Ying Huanhuan and Ling Qingzhu's Meeting

Dao Peak.

A cloud-wreathed peak, exuding an ethereal Daoist charm, possesses a transcendent and detached immortal aura.

Today, however, outside the usually tranquil Dao Peak, there is a divine and noble crimson divine bird, trailing its long, fiery-red feathers, circling the Dao Peak. As the crimson divine bird gracefully dances, a sacred and auspicious aura envelops the Dao Peak.

As the divine bird soars, sacred and noble phoenix cries echo through the endless peaks and forests, yet within the phoenix cries, there is a faint, clear, and melodious zither sound.

On the small clearing atop the peak, a white, four-horned spirit deer lies beside the lake, sleeping with its eyes closed. Leaning against the spirit deer is a small, white-furred, red-armed ape, also sleeping quietly.

Not far away, beside a small table, sits a zither stand, upon which rests a fiery-red ancient zither. The zither is adorned with a pattern of a divine bird spreading its wings, appearing quite similar to the divine bird dancing outside Dao Peak.

At this moment, ten slender fingers are constantly plucking the five amber-colored strings of the zither. Seemingly chaotic, they subtly reveal a special charm. As the strings are continuously plucked, clear and melodious zither sounds emanate from the vibrating strings, causing one to unconsciously close their eyes and enjoy the music.

Ying Huanhuan looks at the young man sitting cross-legged before the fiery-red ancient zither, gazing at his inexplicably charming face, her eyes carrying a hint of astonishment.

Even Ying Huanhuan did not expect Lin Xuan's talent in the art of the zither to be so great. Or rather, in what area does this ice block not possess monstrous talent?

In just one short month, Lin Xuan not only mastered the basics of the zither but could even be said to have become proficient. And with this Heavenly Phoenix Zither in his hands, Ying Huanhuan feels as if it has completely come to life, as if it is not a Heavenly Phoenix Zither at all, but a living divine bird phoenix.

Back then, the young girl had spent a long time, with her father's help, to gain the Heavenly Phoenix Zither's recognition before she could even approach it. She practiced for so long, a full ten years, but was never able to truly gain the Heavenly Phoenix Zither's approval. Yet this guy came along and directly 'snatched' her Heavenly Phoenix Zither away.

Looking up at the Heavenly Phoenix Spirit soaring through the clouds, Ying Huanhuan recalls Lin Xuan's words that he was completely ignorant of the zither and had mediocre talent, and she scoffs.

What infuriates the girl even more is that she, in her naive innocence, actually believed his words. After all, this stinky guy's talent in swordsmanship was already world-shaking. It was only natural that his talent in the completely different art of the zither would be a little lacking. After all, the art of the zither is too niche, and those with talent in this area are even rarer.

"Chirp!"

Amidst a clear phoenix cry, the soaring divine bird descends from the clouds and plunges into the fiery-red ancient zither before the white-robed figure.

Lin Xuan gently strokes the strings, his eyes slowly opening, still carrying a hint of aftertaste. His decision was indeed correct. The art of the zither is exceptionally compatible with his swordsmanship, and the two complement each other.

Moreover, perhaps because of the Vermilion Bird bloodline within him, this Heavenly Phoenix Zither is also extremely compatible with Lin Xuan. There seems to be a special connection between the two. Whenever he plays, Lin Xuan, although not using any power, subtly exudes a Daoist charm that permeates the zither music.

"Not bad, as expected of someone taught by this young lady. Your talent, well, it's barely passable. Your zither skills can be considered to have entered the basics, but! There is one major problem with your playing!"

After Lin Xuan finishes, the girl, who has changed into a lithe, azure-colored long dress, puts her hands behind her back and nods in a pretentious manner, evaluating him. As she speaks, her tone suddenly becomes much heavier, and even her expression turns serious.

This causes Ying Xiaoxiao, who had arrived early but quietly listened to a piece of the zither music, to suppress a smile on her face. However, to Ying Xiaoxiao's surprise, Lin Xuan actually believes the little girl's obvious bluff.

Ying Xiaoxiao watches as Lin Xuan stands up and earnestly clasps his hands in a fist salute to the pretentious girl in azure.

"Please enlighten me, Miss Huanhuan!"

"Hmm, not bad attitude, but attitude alone is not enough. Playing the zither is actually refining the heart. The zither is emotion. Are you made of ice? Can't you even smile?"

Ying Huanhuan says pretentiously. In reality, how would she know any of this? It's all based on what her mother taught her, what she saw in some ancient books, and then improvised on the spot.

More than anything, the girl just feels that this guy is too boring because he doesn't smile all day, so she just wants to make him smile more.

"Lin Xuan is a person, so naturally he can smile. However, if there is nothing to be happy about, why should he smile?"

Lin Xuan isn't really made of ice, nor is he made of swords. Practicing the sword doesn't mean that his whole person has become a sword.

However, practicing the sword requires focus and seriousness, so after practicing for a long time, his personality has also become focused and serious because of the sword. His perception of the outside world is relatively less obvious.

Especially at Lin Xuan's level, he has gradually developed a feeling of not being happy with external gains and not being sad with personal losses. Therefore, unless it is something that can truly touch him from the bottom of his heart, he basically won't have too many expressions.

And as a transmigrator, although Lin Xuan can't remember everyone's affairs, he is very clear about many things in his heart, so his emotional fluctuations are even smaller.

However, after hearing Ying Huanhuan's guidance, Lin Xuan's heart was somewhat touched.

Especially the sentence, "The zither is emotion! Practicing the zither is refining the heart."

The Ice Master before Reincarnation Realm was, as Ying Huanhuan said, a strong woman like an ice block. Therefore, Ying Huanhuan after Reincarnation Realm is so lively and agile. One suppressed all emotions in the deepest part, and the other expressed all of them.

Practicing the zither is indeed refining the heart!

Thinking of this, Lin Xuan subconsciously closed his eyes slightly, and a special wave gradually released from Lin Xuan's body. After a while, Lin Xuan opened his eyes, and there seemed to be a mysterious light flashing in his eyes. Then, he cupped his fist at Ying Huanhuan and said.

"Thank you for your guidance, Miss Huanhuan, Lin Xuan is grateful!"

Compared to before, his face seemed to be more sincere and vivid. Although he still looked a little dull, Ying Huanhuan nodded with satisfaction, pretending to be profound and unpredictable, and slightly lowered her head.

"Well, not bad, not bad, your comprehension is comparable to this young lady's. Work hard in the future, and catching up with this young lady is only a matter of time!"

"Cough cough!"

Looking at the girl's happy and complacent expression, Ying Xiaoxiao couldn't help but cough twice, indicating her presence. After seeing Ying Huanhuan looking over, she glared at the giggling girl, and then said to Lin Xuan with a serious face.

"Eldest Brother, the Taiqing Palace Master and Miss Ling are already in the main hall. The Sect Leader sent me to invite Eldest Brother over."

"Well, let's go then!"

Lin Xuan said, putting away the Heavenly Phoenix Zither in front of him, and walked towards the Dao Sect main hall. Behind him, Ying Huanhuan walked side by side with her sister Ying Xiaoxiao, and from time to time, waves of Origin Power fluctuations were emitted, as if they were saying something through voice transmission.

In the main hall, Ying Xuanzi and the Taiqing Palace Master sat opposite each other, and the uppermost position was vacant. In the seat below the Taiqing Palace Master, Ling Qingzhu, dressed in a plain long dress, sat quietly.

Ying Xuanzi looked at Ling Qingzhu in front of him, and his pupils couldn't help shrinking. Only a few months had passed since the last competition with Ying Xiaoxiao, but he felt that Ling Qingzhu's aura seemed to be even more mysterious and unpredictable.

"It's only been a few months since we last met, and my niece's strength has improved so much. It's really a case of a great master producing a brilliant disciple!"

"Sect Leader Ying is too kind. Compared with your sect's Sword Saint, Qingzhu is just mediocre!"

Ling Qingzhu's answer made the Taiqing Palace Master sigh again in her heart, but her face was still smiling, and she politely responded.

"Sect Leader Ying is too polite. Although Qingzhu has good talent, Sect Leader Ying's two beloved daughters have even more outstanding talents, and their future achievements will definitely not be low!"

"Palace Master is too kind. Xiaoxiao's talent is not as good as my niece's. As for Huanhuan, that girl is too playful. However, everything depends on fate!"

Ying Xuanzi, who was originally smiling, couldn't help but fluctuate his eyes when he mentioned Ying Huanhuan, which made Ling Qingzhu's eyes move slightly.

Just then, three figures also appeared at the entrance of the main hall, causing Ling Qingzhu to turn her head and look over.

Just after stepping into the main hall, Lin Xuan first cupped his fists at Ying Xuanzi, and then very seriously saluted the Taiqing Palace Master.

"Greetings, Palace Master, Lin Xuan will always remember your kindness in teaching the Dao and lending a helping hand in the past!"

"It's good that the Sword Saint has this heart. Moreover, this Palace was just doing it casually at the beginning. Everything is due to the Sword Saint's own excellent comprehension, so that he was able to learn the Supreme Induction Sutra."

The Taiqing Palace Master's face also showed a bit of a smile when she heard this. It has to be said that Lin Xuan's talent is really something that anyone who sees it will can't help but sigh. Even, the Taiqing Palace Master had a special sense of relief in her heart that Lin Xuan was able to learn the Supreme Induction Sutra.

However, Ying Huanhuan, who followed Lin Xuan into the hall, focused her eyes on Ling Qingzhu for the first time, and there was even a hint of inexplicable hostility in her eyes.

Some time ago, the rumors about the peerless evildoer Sword Saint and the Taiqing Palace's Young Palace Master, the aloof fairy Ling Qingzhu, were raging, especially on the Hundred Dynasty Mountain, where the Taiqing Palace Master always strongly supported the Dao Sect side with the Sword Saint joining, which made this voice even louder.

And now, Ling Qingzhu actually came with the Taiqing Palace Master to discuss such important matters, and it was Lin Xuan who took the initiative to say that he wanted her to come together, which had to make people think too much.

After all, Ying Huanhuan had never seen that guy pay attention to anyone, at least, he had never mentioned her name proactively anywhere else.

As Ying Huanhuan looked at Ling Qingzhu, Ling Qingzhu also turned her head to look at Ying Huanhuan at the first moment, her eyes also seeming to carry a hint of probing.

Ying Huanhuan was very curious about just how different this woman, who could make that stinky guy mention her proactively, was. At the same time, Ling Qingzhu was also curious about just how unique this girl, who could make that always indifferent guy take the initiative to save her, was.

In fact, the two women had met once before, but there wasn't much to it. At most, Ying Huanhuan had some hostility towards Ling Qingzhu because her sister had been defeated by her.

But it would never be like today, not only with great hostility, but even wanting to understand the other completely, as if trying to understand an opponent.

The two gazes met in the air, and faintly, there seemed to be some light flashing, causing Ying Xiaoxiao on the side to smile wryly. She knew that with this girl's concern for Lin Xuan, this situation would definitely occur when she saw Ling Qingzhu.

Just as Ying Xiaoxiao was thinking about how to pull Ying Huanhuan away, Lin Xuan, who was standing in front, after paying his respects to the Taiqing Palace Master, also turned his gaze to Ling Qingzhu. Lin Xuan, who originally only intended to nod as a greeting, suddenly remembered what Ying Huanhuan had said before. After a pause, he spoke with an awkward and unnatural feeling.

"Miss Ling, it's been several years, hope you have been well!"

As soon as Lin Xuan's words fell, Ying Xiaoxiao, who was standing behind, couldn't help but feel a thump in her heart. She quickly looked at Ying Huanhuan next to her, only to see that the girl's face had turned slightly cold. Immediately afterward, she barely squeezed out a lost smile on her face, which made Ying Xiaoxiao feel very sorry for her.

After hearing Lin Xuan's words, Ling Qingzhu shifted her attention from Ying Huanhuan, who seemed no different from others, and looked at Lin Xuan with some surprise, quite astonished.

"I didn't expect that after several years, Young Master Lin Xuan has become even more polite."

Ling Qingzhu really didn't expect that Lin Xuan, with his even colder temperament than hers, would actually take the initiative to greet her. Moreover, she also noticed that the expression on Lin Xuan's face seemed to be a bit more vivid than before.

"Lin Xuan is dull, it's just that Huanhuan is a good teacher!"

Listening to that calm voice, the corners of the girl's mouth couldn't help but rise into a cheerful arc, and Ling Qingzhu's gaze once again fell on Ying Huanhuan, and she couldn't help but size her up again.

Ling Qingzhu didn't believe that someone like Lin Xuan would have any romantic feelings, but the way Ying Huanhuan looked at him made her couldn't help but feel a little doubtful.

Facing Ling Qingzhu's gaze, Ying Huanhuan returned the look without showing any weakness, and even with a bit of smugness on her face, as if she was showing off her victory.

Ying Xuanzi and the Taiqing Palace Master, who were sitting above, saw the actions of Ling Qingzhu and Ying Huanhuan in their eyes, couldn't help but sigh in their hearts. After looking at each other, they both saw a hint of helplessness in each other's eyes, and shook their heads slightly, seeming to have a sighing action.