"The zither, huh?" Yu Rou mumbled after hearing about this instrument from Yuan, and she said a moment later, "People used to play those instruments in the ancient times if I remember correctly, but it's rarely played today."
"What? Why did people stop playing them? It's such a wonderful instrument that can invoke one's inner feelings with a single note!" Yuan asked in a surprised voice, as he couldn't understand why people suddenly stopped playing the zither.
"I'm not too sure either, but I can look it up online if you want." Yu Rou said to him.
"Okay."
"Give me a moment…"
Yu Rou pulled out her smartphone and did a quick search on the web.
"Zithers… Eh?" Yu Rou released a surprised voice.
"What is it?" Yuan raised his eyebrows and asked her with his interest piqued.
"Well… it says that the reason people stopped playing the zither was due to some curse… It doesn't make any sense," Yu Rou said.
"Curse?"
"Yes… They say those who play the zither are cursed with a fate worse than death…" Yu Rou said.
"What the heck? Do people actually believe in that crap? I can't believe it! To think they'd abandon such a wonderful instrument because of a mere 'curse'! If I'd known about this instrument before, I would definitely have made it my main instrument!" Yuan sighed loudly.
"Well, at least you get to play the instrument in the game, right?" Yu Rou said to him.
"I guess… But after learning about the zither, I cannot help but wonder what other instruments I can play in the game… While I am no longer a musician, playing the zither had flared some sort of flame in my body... I think…"
"Really? Now I have another thing to look forward to inside the game— seeing you play the instruments again! Maybe you can even become a famous musician in the game!" Yu Rou said.
"Famous musician, huh? I think I've had enough of that life," Yuan said with a bittersweet smile on his face.
"Oh… right…" Yu Rou realized that she'd opened an old wound for Yuan and quickly apologized, "I'm sorry, brother… I got too excited again…"
"Don't worry about it. Although I don't plan on becoming famous, I do want to play the instruments at times."
"But you're already famous, brother. You're 'Player Yuan', the number one player in the world right now!" Yu Rou said.
"Me? The number one player? On what basis?" Yuan asked since he cannot imagine how he'd be the number one player in the world when he hasn't really been doing much besides enjoy the game at his own leisure.
"On what basis, you say? By your progress, of course! Most players in the world are still learning Mortal-rank techniques, yet you've already learned your first Ancient-rank technique and even a couple of Divine-rank techniques! Your cultivation base is also vastly superior compared to the other players!"
"I see… But I don't really care if I'm the number one player or not— I just want to enjoy the game." Yuan said.
"I know you wouldn't care about something like this, but the other players care, especially the Legacy Family. That's why they're all looking for you," said Yu Rou.
"What will they do even if they find me?" Yuan asked.
"They'll probably ask you to join their family and share your secrets with them so that they can also progress as fast as you in the game."
"Secrets? There are no secrets, though. I just play the game normally." Yuan sighed.
"Nobody would believe that brother. I also wouldn't have believed it if I didn't know you."
"What a pain in the ass. I hope they'll never find me so that I can continue playing the game peacefully," Yuan said a moment later.
"I also hope the same, brother."
"By the way, Yu Rou, I left you at Phoenix City, right? Will you be okay by yourself?"
"Un. I will be fine. Not only do I still have the 100,000 gold that was given to me by Xiao Hua but I also have a friend from school who's also in Phoenix City, and I'd promised to play with her this weekend."
"A friend, huh? That's nice." Yuan said.
"I'll introduce her to you one day in the future, brother. She's a really sweet and elegant girl."
"Okay."
Sometime later, Yu Rou asked him, "You're going to play tonight, right? After all, you still have that trial…"
"Yes, I only have 24 hours of pause time. If I sleep now, I will probably fail the challenge."
"Okay, I'll leave you alone then. Good luck, brother."
Once Yu Rou left the room, Yuan returned to cultivation online and took a few minutes to prepare himself before he began slaying the monsters on the 100th floor until the morning came and he had to pause the trial again for breakfast.
Meanwhile, waiting outside the tower, Long Yijun and the other sect elders were puzzled, even slightly nervous.
"What's happening in the tower right now? It's been over a day since he'd entered the 100th floor yet he's still not done!" Elder Shan spoke out loud.
"Who knows what he's doing inside, but I have never seen anyone remain on a single floor for so long before." Long Yijun said.
And he continued, "Anyway, there's nothing we can do right now but until the 100th floor flashes either a red or golden light!"
Thus, they continued to wait for Yuan's result.
Inside the tower, Yuan continued to slay monsters for a few hours before pausing the trial and resting until half of his spiritual energy was restored so that he could continue fighting.
On the third day, a notification appeared before Yuan after he slew his 90,000th magical beasts.
«Congratulations! Your Soul Weapon Starry Abyss has absorbed enough lifeforce and leveled up!»
«The Starry Abyss has unlocked a new unique ability 'Perfect Concealment'!»
«Starry Abyss»
«Level: 1»
«Rank: Soul Weapon»
«Growth Rate: Very slow»
«Requirement: ???»
«Unique Ability: (Perfect Concealment) Use spiritual energy to turn the weapon invisible and conceal its presence flawlessly at will.»