Little Spring picked up Xiao Bai. He sent an exasperated look at the puppy and I could have sworn he said, ‘You’re as bad as my older martial sister,’ but that couldn’t be right. I was obviously significantly better than Xiao Bai. At least, when it came to assessing danger. However, if we were talking about adorableness, the white puppy was obviously king. He even had the kid beat.

The first knocked-down ape slowly started to get up by pushing against the stone floor. Little Spring jumped onto its shoulders and slammed the hilt of his sword into the back of its head. The ape let out one last belch of fire, which bounced back into its face, right before it passed out.

I winced. Poor ape probably didn’t have any hair on its face anymore.

The other beast had stood up while Little Spring took out its buddy. Once it witnessed the kid’s skill, tears gathered at the corners of its eyes as if it realized that it couldn’t beat him. Also, that charging at him was a bad idea. It circled around into a flanking position with its master.

Li Huo thrust his flaming spear toward the kid’s chest. Little Spring blocked it with his sword while keeping Xiao Bai behind him. The power of the attack sent him back several feet. However, that had less to do with strength and more to do with the slippery substances coating the floor, which the spear’s fire was quickly drying out.

The ape behind him made a grab at Xiao Bai, but the dog growled at it.

With its eyes wide and limbs stiff, the fire ape jerked backward.

I chuckled and leaned toward Gold String Delicate Touch. “What a weak beast. Scared of a mundane puppy.”

He nodded. “Agreed.”

Little Spring seemed to stumble to block another spear thrust while waving his sword awkwardly. His staggering movements left a trail of sword Qi in the shape of a lotus flower.

This brat was too damn smart. How did he come up with this? While this did absolutely nothing to empower the sword Qi, it did have a very cool effect worthy of an ultimate technique of a rogue cultivator. It was also a great way to hide our origins.

Still, a simple ten cuts would be more powerful.

Once the kid was done drawing the small lotus, he slashed at it. It zipped toward Li Huo while increasing to the size of a man. The muscular guy must have been terrified of the attack and unable to dodge since he pulled out another, much weaker ape and used it as a shield. As soon as the sword Qi hit it, the beast died instantly.

Fuck! Was this asshole evil? Who did shit like that?

Little Spring glared at the larger man with his brow furrowed.

Even the Ape behind Little Spring opened its mouth in shock.

Li Huo screamed at Little Spring, as if the asshole had the right to be offended after what he’d just done to his own spirit beast. Then he sent a series of flaming slashes toward his face, forming a flaming ape with his movements.

The kid took this seriously because he stepped forward, took out two talismans, and used them to block the attack. Then he darted toward the muscular guy.

Li Huo thrust his spear forward. At the last moment, Little Spring stumbled to the side, then used the momentum of his awkward dodge to kick up. He struck the man’s chin, causing him to fall backward and crack his skull on the stone.

I thought he would get up again but, apparently, the kid’s awkward-looking kick had been so strong it had knocked the guy out.

His body cultivation, once again, proved its worth.

The last ape, thoroughly terrified at this point, sat on the ground and raised its arms up in the surrender pose.

The crowd cheered.

Xiao Bai wagged his tail and licked Little Spring’s face.

The kid grinned at his puppy and hugged him tighter.

Of course, this all just made me realize that I really should give him more advanced techniques. I’d been so focused on teaching him how to fight with a sword and craft cool shit that I’d forgotten to teach him things like Star Edged Dragon technique, or the Explosive Wolf technique. The last one being a prerequisite for the Puppies and Pineapples technique that I wanted to forget even existed.

Maybe I should start by introducing him to the Starfield Shield. It took some time to complete, so it wasn’t good to use last second, but if prepared in advance, it could even block a single Golden Core’s strike.

The judge of the event stepped forward and crossed his arms over his chest. “Welcome to the Irrepressible Beast Blood Sect! What’s your name?”

The kid bowed. “This one is, Tamer Verdant Spring.”

The judge grinned. “Out of everyone here, you tried your hardest to keep the fire apes alive. Having respect for all beasts is an important aspect of our cultivation techniques. You can’t become a Beast Blood Contractor without it.”

The hell? Then why the bullshit with… Oh! This was a test. If the winner had disregarded the lives of the beasts in order to win, then they’d have a reason to kick them out.

Still, this seemed a little too kind for an unorthodox sect. Hell, even some righteous sects weren’t known for being respectful towards their spirit beasts. But I wouldn’t trust this unorthodox sect to hold true to this stance until I saw them for myself.

Little Spring secretly kicked Li Huo’s head before saying, “I agree, Senior. Only idiot tamers would use their beasts as if their lives were worth a fraction of their own.”

The judge smiled widely. “Welcome to the Irrepressible Beast Blood Sect, Contractor Verdant Spring.”

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As I watched Little Spring walk over to where the judges were standing, I couldn’t help thinking that a Xianxia could never be complete without a ‘Main Character infiltrates Rival Sect’ arc.

::Good job,:: I said to the kid.

While he didn’t turn to me, I saw a smile cross his face.

***

After some outer sect disciples finished cleaning up the small arena, a Golden Core demonic musician stepped onto the stone floor. She wore elegant flower hair pins and beautiful rose-patterned robes in red and gold. The way she held herself told me that she was a confident master, but her smile didn’t reach her eyes.

image [https://i.imgur.com/QWCo2Pq.jpeg]

[https://i.imgur.com/QWCo2Pq]

“Those of you who wish to become demonic musicians step forward.” She had a musical voice that reverberated strongly through the arena.

By this point, the crowd had thinned significantly, but there were still a few people left who wanted to watch the fun.

Only four people, including myself and Musician Gold String Delicate Touch, flew over and landed in front of the judge.

“So few,” the judge commented. She shook her head. “Hopefully, at least one of you is good enough to become a disciple in our sect. We need more good demonic musicians.”

My guess was that, even if the sect was in decline, they didn’t compromise on whatever each department was looking for. It seemed like the demonic musician department always lacked bodies and was recruiting heavily today. That didn’t mean it would be easy to get in.

In fact, my skills in this area might not be what they’re looking for. I’d have to try my best.

“I’m Pearlescent Rose, your judge today.” She pointed to a male cultivator on the opposite side of the line I stood in. “You first. What’s your name?”

“This one is Azure Serenade, Senior,” the young man in blue robes said.

“Alright, pretend that I have a rage hidden deep inside me. It’s so great that it’s starting to affect my cultivation. Play me something that irritates it and makes me want to kill you, but prevents me from doing so.”

“Does it have to be spiritual, or can it be mundane?”

She frowned at him, a vein bulged on her forehead. “What do you think?”

He nodded, pulled out a blue jade flute, and started playing something sharp and arrhythmic in a disgusting way that really did make me want to kill him to get him to stop.

Fairy Pearlescent grabbed his flute and crushed it with her spiritual energy. “You think you’re so smart, do you?”

He looked devastated. “You didn’t say anything about it being good.”

“You should have realized that I wouldn’t want something that hurt my ears.” With a wave of her sleeve, he was sent flying toward the edge of the arena. He landed on his face. Once he stood up, showing that he wasn’t injured, she turned to us and glared. “Don’t make the same mistake as him.”

She pointed to Gold String Delicate Touch. “I’m irritated. Play something that soothes my soul.”

He nodded and brought out a gold zither spiritual tool from the storage bag on his hip. Since he wasn’t in a fight, he’d set it up on a stand. Then he rested his long fingers against the strings. His eyes closed for a moment, then he started to play.

Instead of beginning with a calming note progression, he chose something beautiful, but fast-paced that echoed and acknowledged the judge’s irritation. It was also fun. Then the melody shifted. It became enlightened in an almost grand way before turning into a soft, happy, and calming song.

This was a song I’d never heard before. Frankly, I was positive he’d made it up on the spot.

Fuck. I wasn’t sure I could do that. This guy was a true musician and composer. He was not someone who dabbled with the Four Arts like I did.

I wanted him for my band. No, I needed him to learn rock. Of course, I wouldn’t force anyone to learn it. Rock was the music of rebels, those who questioned society or The Man, and those who wanted to feel deep human emotions. It wasn’t a genre that anyone who didn’t like it should be forced to play. That would go against everything Rock stood for.

Of course, the genre was so new that people needed to be exposed to it first before they could know if they enjoyed it.

The judge smiled delicately. “I apologize. I forgot to ask for your name.”

“This one is, Gold String Delicate Touch.”

“It suits you.” She gestured to where Little Spring stood. “Welcome to the Irrepressible Beast Blood Sect.”

His bottom lip trembled, and he nodded. “Thank you.” He walked over to the side as if he were walking on air.

::Congratulations.:: I sent to him.

Our eyes met. ::Good luck Fairy Linlin! I’m looking forward to your performance.::

I smirked. ::Pay close attention. It will be something you’ve never heard before.::

Pearlescent Rose pointed to the girl beside me. “What’s your name?”

She lifted her chin arrogantly and said, “Treasured Morning Dew.”

The judge chuckled knowingly and placed her hands behind her back like a master. “Oh, I’ve heard of you. And where you used to work. The rumors say that you were very popular.”

She blushed but smiled confidently. “There are rumors that the Irrepressible Beast Blood Sect doesn’t care about its disciples’ backgrounds.”

Pearlescent Rose grinned and her amusement reached her eyes. “We don’t. Not unless you’re a demonic cultivator. Then we’ll just kill you here.” She paused and pulled out a fan to cool herself down. After pausing to think, she closed it and pointed to the girl. “I’m not interested in women, but can you still make me want to seduce you, even for a moment?”

Treasured Morning Dew smiled. “You’re making this too easy.”

“I’d say it’s entirely too hard.”

“Then give me a handicap and don’t look at me. Only listen to my music and voice.”

Pearlescent Rose stared at the girl as if weighing her, then smiled before turning around. “Fair enough.”

Oh, shit! This was gonna be fun.

Could the woman who probably sold her skills and not her body seduce the judge who wasn’t interested, with just her spiritual melody?

If I was talking in generalities, the sexuality of women tended to be more fluid. So this wasn’t entirely impossible — especially considering this was spiritual music and if it only needed to be for a brief moment.

Where was a bag of melon seeds when I needed one?

Treasured Morning Dew brought out her black zither and rested her pale, delicate fingers against it. Slowly she plucked a string, then another. Her voice echoed through the arena like a beautiful bird’s song, longing to be with its lover.

She was playing a classic romantic spiritual song that, if I remember correctly, many women in this era absolutely loved. Actually, I’d seen a girl swoon over it in a teahouse once.

While Treasured Morning Dew played well, I didn’t really care for it myself. I’d much rather listen to that Delilah song. Or was it Hey There, Cthulhu? It had been so long that I couldn’t recall the original.

When the song finished, the judge sighed in appreciation. She turned around. “What an excellent performance. I can see why you were so popular.”

Treasured Morning Dew smiled and winked.

The judge grimaced and pointed her fan at her. “That said, I didn’t feel like trying to seduce you.”

Her eyes opened wide, and she grabbed onto Pearlescent Rose’s sleeve with both hands.

“Give me another chance! I know I can get it right.”

She shook her head. “I’m looking for something in particular. Even if you hadn’t succeeded, I would have been able to tell if you had it. While you’re good, you won’t succeed at becoming a demonic musician.”

Treasured Morning Dew’s face turned red.

The judge patted her hands, then leaned in. I could just barely make out what she said. “You should hide your past and enter the Harmonious Sound Sect. They’ll definitely take you in. Your playing style would work with their strict techniques.”

She swallowed, and her eyes sparkled. “Thank you, Senior Pearlescent Rose.”

Then she walked to the side of the arena floor where Azure Serenade waited.

The judge’s dark eyes turned to me.

I grinned. “Greetings, Senior. I’m Fairy Linlin. And after listening to my rock music, your life will never be the same.”

She blinked and a slow smile appeared on her face. “Interesting. So, can your ‘rock music’ take a rage hidden deep within a cultivator’s heart and ease it?”

I pulled out my battle guitar with a grin and played a power chord that echoed through the arena. “Actually, that’s its specialty.”

She pointed her fan toward my instrument. “Then play for me.”