The recordings of the New Year performances were not some secret documents. Therefore, they were available for any disciple to borrow.
After hearing the members of the Shooting Suns, some of their fans quickly went to fetch the recording stone and were back in the blink of an eye.
"Play it!" Di Jinan instructed as he and the rest of the Shooting Suns sat down at their seats with sullen expressions.
It was not difficult to activate the recording stone.
One just had to inject a bit of essence energy into it, and the recorded scenes stored within could easily be projected onto a screen.
Now that the actual performances had ended, the white pieces of fabric on each side of the banquet venue were no longer showing anything, so they could easily project the recording onto any one of the canvases for all to see.
As the light from the recording stone shone upon the blank canvas, the banquet quietened down significantly as the majority of those present turned their attention over.
Many of them were looking forward to reliving the beautiful performance from earlier.
But on the other hand, there were also some who were far more interested in seeing just how the Shooting Suns would react.
With the sound of a zither, the recorded performance of the Flying Shell Performance Group began to play out once more.
"Amateur," one of the Shooting Suns members scoffed right off the bat.
Yue Long – similar to Huang An, he specialised in playing the zither.
However, just his years of experience playing the instrument would already be more than Huang An's age!
Because of that, just from listening to the first few bars, he was able to instantly identify the fact that Huang An was not utilising the zither to its fullest potential.
There had been numerous opportunities for additional nuances to be incorporated to enhance the depth of the melody, many of which Huang An failed to capitalise on.
Everyone knew just how much of an expert Yue Long was when it came to the zither as well.
Now that he pointed it out, people began to realise that the zither play was indeed far from perfect.
"Unsurprisingly so," the corner of Di Jinan's lips curled up in response.
As expected, their haters had been exaggerating things out of spite.
There was simply no comparison between them and some unknown performance group!
Next, Zhao Yunxiao's flute entered the performance.
This time, Di Jinan could not help but frown.
His response was not because of Zhao Yunxiao, but because of the young lady standing in front of the stage.
That one change in expression by Lu Zhiying was far too eye-catching, so much so that even Di Jinan had to admit he was caught by surprise.
However, that was it.
After the change in expression that was admittedly done in an impeccable manner, she had reverted to a swaying of the body that did not require too much skill to perform.
"How is the flute?" Di Jinan turned to another member of the Shooting Suns.
Ji Yuanbao – flute specialist of the Shooting Suns.
Due to his quiet and indifferent nature, Di Jinan knew that if he did not ask explicitly, Ji Yuanbao would not be making any comments.
"It's okay," Ji Yuanbao replied.
Di Jinan felt the corner of his lips twitch while turning his attention back to the recording.
He had wanted Ji Yuanbao to criticise the flute play in front of everyone, so he was naturally not entirely satisfied with that comment.
However, Di Jinan also knew that it would take far too much effort to get more out of Ji Yuanbao.
Instead of doing that, Di Jinan decided to focus on the two vocalists standing at the back, understanding that they would be joining the performance next.
And join, they did.
Unfortunately, Di Jinan did not have the opportunity to evaluate the vocals even when they entered the song.
At that very moment, his attention was completely robbed instead by the young lady standing at the front of the stage.
Di Jinan widened his eyes in astonishment as the fairy of the stage burst into life, using her body to depict the hidden violence of the tranquil lands.
Beside him, the other members of the Shooting Suns fell silent as well.
And this silence continued as the performance for
Not just that, but it also continued through
Before they knew it, the recorded performance was over.
Those present turned their attention back to the members of the Shooting Suns, eager to see their response.
"Tch! Merely an amateur group resorting to tricks to distract the audience from their mediocre performance," Di Jinan was the first to break the silence.
It was a harsh comment that directly criticised the entire performance.
Some of those present frowned upon hearing that, unable to agree with his sentiments.
However, no one spoke up in response.
The Shooting Suns wielded considerable influence in the inner sect, so nobody wanted to step on their toes for no good reason.
In fact, there were even some fans of the Shooting Suns that chimed in immediately, wanting to take this opportunity to suck up a little.
"Exactly! They are nothing compared to the Shooting Suns! Those who think otherwise must be deaf!"
"That's right. The quality of the performance is completely different!"
"How can anyone even think of comparing this group to the Shooting Suns?"
Di Jinan did not respond directly but smiled in satisfaction, relishing in the moment as he listened to his fans put down the other party.
However, that was when he heard a comment that did not quite belong.
"You guys sure talk a lot of shit. Are you feeling threatened?"
Hmm?
Di Jinan and the rest of the crowd immediately turned their attention in the direction of that one comment that stood out from the rest.
"What did you just say?" Di Jinan spoke while staring at the young lady who just spoke. "I think I might have misheard."
"Oh? Considering the fact that you have been freely commenting on others' performances, I guess those ears aren't all that good after all?" Leng Huiqi stared right back at him from her seat.
"You'd better think things through, Junior Martial Sister Leng," Yue Long commented from beside Di Jinan. "This matter does not concern you. Are you sure you want to get involved?"
They might be considered fellow inner disciples, but there was still a difference in seniority.
Compared to the relatively young Leng Huiqi, members of the Shooting Suns had been around for far longer, and thus wielded much greater influence in the sect.
"It does not concern us? What a joke!" Su Ruining spoke up from beside Leng Huiqi, completely undeterred. "What did you say earlier, Senior Martial Brother Di? The Flying Shell Performance Group is resorting to tricks to enhance their performance? I guess by 'tricks', you refer to the fact that they included a dance in their performance? If that is the case, isn't that equivalent to directly insulting all fellow disciples here who pursue the art of dance, calling us tricksters?"
"You know that is not what I meant," Di Jinan answered with a frown. "I am simply talking about that one performance."
He might not care much about others' opinions, but he definitely did not want to be labelled as someone who looked down on everyone who pursued the art of dance.
After all, it was not just the disciples who pursued the art of dance.
There were also deacons, protectors, and even elders who researched and dabbled in the art of dance!
"And while you were talking about the performance, you definitely insulted the art of dance. That is something that all of us heard," Su Ruining answered. "Isn't that right, everyone?"
"Yes, I heard it too!"
"I did too!"
The various members of the Frost Lotus Dance Troupe immediately replied.
Their response spurred on several other dancers among the audience as well, making them cry out in indignation as well.
"It looks like everyone heard the same thing," Leng Huiqi shrugged. "How unfortunate, it'd appear that everyone misunderstood Senior Martial Brother Di at the same time then?"
At this time, Deng Wei and a few other inner disciples had arrived beside Leng Huiqi, silently showing their support with their presence.
"What do you want?" Di Jinan narrowed his eyes at Leng Huiqi.
"Nothing much, just a simple apology from Senior Martial Brother Di to all of us dancers will do. By the way, that includes the Flying Shell Performance Group," Leng Huiqi answered with a grin. "Otherwise, I find it difficult to believe that you were not truly dismissing the art of dance earlier."
"Don't push your luck, Junior Martial Sister Leng," Di Jinan warned. "What are your intentions for repeatedly defending those amateurs?"
"Those so-called amateurs learnt the art of dance from us Frost Lotus Dance Troupe, so do you think we should feel offended by your words?" Su Runing answered.
"You don't have the qualifications to speak here," Di Jinan glared at Su Ruining.
"Oh? I guess dancers aren't qualified to speak to you? My bad," Su Ruining covered her mouth with her hands.
"Don't put words in our mouths! Senior Martial Brother Di never said anything about dancers! I am talking about a junior like you!" Yue Long roared in anger.
"Yue Long," Di Jinan raised a hand to stop Yue Long's outburst, then stared straight at Leng Huiqi.
However, the latter was not inimidated.
There was tension in the air as the two sides stared each other down for a good few minutes.
"If any fellow disciples here have misunderstood my words as being dismissive towards dancers, I sincerely apologise for that and assure you that I have no such intentions," Di Jinan finally spoke. "However, I will have to ask everyone to properly think about what happened today. I will definitely remember what and how everyone said and did today."
With that, Di Jinan stood up from his seat and directly walked off.
The other members of the Shooting Suns were slightly taken aback, but quickly followed suit as well.
On his way out, Yue Long did not forget to shoot a glare in the direction of Leng Huiqi and Su Ruining, not hiding his hostility whatsoever.
"Is this really okay, Senior Martial Sister Leng?" Su Ruining whispered after they left, her demeanour completely different from when she confronted Di Jinan and Yue Long just moments before.
"It's fine, they can't do anything to us," Leng Huiqi assured. "I'm only worried that they might take their anger out on Junior Martial Sister Lu, Junior Martial Brother Zhao, and the rest of them."
"Don't worry, Senior Martial Brother Di and the rest of the Shooting Suns are senior members of the inner sect. Doing something like that is beneath them," Deng Wei said from beside them. "That said, did you really have to go against them like that, Junior Martial Sister Leng? They are not really people to be trifled with..."
"Why? Are you afraid of getting involved? If that is the case, you can jolly well stay away," Leng Huiqi rolled her eyes. "There are plenty of others around who are willing to support me!"
As she said that, several other inner disciples stepped up around them.
"No, no, you are mistaken, Junior Martial Sister Leng!" Deng Wei hurriedly shook his head. "No matter who is it, I will definitely stand by you! Even if I have to face an elder, I will still do the same. It's a pity that the mood is ruined, but let's just continue enjoying the banquet!"
The sudden departure of the supposed stars of the night had left the celebratory banquet at the Inner Grounds shrouded in an awkward atmosphere, but that was only a temporary matter.
Before long, people were all cheerful and had begun enjoying themselves once again.
In contrast, the atmosphere of the celebratory banquet at the Outer Grounds never dampened.
Everyone was enjoying the banquet to the fullest, all the way until it ended late into the night.
All this time, people continued to approach the table of the Flying Shell Performance Group, proposing toasts and trying to arrange future discussions.
This was a treatment that Zhao Yunxiao and the rest had never gotten before.
While they accepted the toasts, they made sure not to make any promises about the future, understanding that all this attention that they were getting right now was almost solely due to the Lu Zhiying effect.
And they were definitely not intending to give these sneaker fellows any windows of opportunity to make use of them to get close to Lu Zhiying!