Why Don't You Stick to Your Role?

Unfortunately, Zhao Yunxiao did not have much of a choice in this matter.

With the sea of outer disciples parting instinctively to open a path for the new arrivals, Chen Pingxi walked right up to Zhao Yunxiao without hesitation.

"Greetings, Brother Zhao," Chen Pingxi clasped his fists towards him.

The initially rowdy outer disciples quietened down in an instant. Even the inner disciples who had arrived with Chen Pingxi stopped their conversations short.

A moment of absolute silence fell upon the Clear Thoughts Pavilion, just like how all eyes fell upon Zhao Yunxiao.

As for the person in question, he could not help but curse in his heart. Nevertheless, he knew better than to let his true feelings show.

"Greetings, Lady Chen," Zhao Yunxiao returned the greeting in a dignified manner.

"Why the sudden formality? Please just call me Sister Chen as always," Chen Pingxi answered with a smile.

"Y-Yes, Sister Chen..."

"I see that Sister Lu is here as well," Chen Pingxi nodded towards Lu Zhiying.

"Greetings, Sister Chen," Lu Zhiying answered in a surprisingly reserved manner.

Zhao Yunxiao could not help but nod in approval in his heart – it was clear that she had understood the need to not stand out right now.

"Are these your friends as well?" Chen Pingxi's gaze continued to scan across those who were gathered around Zhao Yunxiao.

"That's right, let me introduce them," Zhao Yunxiao answered. "These are my Senior Martial Brother Bo Fei, Junior Martial Sister Huang An, and Senior Martial Brother Nie Hanchang."

Since he could no longer avoid it, Zhao Yunxiao decided that he might as well make the most of the situation. Therefore, he quickly took this opportunity to introduce the three of them to Chen Pingxi, understanding that such a connection would only be beneficial for them in the future.

"Greetings, everyone. I am Chen Pingxi from the Origin Lake Sect," Chen Pingxi immediately clasped her fists towards them.

"G-Greetings, Lady Chen."

Be it Bo Fei, Huang An, or Nie Hanchang, all of them were taken aback by the sudden situation, so they barely managed some nervous responses.

"I have heard a lot about you, Brother Nie," Chen Pingxi added.

"You did?" Nie Hanchang had taken off his hat by now, and was thus unable to hide the look of surprise on his face.

"Naturally," Chen Pingxi smiled.

Nie Hanchang – the first outer disciple to have successfully created a mythical tier weapon in the past century, as well as someone who had single-handedly taken down a monster that was more than a full realm above him in terms of cultivation level.

She had heard that he was close to Zhao Yunxiao, and today's encounter confirmed that for her.

So, it was not just Lu Zhiying, but Nie Hanchang as well?

For some reason, it would appear that many of the outer disciples who had been more prominent recently had ties to Zhao Yunxiao...

Could this really be a coincidence?

Or were the undercurrents in the Black Tortoise Sect going to start propagating from the outer sect?

Oblivious to her thoughts, Nie Hanchang could only look to Zhao Yunxiao for answers, believing that the latter was the one who had told her about him.

But before Zhao Yunxiao had a chance to explain, the other inner disciples started to break their silence. They might have been caught by surprise earlier, but they were definitely not intending to let outer disciples like Zhao Yunxiao's group hog Chen Pingxi's attention to themselves!

And on top of that, they had now encountered another person of interest – Lu Zhiying.

During the New Year celebrations, Lu Zhiying's enchanting dance had managed to capture the hearts of numerous disciples, and that included inner disciples as well.

Even so, many of these inner disciples had refrained from being too direct in pursuing her since not only would such actions be against their prideful nature, but it could also easily be misconstrued as an abuse of their position of power.

Who knew that by accommodating Chen Pingxi's strange request to come to the Clear Thoughts Pavilion, they would be rewarded with such a godsent opportunity?

Now, as long as they performed well, they might just be able to impress both Chen Pingxi and Lu Zhiying at the same time. This would truly be killing two birds with one stone!

"Fairy Chen sure is creative and thoughtful. Instead of always sticking to the usual grand parties, I guess coming to places like this from time to time can be refreshing as well."

"That's right. With the right mentality, anywhere can be turned into a party ground. I didn't even know that there's such a huge gathering here in the outer grounds. Fairy Chen sure is well-informed!"

"Hey, the few of you. Do you know how to play any instruments?" one of the inner disciples directly pointed at a few outer disciples. "If you do, go play a few songs to liven up the mood for us."

"You, go set up a table and brew some tea!"

"Y-Yes, Senior Martial Brother..."

Inner disciples were essentially superior to outer disciples in terms of status, so it was difficult for the outer disciples to reject such direct orders.

With their instructions, the Clear Thoughts Pavilion quickly underwent a 180-degree transformation, at least in terms of the atmosphere.

Just minutes before, it had been a rowdy place with loud discussions abound. Now, the boisterous discussions had been replaced with a crisp melody.

The inner disciples were seated around a few round tables, calmly chatting while basking in the music. On the other hand, the outer disciples kept to the sides of the pavilion, keeping their volume down to avoid disturbing, and thus offending, the inner disciples.

It might seem like a clear and unfair segregation, but many of the outer disciples actually preferred it like this.

While they might not be able to actively participate in the discussions this way, it was not like they had much to contribute anyway. In addition, such an arrangement almost felt like they had been invited to observe a brand new celebratory party held here at the Clear Thoughts Pavilion.

Instead of having to simply wait for informants to provide them with updates from the various parties, now they could also receive first-hand updates from this group in real-time!

"The performance isn't great, but I guess it is only to be expected," one of the inner disciples remarked carelessly. "That said, I do have in my possession a few tickets to a closed-door performance by the Sentient Light Performance Group in a week's time. Fairy Chen, would you be interested in going?"

"A closed-door performance by the Sentient Light Performance Group?" Chen Pingxi could not help but reveal a look of surprise.

Sentient Light was a performance group founded by a cultivator who had painstakingly gone from faction to faction, all just to scout out and recruit the most talented of performers.

Comprising talents from all over the land, perhaps the result of the group had already been set in stone from the very start.

After its formation, the Sentient Light Performance Group took the entire Duyuan Empire by storm, and their fame and popularity were skyrocketing by the day. To be able to acquire a ticket to their performance, and a closed-door one at that, was truly not an easy feat!

But before Chen Pingxi could reply, Qie Xing from the Armed Ape Tower hurriedly cut in.

"A closed-door performance by the Sentient Light Performance Group sounds great! Does this brother here have two spare tickets?" Qie Xing asked. "If that's the case, perhaps Fairy Chen could go enjoy the performance with my senior martial brother."

Even without stating the name, it was clear which senior martial brother Qie Xing was referring to. After all, there was only one other disciple from the Armed Ape Tower here at the Black Tortoise Sect – Feral Claw Xiong Yekong.

This was not the first time that Qie Xing had tried to match Chen Pingxi and Xiong Yekong. Nobody knew if he was acting on the latter's behalf or on his own accord, but Qie Xing had never concealed his wish for these two to become cultivation partners.

There were some who found his actions interesting, but those who fancied Chen Pingxi only saw this side of him as a complete pain in the ass.

"Unfortunately not. I only have two tickets – one for myself and one for Fairy Chen."

"In that case, would you be willing to give up your ticket for my Senior Martial Brother Xiong? Don't worry. If you require compensation for it, the price is negotiable."

"Do I look like I lack money?"

The atmosphere turned cold with that short exchange of words. Qie Xing and the inner disciple stared each other down, neither willing to relent.

"Thank you for your offer, but I have some matters to attend to in the coming weeks," Chen Pingxi interjected calmly, clearly already used to such a situation. "I hope you enjoy the performance on my behalf."

"That's a shame, but I guess it can't be helped. After all, Fairy Chen must be busy," the inner disciple's tone mellowed down immediately as he turned away from Qie Xing.

"I guess it's true that being with the right companions is still more important than the activity itself," Qie Xing smirked.

"Are you doubting Fairy Chen's words, thinking that she's just making up an excuse?"

"I did not say that. Don't put words in my mouth."

The inner disciple and Qie Xing glared at each other once again, but what happened next caused both of them to quickly forget about each other.

"Brother Zhao, why don't you and your friends join us at the table?" Chen Pingxi turned towards the standing Zhao Yunxiao and said.

"I'm afraid that will not be appropriate," Zhao Yunxiao declined immediately, making sure to avoid the death glares that were starting to come from the group of inner disciples.

"In that case..." Chen Pingxi slowly stood up from her seat, startling the inner disciples present.

"Fairy Chen? Are you going somewhere?" Qie Xing asked.

"I am just going to ask Brother Zhao to show me around a little. I will be right back," Chen Pingxi answered nonchalantly.

However, these nonchalant words caused Zhao Yunxiao's heart to skip a beat in fright!

It did not take a genius to understand why all these outstanding disciples had chosen to abandon the ongoing parties to accompany her here. They had already expressed this much sincerity, yet she actually wanted to leave them to hang out with him?

And in such an open manner, too?

He understood that there was not much time left before each entourage left Purple Plum Mountain, so she might be feeling eager to learn more about the Black Tortoise Sect's outer sect before that.

However, there was still a right time and place for everything, and this was definitely not it!

As he had expected, Chen Pingxi's action caused a huge stir in the hearts of the inner disciples.

Even though she said that it would only be for a short while... even if she and Zhao Yunxiao had an earlier connection... how could their pride allow for something like this to happen?

Imagine abandoning the celebratory parties to accompany Chen Pingxi, only for the latter to leave them hanging to hang out with an outer disciple. If word of this matter were to spread, wouldn't they all become laughingstocks?

However, Chen Pingxi had already spoken, so what could they possibly do in this situation?

Many of them were at a loss!

"Junior Martial Brother Zhao, I remember that you are part of a performance group?" one of the inner disciples, Geng Guoye, suddenly spoke up. "Is it called the Flying Tortoise Group?"

"That's right, Senior Martial Brother Geng. I am part of the Flying Shell Performance Group," Zhao Yunxiao answered.

"Flying Shell or Flying Tortoise, that doesn't matter," Geng Guoye narrowed his eyes at Zhao Yunxiao. "But since that is the case, rather than trying to be a guide, why don't you just stick to your role and perform for everyone instead?"