Chapter 637 - 638: Every Word of My Praise Is Sincere
Xie Lingyu was not wrong when she said her skill was average. She was roughly at the level of being able to play through a piece by following a tutorial.
As for the deeper matter of infusing emotion into the music, that was truly nowhere to be found.
Chu Xingchen’s own understanding of music was not particularly profound either. As long as it made sound and did not sound like grinding a millstone, it counted as pleasant.
Especially when it was Xie Lingyu playing. Not to mention that her playing was perfectly normal, even if it truly sounded like sawing wood, Chu Xingchen would still praise her without hesitation. Sawing wood would still sound better than anyone else’s playing.
Everyone in the courtyard right now was family, and Cui Hao was famously the best at playing along.
Xie Lingyu did not play a complete piece. She only finished a single turning phrase before stopping.
"Truly worthy of being our Dao Companion! That was heavenly music made manifest!"
Cui Hao was the first to clap, his face wearing an expression of rapturous delight.
Xie Lingyu glanced at him slightly. "Your master once told me that praise taken too far is an insult."
"Uh..." Cui Hao shot an awkward look toward his master, using the sect’s secret technique of speaking with his eyes. Master, why do you teach Dao Companion everything?
Chu Xingchen raised an eyebrow. Your Dao Companion is self-taught.
Cui Hao raised an eyebrow in return. Master is going to have a hard time in the future.
Chu Xingchen’s lips curved into a smile. Your Dao Companion would never treat me like that.
Xie Lingyu could probably tell what the master and disciple were communicating, but words left unspoken were not evidence.
Lin Luoyu’s expression relaxed somewhat, and a smile naturally appeared on her face.
Her own sect. Everything about it was good.
Everyone was good.
Eastern Divine Continent.
Because Chen Baiqing had reported false information to Daoist Yuyang, she was essentially excluded from any tasks requiring command authority going forward. After all, there were truly critical missions at hand, and time was precious beyond measure. There was no room for any doubt.
Li Xingtian was being examined to see if his sea of consciousness had suffered any damage, and if so, whether it could be remedied.
Naturally, the outward story was that Li Xingtian was researching whether blood-path energy could be purified.
To outsiders, this sounded rather absurd. But to those within the sect, they would naturally put on an expression of understanding and approval.
At the very least, Li Yingling found it believable.
Lin Luoyu needed to go to Daoist Yuyang to convey the true arrangements, while Cui Hao needed to stay with Xie Lingyu and handle matters where she was slightly lacking.
The arrangements Chu Xingchen had made were indeed thoroughly sensible.
Yun Li was a pure cultivation maniac, as if some urgent matter were always chasing after her.
So Li Yingling could only bring Zhang Miaoyu, the sect’s sole outer sect elder, to do the work.
Although Zhang Miaoyu had been at Tianyan Sect for quite a while now, she had mostly been cultivating at Loving Family Peak and teaching the outer disciple Zhou Ping to cultivate.
It was basically no different from being at the sect on Wanhua Ridge.
Everyone she interacted with was familiar, and when she went out occasionally, she tagged along with Li Yingling.
It was only when Zhang Miaoyu stood at Li Yingling’s side, facing the proud geniuses of the Eighteen Immortal Sects who once would not have deigned to even glance at her, that she felt less nervous and self-conscious.
In the past, the moment these Eighteen Immortal Sect geniuses revealed their status, groups of casual cultivators like her could only step aside and make way.
The gap in status might have been erased by now, but the long-held sense of inferiority in her heart still surfaced in unguarded moments.
After all, it was only after truly interacting with them once or twice that one realized just how extraordinary these Eighteen Immortal Sect genius disciples truly were.
Zhang Miaoyu was quite certain that she could not even beat the Golden Core cultivator who guarded the gate at Tianyan Sect.
This mission Li Yingling had brought her on was no longer the ragtag group muddling through together as before. It was a grand operation planned by countless geniuses and brilliant cultivators from a top-tier sect.
This was Zhang Miaoyu’s first time participating in something at this level.
Unlike Li Yingling’s calm ease, Zhang Miaoyu was genuinely nervous.
Ever since the Western Niu Continent incident, although the demons’ traces had been hidden extremely well, some leads had been found, with demons fleeing eastward toward the Eastern Divine Continent.
Li Yingling was responsible for oversight and search operations, as well as necessary support and the somewhat tedious work of collecting and organizing intelligence.
The key point for this kind of support work was that it had to be entrusted to the most trusted of the trusted to be reassuring.
Xuanqing Heavenly Sect and Tianyan Sect had confirmed there was no problem, so the personnel here were composed of members from those two sects.
Zhang Miaoyu had also heard that a legendary Tribulation Transcendence great cultivator was participating in this operation.
Because Li Yingling’s group operated under near-total secrecy, their lodging had the feel of being deep in some remote mountain forest.
But unlike Zhang Miaoyu’s tension and unease, Li Yingling remained as ever. Or rather, she was even somewhat leisurely.
In a slightly rundown room, Li Yingling held a message jade in one hand, her gaze sweeping over the continuously arriving reports.
Fortunately, Zhang Miaoyu mostly assisted, and when it came to assisting Li Yingling, she was extremely skilled.
The only thing she was not skilled at was conveying Li Yingling’s orders to these immortal sect disciples.
Zhang Miaoyu had never delivered orders to people whose cultivation was so far above her own.
But fortunately, it was not difficult. Or rather, it was extremely simple.
Those Eighteen Immortal Sect disciples were simply too perfect. Unlike the ragtag groups of the past, where a single order had to be explained repeatedly while being questioned as to why it was given, they did not look down on Zhang Miaoyu despite her far lower cultivation.
These true immortal sect disciples, after receiving their missions, rarely asked any questions at all. The rest simply took their orders and carried them out.
They did not ask the reason. They did not ask why. They did not ask the purpose. They simply completed the orders placed in their hands.
And they were extremely efficient. So efficient that Zhang Miaoyu could not help but wonder. Did they actually do the work, or were they just saying they would?
The reports they sent back were also extremely concise and efficient.
One glance was enough to understand the situation.
This feeling was so smooth it was almost infuriating.
It even gave Zhang Miaoyu a certain sensation. Being useless herself was probably fine. As long as she could talk and convey Li Yingling’s orders without leaving out any words, that was enough.
Li Yingling held a jade message containing important information in one hand while popping a small sweet into her mouth with the other. Her voice was slightly muffled as she spoke.
"Miaoyu."
Zhang Miaoyu was organizing reports when she heard the call. She immediately looked up and responded, "Team leader, I am here."
"Any news back from Western Niu Continent?" Li Yingling asked in a relaxed tone.
Zhang Miaoyu immediately searched through the messages with her divine sense and quickly replied, "Team leader, nothing yet. Should I send someone to investigate and inquire?"
"That is not necessary." Li Yingling put away the jade message and lazily stretched. "After all, Master is on the Eastern Divine Continent..."
After finishing her stretch, Li Yingling slowly continued, "With Master here, there probably will not be any difficult problems."
Zhang Miaoyu nodded.
Li Yingling looked at Zhang Miaoyu, whose expression was still tense, and said with a light smile, "It is always more relaxing working with you as my partner. You are doing very well."
Zhang Miaoyu was stunned. Then, somewhat uncertainly, she asked in a small voice, "Team leader, are you being serious?"
Li Yingling smiled and raised an eyebrow. "Every word of my praise is sincere."
Zhang Miaoyu did not know why, but she felt an overwhelming surge of emotion in her heart.
[
Dear Readers,
I post multiple high-quality, human-polished Chapters every day. If you enjoy the story, consider supporting the release schedule to unlock massive advanced Chapter buffers!
Support Options:
$6 — Read 20+ Chapters Ahead (High-speed daily updates!)
$8 — Read 40+ Chapters Ahead + Exclusive Character Images
$10 — Read 60+ Chapters Ahead + Character Images + Patreon Community Chat
(Note: These Chapter counts are guaranteed minimums. Because of my rapid update schedule, you will often get even more!)
⚠️ Apple Users: Please subscribe via your web browser (Safari/Chrome) instead of the Patreon App to avoid a 30% fee and massive payment delays.
Thank you for reading and keeping these daily releases going!
Support Here: patreon.com/Alex_Cruise
]