Unfortunately, Zhao Yunxiao did not have much of a choice in this matter.
With the sea of outer disciples parting instinctively to open a path for the new arrivals, Chen Pingxi walked right up to Zhao Yunxiao without hesitation.
“Greetings, Brother Zhao,” Chen Pingxi clasped his fists towards him.
The initially rowdy outer disciples quietened down in an instant. Even the inner disciples who had arrived with Chen Pingxi stopped their conversations short.
A moment of absolute silence fell upon the Clear Thoughts Pavilion, just like how all eyes fell upon Zhao Yunxiao.
As for the person in question, he could not help but curse in his heart. Nevertheless, he knew better than to let his true feelings show.
“Greetings, LadyChen,” Zhao Yunxiao returned the greeting in a dignified manner.
“Why the sudden formality? Please just call me Sister Chen as always,” Chen Pingxi answered with a smile.
“Y-Yes, Sister Chen...”
“I see that Sister Lu is here as well,” Chen Pingxi nodded towards Lu Zhiying.
“Greetings, Sister Chen,” Lu Zhiying answered in a surprisingly reserved manner.
Zhao Yunxiao could not help but nod in approval in his heart – it was clear that she had understood the need to not stand out right now.
“Are these your friends as well?” Chen Pingxi’s gaze continued to scan across those who were gathered around Zhao Yunxiao.
“That’s right, let me introduce them,” Zhao Yunxiao answered. “These are my Senior Martial Brother Bo Fei, Junior Martial Sister Huang An, and Senior Martial Brother Nie Hanchang.”
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“Naturally,” Chen Pingxi smiled.
Nie Hanchang – the first outer disciple to have successfully created a mythical tier weapon in the past century, as well as someone who had single-handedly taken down a monster that was more than a full realm above him in terms of cultivation level.
She had heard that he was close to Zhao Yunxiao, and today’s encounter confirmed that for her.
So, it was not just Lu Zhiying, but Nie Hanchang as well?
For some reason, it would appear that many of the outer disciples who had been more prominent recently had ties to Zhao Yunxiao...
Could this really be a coincidence?
Or were the undercurrents in the Black Tortoise Sect going to start propagating from the outer sect?
Oblivious to her thoughts, Nie Hanchang could only look to Zhao Yunxiao for answers, believing that the latter was the one who had told her about him.
But before Zhao Yunxiao had a chance to explain, the other inner disciples started to break their silence. They might have been caught by surprise earlier, but they were definitely not intending to let outer disciples like Zhao Yunxiao’s group hog Chen Pingxi’s attention to themselves!
During the New Year celebrations, Lu Zhiying’s enchanting dance had managed to capture the hearts of numerous disciples, and that included inner disciples as well.
Who knew that by accommodating Chen Pingxi’s strange request to come to the Clear Thoughts Pavilion, they would be rewarded with such a godsent opportunity?
“Fairy Chen sure is creative and thoughtful. Instead of always sticking to the usual grand parties, I guess coming to places like this from time to time can be refreshing as well.”
“That’s right. With the right mentality, anywhere can be turned into a party ground. I didn’t even know that there’s such a huge gathering here in the outer grounds. Fairy Chen sure is well-informed!”
“Hey, the few of you. Do you know how to play any instruments?” one of the inner disciples directly pointed at a few outer disciples. “If you do, go play a few songs to liven up the mood for us.”
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Inner disciples were essentially superior to outer disciples in terms of status, so it was difficult for the outer disciples to reject such direct orders.
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
With their instructions, the Clear Thoughts Pavilion quickly underwent a 180-degree transformation, at least in terms of the atmosphere.
The inner disciples were seated around a few round tables, calmly chatting while basking in the music. On the other hand, the outer disciples kept to the sides of the pavilion, keeping their volume down to avoid disturbing, and thus offending, the inner disciples.
It might seem like a clear and unfair segregation, but many of the outer disciples actually preferred it like this.
Instead of having to simply wait for informants to provide them with updates from the various parties, now they could also receive first-hand updates from this group in real-time!
The performance isn’t great, but I guess it is only to be expected,” one of the inner disciples remarked carelessly. “That said, I do have in my possession a few tickets to a closed-door performance by the Sentient Light Performance Group in a week’s time. Fairy Chen, would you be interested in going?”
A closed-door performance by the Sentient Light Performance Group?” Chen Pingxi could not help but reveal a look of surprise.
Comprising talents from all over the land, perhaps the result of the group had already been set in stone from the very start.
After its formation, the Sentient Light Performance Group took the entire Duyuan Empire by storm, and their fame and popularity were skyrocketing by the day. To be able to acquire a ticket to their performance, and a closed-door one at that, was truly not an easy feat!
A closed-door performance by the Sentient Light Performance Group sounds great! Does this brother here have two spare tickets?” Qie Xing asked. “If that’s the case, perhaps Fairy Chen could go enjoy the performance with my senior martial brother.”
This was not the first time that Qie Xing had tried to match Chen Pingxi and Xiong Yekong. Nobody knew if he was acting on the latter’s behalf or on his own accord, but Qie Xing had never concealed his wish for these two to become cultivation partners.
There were some who found his actions interesting, but those who fancied Chen Pingxi only saw this side of him as a complete pain in the ass.
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Thank you for your offer, but I have some matters to attend to in the coming weeks,” Chen Pingxi interjected calmly, clearly already used to such a situation. “I hope you enjoy the performance on my behalf.”
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Are you doubting Fairy Chen’s words, thinking that she’s just making up an excuse?”
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The inner disciple and Qie Xing glared at each other once again, but what happened next caused both of them to quickly forget about each other.
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I’m afraid that will not be appropriate,” Zhao Yunxiao declined immediately, making sure to avoid the death glares that were starting to come from the group of inner disciples.
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I am just going to ask Brother Zhao to show me around a little. I will be right back,” Chen Pingxi answered nonchalantly.
It did not take a genius to understand why all these outstanding disciples had chosen to abandon the ongoing parties to accompany her here. They had already expressed this much sincerity, yet she actually wanted to leave them to hang out with him?
He understood that there was not much time left before each entourage left Purple Plum Mountain, so she might be feeling eager to learn more about the Black Tortoise Sect’s outer sect before that.
However, there was still a right time and place for everything, and this was definitely not it!
Imagine abandoning the celebratory parties to accompany Chen Pingxi, only for the latter to leave them hanging to hang out with an outer disciple. If word of this matter were to spread, wouldn’t they all become laughingstocks?
However, Chen Pingxi had already spoken, so what could they possibly do in this situation?
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Flying Shell or Flying Tortoise, that doesn’t matter,” Geng Guoye narrowed his eyes at Zhao Yunxiao. “But since that is the case, rather than trying to be a guide, why don’t you just stick to your role and perform for everyone instead?”