Meeting.

"Oh my god, don't startle me like that!!!" Alex exclaimed as he stared at the purple-haired girl standing before him.

It was none other than Yuanzi Fengying.

"Teacher, I've been waiting here for a day," she said, giggling like a child while kneeling on one knee.

"Alright, you can stand up," Alex extended his hand to help her.

"Thank you, Teacher."

"Why did you come here, and how did you manage to get in?" Alex asked curiously.

"Well... as you instructed, Teacher, I told people outside that I was your servant. But when they didn't recognize 'Servant Disciple Zhi Li,' they needed to verify. Turns out, there was no disciple by that name among the servant disciples. I almost got kicked out of the sect. Then, a black-haired inner disciple appeared. I didn't know who he was, but the guards immediately became respectful and led me here. He smiled at me and said that Zhi Li had become an inner disciple. The guards even apologized to me," Fengying explained.

"Intriguing. Do you know his name?" Alex was surprised. He didn't have many friends here apart from Chang Li, so he wondered why someone would help his servant.

"Ah... I forgot to ask. How silly of me," Fengying sulked, realizing she hadn't inquired about his name.

Alex smiled and said, "It's alright. It doesn't matter. Now go outside. I'm going to change into some clothes."

"Yes, Teacher!" Fengying scampered away toward the building.

Alex retrieved his clothes and headed indoors.

--

Surveying the surroundings, Alex noticed everything was remarkably clean, almost shining. "What happened here?" he inquired of Fengying.

"Teacher, this place was quite dirty, so I decided to tidy up a bit. I hope you're not too upset," she said, her head bowed.

"Come on, lift your head. Why would I be upset? Thank you very much, Fengying." Alex settled onto a couch.

Fengying joined him, taking a seat on the couch as well.

"Sorry, I don't have any snacks. So, why did you come here?"

"Teacher, I've mastered the technique you taught me. I'd like to learn another one, please," Fengying said with delight, anticipation gleaming in her eyes.

"You what—cough, cough, cough..." Alex nearly choked on his water, looking at Fengying as if she were an entirely different species. He had taught her some made-up technique he thought was nonsense, but she had actually mastered it?

"Show me. Follow me somewhere, please," Alex motioned for her to come along.

"Wait, Teacher, we can go get some hor—"

BOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

Both of them were propelled into the sky.

"Teacher... did you break through to the Soul Awakening realm from Body Refining realm so quickly?" Fengying marveled.

"Yeah..." Alex responded absently as he walked toward the area where he had previously practiced the Mountain Shatter Fist.

"STOP! WHO ARE YOU? SHOW US YOUR BADGE!!!" a voice from below yelled at him.

Alex displayed his badge, and they nodded in approval.

--

They arrived at the open space where Alex had fought the Rhino Monster.

"Show me the technique," Alex requested.

Fengying nodded, producing a bamboo instrument from her storage ring. It was the same bamboo Alex had given her, but it now had holes like a flute.

"(She's using the same bamboo I gave her... holy Shit!!)" Alex was dumbfounded. If she had truly mastered a sound-based technique, he would have expected her to use a more appropriate instrument. Not the bamboo he had given her to keep her from bothering him.

Placing the bamboo in her mouth, Fengying blew into it gently.

Pzzzssst!!

Pzzzzsssstttt!!

Pzzzzsssttt!!!

A simple melody emanated, albeit a bit rough due to the unsuitable bamboo.

Despite that, Alex enjoyed the calming tune, which was soothing and could lull one to sleep.

Pzzzzttttt...

The melody abruptly stopped, replaced by...

PPPPPZZZZZTTTSSSHHHHTTTTT!!!

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

"SHIT!!!" Alex's eyes snapped open, and he grabbed Fengying's hand, ascending rapidly.

Looking down, he could see sweat forming on his forehead. A crater, spanning a radius of 3000 miles, had formed on the ground. It looked as though a meteorite had struck the planet.

"What the heck... Fengying, what's the technique called?" he asked without even looking at her.

"It—It—It's the Heavenly Sound Technique, Teacher. I...," Fengying's voice sounded tired.

Alex glanced at her pale face, shocked once again.

"What happened to you?"

"I wanted to... show Teacher my best... so I used almost all of my Qi..."

Alex was stunned. "(This attack is on par with the attack of a cultivator at the Soul Awakening Realm (Full Completion) level. It's a regular attack, but still, someone at the Body Refinement or even the Inner Qi realm shouldn't be capable of using it.)" He thought for a moment and then said, "Rest now. I'll take you back to the sect."

"Thank you, Teacher." Fengying drifted off to sleep almost instantly.

Alex returned to the sect with Fengying.

--

At the sect, he watched Fengying sleep.

"How the Fuck did she do that..." Alex muttered, standing up and picking up a bamboo flute.

"The melody represented Qi gathering within the bamboo. The final note resulted in an explosion of all that Qi. If she had continued gathering more Qi... she could have caused even more destruction... THE POTENTIAL OF THIS TECHNIQUE IS LIMITLESS..." Alex mused, utterly flabbergasted that the foolish technique he'd concocted could be so powerful.

"Is it because of her talent? She does possess the Heavenly Divination Physique..."

Alex gazed at the stars above, lost in thought.

He wanted to recreate the technique.

Pshhh...

Psshadhasha...

Pssssshhh...

The notes that flowed were enough to make any musician bow in shame.

"What is this? Seriously, I'm musically talented. I can play the bass guitar, saxophone, violin... like an absolute master. I can't believe I can't recreate these notes," Alex grumbled in frustration. He was skilled in playing instruments, but somehow he couldn't replicate these notes.

He tried again and again.

But still...

Pshhh...

Psshadhasha...

Pssssshhh...

Persisting, he refused to give up.

And about 10 minutes later, a voice echoed in his head.

"You're not doing it right..." The voice was ethereal, soothing like a breeze, yet warm like honey, calm as a placid lake.

"BHAAAGHHG!!!"

Startled, Alex dropped the handmade bamboo flute, his gaze fixated on a small lake that had appeared out of nowhere.

"WHAT THE FUCK??!!"

End of Chapter.