A Dance With The Night's Sky...

"Uh...what?"

Yan Shun tilted his head, clearly confused...

He didn't do anything...so...

How did her affection go up?

"Well..." Suddenly, his perplexed face turned into a grin...

"Now... I have another 'target' to get rewards from~!"

"Claim the rewards!"

[Ding~~! Claiming special rewards from the target 'Wan Meixiang!]

[Congratulations!

You have received...

High-Grade Zither Talent!

High-Grade Zither Comprehension!

The Divine Zither - Sinister Serenade!

Bone Marrow Reconstruction Pill!]

"Zither...?" Yan Shun was perplexed...

But, then he remembered that his Junior Sister likes to play the Zither...

So, it made sense for him to receive Zither-Related rewards...

And, he also had an idea for the Zither...

Only Gu Youwei knows about his Sword Talent...

So, he could use the Zither as a weapon to cover him!

The reason?

He actually never tried to use the Zither...

So, there was no way for people to know about his talent in the Zither Section!

"Right...that should work... I'll take this Bone Marrow Pill now... it should be able to temper all my bones..."

"Then I finished the first step in body tempering!"

Then, Yan Shun brought the pill into his mouth, and swallowed it!

At that moment, Yan Shun felt as if tiny ants were creeping beneath his skin, an unusual sensation considering it was meant to be strengthening his bones.

But then, a sharp sound pierced the air...

—Crack!

A bone gave way.

—Crack!

Followed by another.

—Crack!

And yet another...

The relentless cycle continued...

The discomfort persisted for hours on end until suddenly, it ceased.

Yan Shun now stretched out on the ground, experienced an uncanny sensation.

New bones were taking form within him.

—Crack!

But this time, the sounds were not breaking...

The bones were settling into their new places, growing with purpose.

After an arduous four hours...

It was finished.

—Thud!

Exhausted, Yan Shun lay sprawled on the ground, his body drenched in sweat.

His cheeks bore a rosy flush, and yet, paradoxically...

He felt better than he had ever felt before.

"Status..."

[Status Window—

Host: Yan Shun (21)

Identity: Divine Sword Peak, Eldest Disciple.

Cultivation: Qi Gathering (1st-Layer)

Cultivation Technique: Basic Qi Method

Special Physique: Heavenly Fragrance Charm Body

Bloodline: N/A

Talents: Top-Notch Sword Aptitude (Simplified: Comprehension+Talent)

— High-Grade Zither Aptitude

— Medium-Grade Body Aptitude

Martial Arts: Clear Sky Sword Art (Peak Spirit Grade), Mountain Breaking Palm (Low Spirit Grade)

Battle Prowess: 2.9 Times Stronger Than Average.]

"Ugh...Body Tempering is the worst...! Yet, at least I've finally reached the Qi Gathering realm..."

"Now... I can actually absorb Qi... And, I can finally test my attribute!"

"I'm quite curious...although, my cultivation talent is indeed mediocre... What kind of innate attribute do I have?"

Thinking about it...Yan Shun decided to test something...

"System...Check Body Refining Progress..."

'Is it gonna work...?'

[Body Refining—

Bone Tempering (100%)

Skin and Muscle Tempering (0%)

Blood Tempering (0%)

Marrow Cleansing (100%)

Internal Organs Tempering (0%)

Heart and Brain Crystallization (29%)

Meridians Cleansing (1%)

Final - Body Reconstruction (0%)

Disclaimer: Once all of those phases are achieved, the host will receive the Random Divine Body as a Special Reward!]

"What!? Isn't this system the best!?"

Yan Shun exclaimed happily.

Especially, when he saw the "Disclaimer", he was full of excitement to temper his whole body!

However...there was always something perturbing him...

What if...the system disappeared?

What would happen to him?

Would he lose everything he had gotten?

Thinking about this...he sighed...

"I should...rely more on myself..." Yan Shun said...

He looked at the starry night sky...

And looking at this...

Dark sky full of stars...

Made him remember that technique...

Exalted Demon God Body Tempering Art...

It was a gradeless art...

It was also said that it could temper the human cells...

Something that doesn't exist in Body Refining...

If one managed to temper all the human cells...

He would indeed have the strongest foundation...

"Haaa... I should prepare for tomorrow...or for a few hours..."

"I don't want 'that guy' to enter the Divine Sword Peak!"

As Yan Shun rolled his body...

"Agh... What is this...?"

Suddenly, he rolled into a deep black book, and once again he checked the title of that book...

"Exalted Demon God Body Tempering Art... What the fuck is this doing here!?"

"Disappear!"

At the moment Yan Shun said those words, the book really disappeared...

And curiously...

"D...don't tell me..."

He swallowed hard...

"Book...appear!"

And then...

The book really appeared in front of him...

Like it was really connected to him somehow!

"...What the fuck is this!?"

Yan Shun was speechless!

"Disappear..."

"At least...nobody can see this even if they wanted to, right?"

Sigh...

"If I really needed it...I might as well keep it and use it..."

With that being said...

Yan Shun started practicing the Zither...

It would be his 'main' weapon...

The Zither...has also realms...just like the Sword...

But...usually...

Only a few people have really what it needs to get a Zither Intent...

It's not like the Sword...

You really need to have something... like a "Zither Heart"...

To actually get the Zither Intent...

Except...that Zither Intent only has three phases!

Earth, Sky, Divine!

Each one is divided into 4 stages, early, middle, late, and peak!

But, even an Earth-Grade Zither Intent...is also extremely rare!

Almost no one, at least, in this era, doesn't even have enough talent for it!

Even his Junior Sister, who also practices Zither, doesn't have a Zither Intent!

And even the Zither Fairy, which, is actually one of the Seven Divine Fairies...

Mentioned that his Junior Sister Zither Talent was extremely rare!

His Junior Sister has been practicing Zither for more than 7 years!

That's how rare it actually is!

"High-Grade Talent...huh? I can't compare the System with the world...but it should also be pretty rare...right?"

—Plink!

—Zinggg!

Slowly...Yan Shun brought out his Divine Zither...

And started practicing...

His fingers automatically ended up going with the flow...

As if he was actually one with the Zither...

And that's when he understood...

Maybe, he does have a "Zither Heart"...

It's just not explored yet!

Slowly, but surely, he pushed each string...

And started creating his own melody...

He didn't even finish it...

But, a name had already appeared in his mind..

A Dance With The Night's Sky.

—

—

—

As Yan Shun opened his eyes, a phrase came out of his mouth.

"Today...is going to be the worst..."

His eyes flashed with a mixture of rage and...

Excitement!

Although he didn't comprehend a Zither Intent...

He didn't care!

After all, he knew that he would get a Zither Intent so easily!

But...he was sure of one thing...

He really had a "Zither Heart"...

He didn't know if it was actually his...or was the System that gave him.

But, that didn't matter right now...

Until he loses his System...he is going to use it to the maximum!

After all, he also has another secret card...

That deep black book...

—ZZZZZZZZ...

And sure enough... his Master was already calling him.

"Haaaaa...Take a deep breath..."

Calming his nerves, Yan Shun made his way towards the...

Disciple's Competition.

Which, he reached just after a few minutes...he was already pretty close to it actually...

He made his towards the place where the Divine Sword Peak was placed...

As he walked...

He could feel many gazes into his body...some surprised... others filled with disgust and coldness.

"Shun'er...you broke through!?" Luo Xueying asked, surprised.

Yan Shun, seemingly empty, nodded his head.

"Shun'er...? Are you alright?

"Yes, don't worry... Master..." He replied with a 'smile' on his face.

Luo Xueying's face...dropped at that moment...

She knew...that he was faking a smile...

But, why?

What would be the reason?

Just yesterday...he even revealed a huge amount of killing intent...

And she doesn't even know why!?

'Wait...a reason...?'

'Didn't Meili tell me that Yan Shun had a really bad reputation...?'

'Thinking about it...didn't Yan Shun get quiet when he heard about...Ye Chen?'

'Does, he have a grudge against him?'

'The moment Gu Youwei said his name...he pretty much exploded!'

'So...Ye Chen...was the reason all along...?'

'How dumb can I be? I don't even know who my lover hates...'

'Ye Chen, huh? How dare you...'

[Luo Xueying's Affection has risen by a Tier!]

'Huh? Why did Master's affection increase...?'

His gaze landed on Luo Xueying who was looking at him with a quite worried face...

'Did she notice my fake smile...?'

'Well...whatever...'

"Okay, now that everyone's here. Let's begin!"

The Sect Master stood up, raising his voice!

"As everyone knows, today is the day of the Disciple's Competition! We will evaluate...everyone's talent!"

"And those qualified can choose their own cultivation peak!"

"First of all, anyone under the age of twenty-five, take a step forward!"

At that moment, a bunch of disciples took a step!

Amongst all of them...there was Ye Chen!

He had a big grin on his face!

And his gaze was directly at Yan Shun...

'This...fucker...'

Yan Shun clutched his fists!

Blood immediately started coming out of them!

But then...

He felt two soft little hands holding one of his fists...

He looked down and noticed...Wan Meixiang looked at him, worried...

"T...this..." Yan Shun was perplexed...

He didn't know how to face Wan Meixiang!

Gently, Wan Meixaing took out a handkerchief and wiped the blood out of both of his hands...

"Senior Brother..." She mumbled, her big eyes looking at his deep black eyes...

"D...don't hurt...yourself..." She murmured softly.

At this time, Yan Shun felt strange...

He really didn't know the reason for her affection towards him...

But...he would use it...

Even if he needed to manipulate her...

Instantly, he smiled sweetly at Wan Meixiang...

He caressed her hand before patting her head...

"Thank you... Little Mei.." He called her old nickname in a sweet and soft voice.

Wan Meixiang lowered her head at this moment...

Although, she had noticed before...

Her Senior Brother is too handsome!

[Wan Meixiang's Affection has risen by two tiers!]

At this moment, Yan Shun felt a little killing intent towards him...

And that's when he noticed that it was Ye Chen's killing intent.

He felt so...satisfied~~

His look made him feel extremely satisfied~~

It was like he had discovered a new hobby~~

With a big grin...

Yan Shun continued patting Wan Meixiang's head...

However, using his middle finger...

He pushed the skin beneath his eyes and stuck out his tongue playfully.

At this moment...

Ye Chen's killing intent raised extremely...

And Yan Shun only smirked in response...

'I never knew that this would feel so good~~'

Suddenly...in his black eyes...

A red twinkle appeared...on them...

'Kekeke~~'