After leaving the Dragon Pavilion, Xuan Wuhan and Fei Yuyan said their farewells to Yuan and Min Li.
"I have to get back to training, so I'll find another time to chat with you, Yuan. It has been a wonderful experience these past few days," Xuan Wuhan said to him.
"Now that the zither competition is over, I also have to return to my regular training schedule. Once again, thank you for everything, Disciple Yuan. I'll see you later," Fei Yuyan bowed to him before leaving.
"What are you going to do now that the competition is over?" Min Li asked him as they walked back to their houses together.
"I'll spend some time on the technique I'd gotten from the competition, and then I'll probably go to the place where I can spend some of my contribution points," said Yuan.
"The Exchange Hall? What are you trying to buy?"
"I don't know yet. Do you want to come as well?" Yuan asked her, as he was used to having her follow him around.
"N-No… I have already spent enough time without a sword in my hands. Just like the other two, I must get back to my training, or else I'll get scolded by my family when I show no improvements," she sighed.
"I see… I'll see you around, Disciple Min," Yuan said to her before entering his building.
After returning to his room, Yuan retrieved the Divine-grade treasure and the Divine-rank technique to inspect it.
[Frozen Jade Zither]
[Grade: Divine]
[Quality: Low]
[Mental Strength Requirement: 35,000]
[Soul Strength Requirement: 50,000]
[Description: Can create music notes that will freeze one's heart and soul]
"Heaven Severing Zither Arts… A single music note can split the heavens in half..."
"Xiao Hua, I know Divine-grade treasures cannot be used by those with insufficient cultivation, but does that apply to even instruments? I cannot imagine exploding to death because I pulled one of its strings," Yuan said out loud.
"No, Brother Yuan can play it, but you won't be able to utilize its full potential," Xiao Hua's voice resounded, and she continued, "It'll just be like playing an ordinary zither without injecting your spiritual energy into it."
"One can also wield a Divine-grade sword as a mortal, but without the cultivation to use it properly, the Divine-grade sword will only function as though it's an ordinary sword that's sharper and more durable than usual."
"I see… So I can still use this zither to play music normally, but I won't be able to produce special effects that can only be done when using spiritual energy. I think I get the gist of treasures in general." Yuan nodded as he pulled one of the strings on the Frozen Jade Zither.
A beautiful music note resounded in the room.
"Hmmm… It's pretty good sounding, but I still prefer the Soul Ensnaring Zither," he mumbled after the noise calmed.
After putting away the Frozen Jade Zither, Yuan turned his attention to the Divine-rank technique 'Heaven Severing Zither Arts' and began reading through it.
"What an interesting technique…"
Yuan mumbled to himself after reading through the entire content once. After pondering for a few minutes, he returned to the first page to reread it once again.
An hour later, a notification appeared before Yuan as he was absorbed in the technique.
[You have learned 'Heaven Severing Zither Artz']
[Heaven Severing Zither Arts]
[Rank: Divine]
[Description: A single music note to sever the heavens!]
"Hmm… This technique was much simpler than I'd anticipated, and I managed to learn it in an hour. Guess I can give this technique to Fei Yuyan tomorrow when I check out the Exchange Hall."
With that in mind, Yuan logged off for the day and cultivated in the real world while waiting for Yu Rou's return.
"Welcome back, Yu Rou," Yuan said out loud after hearing her footsteps entering his room.
"I'm back, brother! And congratulations! I heard that you'd achieved first place in the zither competition! Of course, I had already expected this outcome since it's a given that you would come first in a music competition, but still, congratulations!" Yu Rou said to him in a cheerful voice.
"Thank you, Yu Rou."
"I wish I was there to witness it… But alas… School… Haaa…" Yu Rou sighed.
"Don't worry, I'll play the zither for you the next time we meet," said Yuan.
"It won't be the same since you're not competing against others…"
"To be honest, it wasn't much of a competition since it was very different from what I'm used to."
Yuan spoke with Yu Rou for about half an hour, telling her everything he'd experienced at the competition before Yu Rou left the room and Yuan went to cultivate for the rest of the night.
Once morning came and Yu Rou finished her morning routine, Yuan dived back into Cultivation Online and left his house early in the morning to head to Fei Yuyan's house so he could give her the Divine-grade technique.
However, halfway there, Yuan suddenly stopped walking, as he'd realized that he no longer had the permission to enter the Inner Court, prohibiting him from even getting close to Fei Yuyan's living quarters, much less meet her.
'Looks like I'll have to find another way to meet her,' he thought to himself.
'For now, let's head to the Exchange Hall to see what kind of things they have there.'
Thus, Yuan turned around and began making his way towards the Exchange Hall after taking a moment to recall the map of the sect.
On his way to the Exchange Hall, Yuan passed the Practice Grounds, where hundreds of disciples were already awake and training. Of course, Min Li was also there, practicing her sword techniques on the training puppets and being watched by the other disciples, their gazes filled with admiration for Min Li.
Yuan stopped to watch Min Li practice for a few minutes before he continued walking again.
Half an hour later, he stood before a tall and large pagoda that had 3 floors, and directly above its entrance was a grand sign that read 'Exchange Hall'.
Author's Note: Check out my new novel 'Inferior Cultivation System' if you like OP MC, smart MC, knowledgable MC, Systems, and face-slapping. Don't worry, it won't affect my release rate for Cultivation Online or Dual Cultivation.