Lu Qixian left.
If he didn't leave now, he was afraid he would be literally infuriated to death right at the doorstep of the Nine Gods Sect.
Luan Jian and Qin Lingyun exchanged a glance, their expressions growing even more bizarre.
Finally, the hot-tempered Qin Lingyun couldn't hold back anymore and asked directly, "Are we seriously going to that Tianyin Grand Ceremony?"
"Since the Nine Gods Sect Master has spoken first, of course we are going," Luan Jian said with a solemn expression. "Although our Nine Gods Sect is still not on the invitation list for this Tianyin Grand Ceremony, we cannot just cower and hide either."
"Ahem, no need, no need," Han Feng waved his hand with a smile. "I was just saying that casually! What kind of bothersome ceremony is that? Go if you want to, don't go if you don't want to. It doesn't matter at all."
Ugh!
Luan Jian wore a blank expression, not knowing how to respond.
Even though the Nine Gods Sect was in decline, but... just a moment ago he had spoken with such imposing majesty, only to suddenly back down like this—wasn't that a bit too hasty?
"Hahaha! Then I'm going!" Qin Lingyun's eyes lit up even more. She looked Han Feng up and down repeatedly as if she were seeing a stranger, her arm twitching as if she wanted to walk up and pat his shoulder again, though she finally managed to restrain herself. "So, are you going to mentor me in playing the zither?"
Han Feng couldn't help smiling either, and nodded. "I can."
"That's fantastic!" Qin Lingyun rejoiced. "I'll pack my things and move to the Main Peak. That way, we'll still have over a month before the Tianyin Grand Ceremony, and we can prepare properly so we don't bring shame to the sect."
This...
Luan Jian's heart skipped a beat, and he stopped himself from speaking further.
If they went by this Sect Master's previous behavior, Seventh Sister moving over like this was simply walking right into the tiger's den.
"Don't worry, Eldest Senior Sister, I don't care!" Qin Lingyun raised her hand and patted Luan Jian's shoulder, laughing magnanimously. "Today, this Sect Master suits my temperament. If he wants to sleep with me, then he can sleep with me—I'm more than willing! As long as he teaches me how to play the zither!"
Now it was Han Feng and Luan Jian's turn to exchange a glance, both of them instantly turning to stone.
...
Qin Lingyun really did move to the Main Peak.
Because time was pressing, with her current level of cultivation, let alone placing in the Tianyin Grand Ceremony, she wouldn't even make it past the first round of trials.
Originally, the Nine Gods Sect's seventh disciple resided on Tingyun Peak. Now that she had moved to the Main Peak, she brought only a guqin and nothing else.
Having such a woman added to the Main Peak naturally brought a touch of color to the place.
However, the guidance Qin Lingyun was eagerly anticipating showed no sign of happening.
"Hey, you aren't stringing me along, are you? Weren't we supposed to practice zither?" Qin Lingyun was not one to hide her thoughts. After only two days, she couldn't hold back any longer. She barged directly into Han Feng's study, heaved that guqin up onto her shoulder, and shattered the peace of the study.
Haha!
Han Feng just laughed.
With this posture, what she was carrying could have been a rake, a club, a mountain-splitting axe, or a ghost-head saber...
Yet no matter what, it was hard to imagine anyone carrying a guqin like this on their shoulder. The bizarre contrast actually reminded him of a video game he used to play in his past life, where Dian Wei held a computer keyboard in his hands to use as an axe.
Well, although it was still a bit lacking, it should be enough. He couldn't make this impatient young woman wait too anxiously.
Han Feng nodded, put down the copy of *A Discourse on the Zither* he was holding, and smiled. "I've been intensively reading a few of the sect's classics on the Dao of rhythm these past few days, which delayed things a bit. Hmm... why don't you play a tune right now, and I'll listen first?"
"You got it!"
Delighted, Qin Lingyun hurriedly tossed the guqin onto the ground. The strings let out a chaotic clatter, actually making Han Feng feel a bit of heartache.
Wouldn't it break from that fall?
This zither probably never imagined it would be treated so roughly in its lifetime.
However, the moment Qin Lingyun's hands brushed across the strings, her entire demeanor underwent a heaven-shaking transformation!
Clangs and ripples of zither music flowed from the guqin, every single note stirring the heartstrings as if instantly plunging one into a world of music, making them entirely forget themselves.
"Hey... watch out!" Qin Lingyun looked up, flashing Han Feng an extremely unfamiliar, gentle smile. Perhaps it was only when she was playing the zither that she adopted a different posture, but her gaze carried a complex mixture of scrutiny, curiosity, and a certain kind of test and probing.
Whoosh!
The zither music materialized, stirring the spiritual energy in the air and condensing it into a fully armored divine being. Grasping a long blade with a ferocious expression, it lunged toward Han Feng.
This was precisely the most common method of attack for cultivators who specialized in the Dao of rhythm.
Being able to transform formless zither notes into tangible swords could not match the unyielding ferocity of sword cultivators, but its advantage lay in being illusory, ethereal, and omnipresent; wherever the zither music reached, that was where the blade's edge would strike.
This Sect Master is too weird!
What on earth is his deal?
Even someone as carefree as Qin Lingyun had grown increasingly unable to fathom him these days. She decided to use this opportunity to display everything she had learned and gauge the true weight of this little Sect Master.
Heh...
Not bad.
Han Feng smiled, casually dragging a broom from beside him and sweeping it across the floor, producing a rustling sound.
Suddenly!
The iron-armored divine warrior, which had been so majestic just a moment ago, froze in its tracks and vanished into thin air.
This?!
Qin Lingyun was greatly startled.
Just now, she had utilized the essential techniques from the *Floating Clouds Zither Classic* to condense her attack with zither music, which was exceptionally fierce. She never expected that this little Sect Master would simply pick up a broom and sweep the ground once to effortlessly shatter it.
It looked casual, but in reality, it was the most common form of combat between cultivators who deeply studied musical rhythm.
If he hadn't been able to see through every single subtlety within her zither music, and even understood the flaws hidden within it like the back of his hand, it would have been utterly impossible for him to execute such an effortless counter.
Could it be a fluke?
"Come again!!"
Qin Lingyun's eyes shone brightly, her competitive spirit thoroughly aroused. At the same time, she no longer held any contempt for this little Sect Master. Taking a deep breath, her slender fingers plucked and stroked the strings, and crystal-clear zither music burst forth once more.
Hum!
This time, Qin Lingyun held nothing back. The boundless zither music conjured up rows upon rows of murderous golden-armored warriors, each wielding blades and swords as they charged toward Han Feng, resembling a well-trained army capable of tearing apart any enemy daring to block their path.
Han Feng smiled, dragging the broom behind him as he walked out of the study, as if fleeing because he couldn't match her.
The zither music was everywhere. Without moving a muscle, Qin Lingyun plied her ten fingers continuously, yet those terrifying golden-armored warriors effortlessly passed through walls, doors, and windows as if completely unimpeded. Once outside in the vast open world, that army instead expanded a hundredfold in scale, rolling forward majestically like a hundred thousand heavenly soldiers descending to the mortal realm!
This was the might of a rhythm cultivator!
Yet Han Feng seemed completely oblivious to it. As he lightly waved the broom in his hand—making a rustling sound as if merely sweeping away fallen leaves—he kept that aggressive army of tens of thousands from drawing near. Instead, they began to move in lockstep, swaying to the rhythm of Han Feng's sweeping broom.
"Clang, clang, clang!"
"Rustle, rustle, rustle..."
No matter how frantically Qin Lingyun urged the zither music, she could never drown out that seemingly grating sweeping sound. Even more hair-raising to her was the fact that the golden-armored army, which had clearly been forged from her own zither music, was now completely following Han Feng's footsteps in rhythm, their bodies gradually glowing with a layer of translucent luster and wielding a might ten times greater than before!
Th-What is the reason for this?
Qin Lingyun couldn't understand it at all. In the midst of her extreme shock, she could no longer maintain the zither music; her state of mind finally collapsed, her fingers slipped slightly, and with a snap, a string broke.
The boundless zither music came to an abrupt halt.
"Lingyun, your mind is in chaos," Han Feng shook his head, though the broom in his hand kept moving without pause. The relentless rustling sound swept the boundless fallen leaves into a dizzying whirlwind following his steps, gradually forming an unfathomable, profound trajectory.
Finally, Han Feng reined in his stance. With a gentle flick of the broom, the fallen leaves that had followed him all the way suddenly froze in mid-air, immobilized to the point that even the biting winter gale could no longer shake them in the slightest.
Ah!
In her daze, Qin Lingyun was suddenly struck with terror!
Because it was only at this moment that she shockingly realized that the countless fallen leaves atop the Nine Gods Sect's Main Peak had somehow converged into a gigantic character for "Zither", standing proudly at the peak like the handwriting of a divine being!
The fallen leaves were ordinary, yet within this massive zither character seemed to be contained the profound and abstruse Dao of musical rhythm, leaving Qin Lingyun—who had dedicated her entire life to studying zither music—in a stupor. She felt as though every single fallen leaf shocked her to the core, seeming to reveal the secret behind why the golden-armored army's might had doubled just moments ago.
"Wonderful!"
A voice interrupted Qin Lingyun's deep contemplation. Luan Jian, dressed in white, ascended the Main Peak once again, bowing to Han Feng. "This disciple pays respects to the Sect Master. Through the Sect Master's enlightenment via heavenly music and the condensation of spirit through fallen leaves, this disciple has unexpectedly comprehended profound sword principles and benefited immensely..."