face off against the other three kings. However, you are incorrect." The dragoness looked right into Lord Gu's eyes and stated. "I will remain respectful as long as you respect my boundaries."
Lord Gu couldn't help but feel slightly intimidated. When something you treat like an ant suddenly punches you flying, the level of threat you feel is higher than when an equal punches you flying. The expected and known versus the unexpected and unknown. The feelings that caused people were very different.