Thud!
The heavy door was kicked open. The elderly man with the humble expression from a moment ago was now holding a name roster and shouting furiously, "What kind of nonsense Jiushen Sect is this! You aren't even on the invitation list for this year's Tianyin Grand Ceremony! You couple of drea— Hmph! Get the hell out of here right now before you filthy up this place. Your lives aren't enough to pay for the damage!"
Ugh.
Is our sect really this lacking in prestige?
Han Feng couldn't help but offer a wry smile of resignation. Qin Lingyun, however, seemed completely unbothered. Instead, she naturally patted Han Feng on the shoulder, stepped forward to shield him behind her, and faced the aggressive old man all by herself.
"Shut your old trap!"
"My being here is doing you a massive honor!"
"Try running your mouth one more time and see if I don't rip it right off your face!"
Oh, dear!
Blasted by this barrage of abuse, the old man almost lost his mind. The name roster in his hands trembled violently, rustling incessantly.
Dammit!
In all this world, where on earth could you find musical cultivators like this?
One had to know that those who delved into the path of musical arts—regardless of gender—were refined individuals. They ordinarily spoke with eloquence and carried themselves with noble grace. How could anyone be like this one right before his eyes? She was blessed with a gorgeous appearance, yet her language was so foul and utterly unfit for human ears!
And to top it all off, she was actually carrying a zither on her shoulder!
I felt something was amiss the moment I saw her. Today I've welcomed countless musical cultivators arriving from every corner of the land: some with a vertical bamboo flute tucked at their waist, some with a pipa slung across their back, some with an ocarina in their pouch, and some even hauling massive ritual bells...
But who on earth carries a zither like that?
Did she really think that just because she had a zither, she could pass herself off as a musical cultivator and come here to freeload?
Absurd!
Trembling with rage, the old man drew a flute from his robes, brought it to his lips with shaking hands, and began to play. In an instant, a burst of musical notes surged forward, transforming into two spirit ropes that descended directly toward Han Feng and Qin Lingyun to bind those two scoundrels from yesterday and toss them out first.
"Elder Huang, hold on." A melodious voice cut through the air, instantly dissolving the two ropes.
These two scoundrels had an accomplice?
The old man's expression hardened. As he turned his head to look, he froze. He quickly cupped his fists and said, "Young Master Lu, how did this commotion disturb you? My faults, my faults..."
"Elder Huang is too polite." Lu Qixian nodded. Then, turning his gaze to Han Feng and the woman, the hatred in his eyes flashed and vanished. He said indifferently, "Sect Master Han, Lady Qin, we meet again."
"Such fate," Han Feng greeted him, then added, "We had hoped to take part in this Tianyin Grand Ceremony, but since my Jiushen Sect apparently lacks the qualifications, I suppose we'll just forget it..."
No way!
Lu Qixian deeply resented the humiliation he had suffered earlier at the Jiushen Sect. He thought to himself: *Since you actually dared to show up, there is no way I'm letting you walk away now. I must make this provincial Jiushen Sect suffer a humiliating public spectacle!*
With that thought in mind, Lu Qixian quickly made up his decision and smiled. "What is Sect Master Han saying? The Jiushen Sect is a long-established sect, and its mastery of the musical arts once dominated the era! Although it has been dormant for quite some time, the fact that you could spare the time to attend the Tianyin Grand Ceremony today must mean you are fully prepared."
"Elder Huang, what do you think of this?" Lu Qixian turned to the old man, smiling gently. "Although this grand ceremony indeed did not issue an invitation to the Jiushen Sect, my Qingyin Pavilion possesses the authority to invite fellow practitioners of the musical arts. I trust this wouldn't violate any rules, would it?"
What?
The elderly man surnamed Huang frowned. He hadn't expected these two foul-mouthed individuals to actually have the backing of the Qingyin Pavilion.
As one of the host sects of previous Tianyin Grand Ceremonies, Qingyin Pavilion gave Lu Qixian immense weight when he spoke on its behalf today.
"Well, of course it's fine. Given Young Master Lu's honorable face, never mind two people, even twenty would be no problem at all." The old man had no choice but to swallow his anger and reply to Lu Qixian.
With Lu Qixian making the arrangements, everything proceeded smoothly.
Qin Lingyun of the Jiushen Sect would participate in the draw and subsequently enter the matches for the Spirit Activation Group. As for how far she could go, that would depend entirely on her own abilities.
However, the sudden reappearance of the Jiushen Sect—which had remained completely silent for at least several centuries—coupled with the strong backing of the Qingyin Pavilion, managed to attract the gazes of countless people.
One had to realize that anyone with even a slightly shallow background had never even heard the name Jiushen Sect!
Take the receptionist surnamed Huang, for example. Despite being nearly two hundred years old, he had no idea what the Jiushen Sect was. It was only after checking the roster and finding no record of it that he had hurriedly marched over to make trouble.
However, this grand ceremony had gathered the elite musical cultivators of the world, and there were also many powerful experts of long-standing renown who vaguely remembered the Jiushen Sect.
"Good grief, the Jiushen Sect still isn't completely extinct?"
"Sigh... Come to think of it, in my early years I once crossed paths with Sect Master Han of the Jiushen Sect. Later on, I heard that Sect Master Han went into seclusion to break through to the Void Escape Stage, and there was never any news of him after that."
"Who came this time?"
"Word is it's the Sect Master, also surnamed Han! But as for his cultivation... it seems to be mere Golden Core."
"What? A Golden Core Realm Sect Master? Well, then—that's completely useless!"
"However, I heard that the Eldest Senior Sister of the Jiushen Sect is already on the verge of forming her Nascent Soul, and her swordsmanship is transcendent and refined. She certainly shouldn't be underestimated."
"A sword cultivator? But this is the Tianyin Grand Ceremony!"
"Ugh... I heard that among the nine divine arts the Jiushen Sect is named after, there is actually one concerning the musical arts, though to my recollection, this sect has never produced a single musical arts cultivator."
Amidst the hum of discussion, this year's Tianyin Grand Ceremony slowly opened its curtains.
The hosts of the grand ceremony remained the five major sects: Yinhun Hall, Qingyin Pavilion, Tianlai Hall, Qiyun Sect, and Zhonggu Tower. The participants, meanwhile, came from all corners of the world—thousands of sects that either focused primarily on the musical arts or possessed specialized expertise in them.
Held once every decade, the Tianyin Grand Ceremony aimed to promote the Great Dao of music, foster the exchange and refinement of techniques, and select the finest talents across various cultivation realms to be listed on three separate rankings: the Mortal Roll, the Spirit Roll, and the Golden Roll, corresponding respectively to musical cultivators in the Mortal-Shedding Realm, Spirit Activation Realm, and Golden Core Realm.
Qin Lingyun, who had come alongside Han Feng, was currently a Grade 5 Spirit Activation Realm cultivator and was entering the competition for the Spirit Roll.
Because the Jiushen Sect was not on the original invitation list, she drew her lot almost last, receiving the number eight hundred and twenty-one.
In other words, the number of Spirit Activation Realm musical cultivators participating in the battles exceeded eight hundred!
One could easily imagine how difficult it would be to stand out among them.
"Hahaha! Look at how awesome I am!" After the draw, Qin Lingyun slapped Han Feng on the shoulder with great delight and laughed, "I got a bye! Straight into the next round!"
Ugh...
For a moment, everyone cast sidelong glances, finding it hard to believe that this bold woman hauling a zither could actually play music.
With battles involving over a thousand people, a round-robin tournament was out of the question; elimination rounds were the only way. Yet, the single unpaired slot had somehow been drawn by Qin Lingyun—she was truly exceptionally lucky.
"Hey, go a little easier..." Though he was used to it, Han Feng felt as though his bones were about to be rattled apart by this boisterous woman.
Hmph!
Consider yourselves lucky!
Watching quietly from the sidelines, Lu Qixian's facial muscles twitched. Still, it didn't matter; even with a bye, she would at best make it into the top four hundred.
Next up, there was no way she could possibly keep having such good luck, right?