After speaking with a dozen accountants, Tang Lee closed her phone and said to Yu Yong, "We're ready to bid whenever the auction begins."
"Good. This is going to be a fierce fight. The other families won't let us obtain the zither easily since whichever family gets it will have a massive advantage over the other families." Yu Yong nodded.
Meanwhile, similar situations played out in the other musical families.
"We must get our hands on this Frozen Jade Zither! We cannot let the Yu Family get it or our current advantage will instantly disappear!"
"The Yu Family may be rich, but their resources are not unlimited, especially not after what happened to their golden goose!"
Wealthy families around the world prepared their bank for the upcoming auction whilst the common folks waited for the spectacle.
Meanwhile, inside Cultivation Online and the Dragon Essence Temple, Elder Shan knocked on Fei Yuyan's doors.
"Master? Do you need something?" Fei Yuyan greeted her at the door, but she found it unusual that Elder Shan would visit her unannounced.
"Here, Disciple Yuan asked me to give this to you." Elder Shan extended her hand with a scroll in her grasp.
"What's this?" Fel Yuyan raised her eyebrows as she accepted the scroll.
"It's the Divine-rank technique the two of you had obtained at the zither competition. Apparently, he's done with it." Elder Shan explained.
"Wait… He's done with it already? How long has it been since the competition? A week?" Feng Yuxiang mumbled in a dazed voice.
"He handed it to me a couple of days ago so it actually took him much shorter than that."
"Unbelievable… I cannot imagine learning a Divine-rank technique in such a short time. His comprehension abilities are simply god-like." Fei Yuyan sighed in a defeated voice, realizing that she will never be at Yuan's level.
"By the way, the last spot for the Mystic Realm… It's Disciple Yuan, isn't it?" Fei Yuyan suddenly asked.
"Is it that obvious?" Elder Shan smiled.
"Of course," she nodded.
"Don't tell anybody about this, though. The Core Disciples won't be happy if they learn that an Inner Court disciple had taken their spot— a new disciple who recently joined, at that." Elder Shan said.
"Don't worry, Master. I won't tell anybody." Fei Yuyan promised.
"Anyways, good luck with the technique. I've got a few more things to do before the Mystic Realm."
"Thank you, Master."
"Don't thank me— thank Disciple Yuan the next time you see him. Maybe even a kiss." Elder Shan chuckled.
"M-Master! Don't make such jokes! It's not funny! We… The two of us live in different worlds. I don't qualify to be with someone like him." Fei Yuyan sighed in a dejected manner.
"..."
Elder Shan didn't expect Fei Yuyan to respond so seriously, leaving her speechless.
After a moment of awkward silence, Elder Shan said, "If you really like him, I don't think it's impossible. You never know— he might even make you his Dao Companion."
"Dao Companion…?" Fei Yuyan stared at Elder Shan with wide eyes filled with surprise.
"Don't underestimate yourself, Disciple Fei. You're one of the Three Graceful Fairies, have some more confidence in yourself. And if you don't ask him, how else are you going to find out?"
"I see… Thank you, Master, for your advice." Fei Yuyan nodded.
Sometime later, Elder Shan left Fei Yuyan's living quarters.
"Disciple romance, huh? If only there was someone like Disciple Yuan during my disciple days..." Elder Shan returned home with a solemn look on her face.
Meanwhile, in Long Chen City, Yuan and Meixiu walked side by side as they strolled through the city.
"Senior Disciple, how about some chicken skewers? It's on me!"
A middle-aged man working by the streets suddenly called out to Disciple Yuan, offering them free food.
Yuan immediately nodded, "Thank you."
"This is the least I can do for the Dragon Essence Temple that has helped our community a lot!" The worker laughed as he handed Yuan two sticks of chicken skewers.
"Here you go." Yuan handed the other chicken skewer to Meixiu.
"Thank you…" Meixiu accepted the chicken skewer.
After eating the skewer, Yuan sighed, "That chicken skewer made me even more hungry. Do you want to sit down and eat some food?"
"Whatever you want to do," Meixiu responded.
Yuan nodded and took her to a random restaurant where they spent the next hour sitting down and eating food.
Inside the restaurant, Yuan displayed his amazing eating abilities to Meixiu who was only slightly surprised by his eating habits.
"The food in this game… the taste is too realistic…" Meixiu was more shocked by how well her tastebuds worked inside the game, almost like she was eating real food.
"Right? This is actually my favorite part about Cultivation Online! I am only limited to soup outside, but in this world, I can eat whatever I want!" Yuan said with a bright smile on his face.
After they finished eating and Yuan paid the tab which was given a discount because of his status as an Inner Court disciple at the Dragon Essence Temple, Yuan and Meixiu continued to wander the city until they eventually found something that would pique their interest and cause them to stop momentarily, almost like two lovers on a date.
As the sky grew darker, Yuan and Meixiu left the city and flew back to the Dragon Essence Temple with the help of Xiao Hua and Feng Yuxiang.
"I had fun today, Meixiu. We should definitely do this more often— just spending our days leisurely." Yuan said to her after they returned to his backyard.
Meixiu nodded with a slightly rosy face that was hidden by the darkness outside, "I had fun too."
"Anyways, before we log off for the night, let's see if Meixiu can learn Heaven's Secret Art." Yuan said to Xiao Hua once they went back into the house.
"Okay." Xiao Hua nodded her small head before taking out her book.
After giving Meixiu some instructions, Yuan sat down in the lotus position with Meixiu sitting right beside him.
However, before she started, Xiao Hua said, "By the way, Sister Meixiu, are you sure you're willing to help Xiao Hua with her legacy? Xiao Hua can only teach you the technique if you agree."
Although she didn't know anything about Xiao Hua's legacy, Meixiu nodded her head.
A few moments later, Xiao Hua began reading her book, quickly filling the room with incomprehensible words, almost like she was mumbling gibberish.