The star congregation jade Hua Cheng had given him was of a quality the jade plate Xiang Shaoyun had gotten at the Martial Hall Palace couldn’t compare with. It was carved into a command token with a symbol of a zither on it. Strands of energy constantly swirled around the plate, making it look incomparably precious. Anyone who got their hands on one of these plates would never want to part with it.
This was most certainly a proper star congregation jade that could increase a person's speed of astral energy absorption by a few times. A star congregation jade of this quality was comparable to king medicines. Even King Realm cultivators would be envious of a person with this jade.
Hua Cheng had so casually gifted Xiang Shaoyun such a big gift. Her sincerity in accepting Xiang Shaoyun as her little brother could be clearly seen. Of course, the feeling she had toward Xiang Shaoyun was not the romantic sort. Rather, she simply had a good opinion of him.
The source of that good opinion was Xiang Shaoyun's fearlessness when facing her, his talent in the dao of zither, and his comprehension of saber intent. All that combined caused her to sincerely admire his talent, and she found it amusing to have a little brother like him.
"Thank you, big sister. Your little brother will not disappoint you," said Xiang Shaoyun with a solemn nod.
Hua Cheng then looked at Gong Qinyin and said, "Qinyin, if there is anything you don't understand in the dao of zither, feel free to reach out to Little Brother Shaoyun. Although he knows nothing of the way to achieve martial mastery through the zither, his accomplishments in the art of zither is far beyond yours."
"Yes master. I will definitely seek guidance from Xia—Martial Uncle Xiang!" said Gong Qinyin. She didn't even know how she was supposed to address Xiang Shaoyun now. Even "martial uncle" was something she had to force herself to say. She was definitely unwilling to call him that.
Hua Cheng laughed and said, "The two of you already know each other before this so you can address him as you did before. There is no need to make the hierarchy overly complicated."
"Thank you, master!" Gong Qinyin heaved a breath of relief and thanked her master.
Hua Cheng then looked at Li Yaxuan and said, "You are Guardian Li's granddaughter? Not bad, but you still need to work harder."
She then gave Xiang Shaoyun one final look before vanishing from the courtyard.
The moment the Zither Empress left, Li Yaxuan heaved a breath of relief. "Has the Zither Empress finally left?"
It was obvious how nervous this vice house leader of Red House was before the Zither Empress.
"Senior Sister Li, my master is a very friendly person," said Gong Qinyin.
Li Yaxuan looked at Gong Qinyin and asked, "Is that so? But why do I remember you being just as nervous earlier?"
Gong Qinyin replied awkwardly, "N-no, that's not true at all! I was only worried that my master would beat him up!"
In truth, although Hua Cheng had accepted her as a disciple, Gong Qingyin didn't really get to see her a lot. Most of the time, Granny Mei was the one guiding her in cultivation. Therefore, she was very nervous each time she saw her master.
Xiang Shaoyun smiled as he played with the star congregation jade and said, "Although big sister is an Emperor Realm cultivator, she is a friendly and kind person. The two of you fear her because you think too much."
"You think everyone is as fearless as you? If it was any other Emperor, you would have been slapped into mincemeat by now," said Li Yaxuan as she rolled her eyes.
Beside her, Gong Qinyin also nodded repeatedly. "Yes, Shaoyun, just watch your mouth and actions in the future."
Xiang Shaoyun smiled and did not say anything. He hung the star congregation jade on himself and started walking around.
"With this thing, my cultivation will be much faster!" Xiang Shaoyun muttered in satisfaction.
When the two women looked at the star congregation jade, envy could be seen in their eyes.
With the same envious look in her eyes, Li Yaxuan said, "Xiang Shaoyun, the Zither Empress sure treats you well. Not even Junior Sister Gong is treated as well as you!"
Gong Qinyin did not mind it too much. "Shaoyun is a much more outstanding cultivator than me. It is only natural that my master is showing him favor. In any case, I am already happy with what I have."
"Haha, you don't need to be envious. In the future, I will be able to easily give you a couple of these jades as well," Xiang Shaoyun declared with a hearty laugh.
"You think a top-quality star congregation jade like this is the same as some common vegetables?" Li Yaxuan grumbled.
"Oh, this is still not a top-quality star congregation jade. Great quality, yes. But not top quality yet," said Xiang Shaoyun.
Li Yaxuan rolled her eyes, thinking that Xiang Shaoyun was bluffing too much. If even this star congregation jade was not top quality, wouldn't the star congregation jade of the King Realm elders all be trashy jades?
She was naturally unaware of how much higher Xiang Shaoyun's standards were. But Xiang Shaoyun wasn't really bothered to explain himself to her. He was here to have a talk about something with Gong Qinyin, but with Li Yaxuan around, it wouldn't be convenient to talk about it. Thus, he excused himself not long after.
"Why are you in a rush to leave? Master already said that she's going to give you your own estate. It will take some time. Just stay for a little longer," persuaded Gong Qinyin.
"That's right. We still have more things to talk to you about. Take a seat," Li Yaxuan said.
"Oh? What do you want to talk about?" Xiang Shaoyun asked.
"Have the people from the Lightning Alliance been creating trouble for you?" Li Yaxuan asked.
Xiang Shaoyun nodded. "Yes."
Li Yaxuan was astonished to see how calm Xiang Shaoyun was. "Are you not pressured or even afraid at all? Even though you have the favor of the Zither Empress, she will not interfere in the affairs of the younger generation. So don't dream that the Lightning Alliance will hold back against you."
"So what?" Xiang Shaoyun asked.
"Are you not aware that the Lightning Alliance will not stop the moment they set their eyes on someone? Only by joining the Red House will you be able make the Lightning Alliance to think twice about trying anything. Moreover, the Red House will never allow outsiders to bully our people," Li Yaxuan said. She added, "Qinyin is an honorary vice house leader of the Red House as well."
Li Yaxuan was certain that Xiang Shaoyun definitely had feelings for Gong Qinyin. Thus, it was unlikely for him to reject her invitation.
Gong Qinyin also persuaded, "Yes, Shaoyun. Join the Red House! With your strength, you will definitely be able to dazzle everyone with your brilliance!"
"Hehe, thank you for that, but my only wish is to stay free and unfettered. I am not interested in joining any factions," Xiang Shaoyun tactfully declined.
Li Yaxuan further persuaded, "That is understandable, but at times, people don't really have much choice in what they need to do. It will always be harder to fight alone. You should understand that."
"Yes, I understand. But some troubles are actually much easier to solve than imagined," said Xiang Shaoyun confidently.
The current him no longer cared about Transformation Realm cultivators. Only those at the King Realm and beyond could make him feel pressured. Would he be afraid of a mere Lightning Alliance? Of course not!
"Oh, right. You are the Overlord Xiang who doesn't even fear Huo Linfei and his group. Now that you already have the millennium earthcore fire and have grown so much, it is understandable that you are not afraid of the Lightning Alliance. But be careful. Huo Linfei is only a vice alliance leader of the Lightning Alliance. The leader, Lightning Kid, is the strongest among the younger generation in the Cloud Margin Pavilion," said Li Yaxuan, exposing Xiang Shaoyun's second identity.