Yuan finished his song two minutes after the veiled lady stopped playing her zither, and he turned to look at her with his clear eyes afterward.
"That was very fun. Thank you for playing with me," Yuan said with a smile behind his mask.
"..."
The veiled lady stared at Yuan's bright eyes in silence, seemingly pondering about something, and after a long moment of silence, she finally spoke for the first time in a very soothing voice, "How would you like to join the Heavenly Melody Academy? Whatever position you want, you can have."
"Eh?"
Not only Yuan but everybody there was dumbfounded by the veiled lady's sudden words that turned out to be a recruitment for the Heavenly Melody Academy!
"B-But I am already a disciple at the Dragon Essence Temple…" Yuan responded in a dazed voice.
The veiled lady nodded her head, and she continued in a shameless voice, "I know. You can simply leave them and come to us. After all, you're definitely more suited for the Heavenly Melody Academy where everybody is a musician."
However, before Yuan could even respond, the veiled lady lifted her right hand and grabbed the red veil that was covering her face before pulling it off her head, revealing the peerless face behind it.
When the people there saw this extremely beautiful woman that resembled a goddess, their eyes and mouths widened with shock.
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"T-That's!"
"Senior Song?!"
"What! She was the Sect Master of the Heavenly Melody Academy this entire time?!"
"D-Does this mean that unknown zither expert had managed to defeat Senior Song, who is widely recognized as the Goddess of Music, in a one-on-one zither battle?! This is unprecedented!"
"She really was Senior Song…" Fei Yuyan mumbled in a dazed voice.
After revealing her identity to the people there, Song Ling'er stood up and turned to look at Elder Xuan and Elder Shan with a serious expression on her face.
"I have never done this before— poaching a disciple from another sect and even in front of their sect elders and fellow disciple. What I am doing right now will definitely tarnish my reputation, and I respect the Dragon Essence Temple's reputation, but I simply cannot allow someone so talented with the instrument to waste his time in a place where they don't even teach music. In fact, I am a little frustrated that he'd decided to join your sect and not mine. I hope you can understand my feelings, elders from the Dragon Essence Temple." Song Ling'er said to them.
Elder Xuan and Elder Shan were shocked speechless after listening to Song Ling'er's words. Not even in a million years could they have imagined that there would be a day where the Sect Master of the Heavenly Melody Academy would personally poach one of their disciples and directly in front of them at that.
However, no matter how Song Ling'er felt, even if she threatened them with blades on their neck, there was no way they would give up someone like Yuan. After all, his cultivation talents are equal to his music talents if not even above that!
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"I understand your feelings very well, Senior Song, but this is not something we have a say in. If you really want to continue with this conversation, then you must speak with our Sect Master," Elder Xuan said to her, directing all responsibility to Long Yijun, mostly because he didn't want to deal with someone like Song Ling'er, who was known for being stubborn and aggressive.
Song Ling'er frowned. However, if she could poach someone like Yuan, even if she has to travel to the end of the world, it would be worth it one hundred and ten percent!
"It's fine, Senior Song, you don't have to speak with the Sect Master." Yuan suddenly said, and he continued, "While I am grateful and humbled at the same time that you'd invite me to your sect, I don't plan on leaving the Dragon Essence Temple."
"Why?! What's at the Dragon Essence Temple that's keeping you there?!" Song Ling'er suddenly snapped, startling everybody there. "I have never seen someone as talented as you before! You don't belong in a place like the Dragon Essence Temple! You belong to the Heavenly Melody Academy, where you'll be able to really shine! If you join our sect, I can guarantee you that you'll become a world-famous musician whose name will be as prestigious if not even more prestigious than the Zither Goddess!"
Hearing Song Ling'er's words, Yuan couldn't help but show a bittersweet smile.
"There are some matters in the Dragon Essence Temple that I must attend to, therefore I cannot just leave. Furthermore, I don't intend on becoming a world-famous musician, since music is only a hobby of mine and I want to focus on cultivation more."
"What?! Music is only a hobby?! That's such a waste of your heaven-sent talents!" Song Ling'er stared at Yuan with disbelief in her eyes.
How could someone with such tremendous talents not focus on improving that specific talent? She has never seen such foolishness before!
Of course, Song Ling'er was unaware of Yuan's godlike cultivation talents, or else she wouldn't be reacting in such a manner.
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"I'm really sorry, but I have decided to never play the instruments seriously ever again since I have already experienced enough of that in my life," Yuan said to her.
"..."
Song Ling'er narrowed her eyes at Yuan, but she didn't say anything else.
A moment later, she took a deep breath and released it.
She then turned around and started walking away from the area.
"This won't be your last time seeing me, nor will I give up on trying to poach you either. I'll be sure to give a visit to the Dragon Essence Temple after this zither competition." Song Ling'er said as she disappeared from the area.
Once Song Ling'er left the scene, Elder Xuan approached Yuan and said to him, "Let's also leave before it gets any more chaotic."
Yuan nodded and left the park with the others shortly later.