'His movements… His aura… This person is definitely a top zither expert! And judging by his clothes, he's… an Outer Court disciple from the Dragon Essence Temple?!' The veiled figure was greatly shocked by Yuan's uniform, silently wondering why he didn't join the Heavenly Melody Academy instead.

'With his abilities, he could easily become a Core Disciple at the Heavenly Melody Academy, even a high-ranking sect elder! Yet he decided to join the Dragon Essence Temple that doesn't have any zither experts? What reason could have possibly led him to such a foolish decision?! He's wasting his talents in that place!'

This veiled individual did not believe the Dragon Essence Temple deserved an excellent zither expert like Yuan, even feeling a bit envious of them.

The veiled individual suddenly had the urge to go up to Yuan and tell him to leave the Dragon Essence Temple and join the Heavenly Melody Academy instead. However, when they noticed Elder Xuan and Elder Shan's presence sitting not far away, they quickly tossed out that idea.

'Grand Elder Xuan and Great Elder Shan… What are they doing in this place? Are they following that disciple? Perhaps even protecting him? That's ridiculous…'

The veiled figure has never heard of an Outer Court disciple needing protection from two high-ranking sect elders before until today.

Sometime later, Yuan finished his second song, and the audience immediately exploded with cheers and clapping.

"Play another song!"

"Encore!"

Yuan was slightly startled when he looked up and saw the massive crowd clapping for him.

"Okay, I will play another song," Yuan said to them, increasing the hype.

However, right as he prepared to play the third song, a tall figure wearing a veil on their head and pretty fitted red robes jumped from the back of the crowd and landed a few meters away in front of him.

"W-Who's that?"

The crowd stared at this newcomer with raised eyebrows.

"Damn! Look at that figure! She's definitely a peerless beauty behind that veil!"

"How can you tell that she's a beauty without looking at her face? There's a very high chance she's only perfect below the neck! Why else would she be wearing a veil?"

"Shut up! I know a beauty when I see one even without looking at their faces!"

Meanwhile, Elder Xuan and Elder Shan narrowed their eyes at this unknown threat with great caution, preparing to defend Yuan at any moment. Although they cannot tell exactly this unknown presence's full cultivation, they were sure that she was at least a Spirit Grandmaster.

And while they do not have the ability to fight against a Spirit Grandmaster, they can at least reassure Yuan's safety.

"Can I help you?" Yuan asked the veiled woman who had a flawless body figure after staring at her for a moment.

However, the unknown lady did not respond to Yuan's question and instead took a seat at the stone table directly beside Yuan.

She then retrieved a red zither from her spatial ring and placed it on the table.

This veiled lady then turned to look at Yuan and proceed to stare at him in silence, almost like she was trying to tell him something.

And even though there was a piece of cloth blocking her face, Yuan could somehow see the expression she was making and recognize that she was challenging him.

Yuan nodded and said, "Whenever you're ready."

The veiled lady then lifted her hands and showed him three of her slender fingers.

A second later, she curled one of those fingers, making it two.

Yuan immediately realized that she was doing a countdown and nodded his head.

On the third count, both Yuan and the veiled lady played their zither at the same time.

Ting~

Ting~~

Two beautiful yet very unique and distinct music notes appeared at the same time, almost like they were trying to outdo each other.

The audience expected a chaotic scene. However, to their surprise, they quickly realized that they were able to listen to both songs simultaneously without feeling like the music was interfering with one another.

"H-How is this possible?"

The audience was dumbfounded, feeling like they were existing in two worlds at once. It was an odd phenomenon that they've never experienced before.

"T-This is…" Fei Yuyan's jaw dropped to the ground when she realized what was happening, especially after witnessing the skill being displayed by the veiled lady.

'Although I've never personally heard her play the zither before, there's only one person I can think of that can play so perfectly— Senior Song, Sect Master of the Heavenly Melody Academy! I cannot believe it! She challenged Disciple Yuan with the zither the day before the competition!' Fei Yuyan cried inwardly, her heart beating with excitement.

"Master, I think that's Senor Song…" Fei Yuyan whispered to Elder Shan, who immediately turned to look at her with wide eyes.

"A-Are you sure? What's she doing here? Challenging Disciple Yuan, no less..." Elder Xuan said.

"Who else but Senior Song can produce such heavenly music notes? Eh… Besides Disciple Yuan, of course…" Fei Yuyan said.

"What do you think is going to happen to the competition now?" Xuan Wuhan couldn't help but ask.

"Who knows…" Fei Yuyan shrugged. "Anything can happen at this point once she realizes that Disciple Yuan is a participation in the competition—"

Ting!

An awkward and off-sounding noise suddenly resounded in the area, causing the people to turn to look at the veiled lady who'd suddenly stopped playing the zither.

The veiled lady looked at her own hands that were slightly trembling, seemingly in disbelief that she'd lost the challenge, and then she turned to look at Yuan, who was still playing the zither without a care in the world for his surroundings.

'It took him a single song— No, half a song to snap me out of my concentration… Just who is this zither expert and where on earth did he come from?' The veiled lady thought to herself, her interest in Yuan peaked, feeling an indescribable feeling in her heart.