The woman playing the guqin in the bamboo grove was Xue Lingxue.

The team from the South Melody Conservatory had been lying in ambush in the bamboo grove for days. Initially, they achieved good results. However, for the past couple of days, they hadn't gotten much as there weren't many teams nearby anymore.

On this day, Xue Lingxue finally sensed movement outside and quickly started playing her guqin.

But even as she continued playing and playing, the people outside were not stepping inside the bamboo grove.

If Yun Chaoxian and Luo Yao didn't charge into the bamboo grove in the next second, the team from the South Melody Conservatory was going to lose patience and come out themselves.

Xue Lingxue, a core disciple of the South Melody Conservatory, was someone Yun Chaoxian recognized. After all, prodigies from immortal sects had all crossed paths before. Still, he didn't care.

To a true warrior, beauty didn't matter. All he saw were walking soul crystals. Without hesitation, he swung his halberd and charged forward.

"Your Grandauntie Tie Chui[1] is here! Who dares cause trouble?"

A thunderous shout rang out as a bold figure burst from the bamboo grove. Holding a massive drum and brandishing mallets, a burly woman appeared. As she shouted, it felt like the sun and moon had lost their light and the sky had darkened.

Seeing this, Yun Chaoxian laughed heartily and said, "Good timing!"

The person who arrived was none other than Miss Tie Chui, the current battle musician of the South Melody Conservatory.

She struck the drum with her mallets in rapid succession, each beat sending thunderous waves that echoed and made Yun Chaoxian's ears ring.

Yun Chaoxian leaped into the air, swinging his halberd down to pierce the drum.

But Tie Chui lifted the drum with one arm, pulling it back, and swung her right arm to bring the mallet down fiercely. Yun Chaoxian's halberd missed, and he had to block it horizontally.

Clang—

As the clash of metal echoed, both of them stepped back over ten paces. When they looked at each other again, there was a hint of surprise in their expressions.

Yun Chaoxian was surprised by the woman's immense strength. She actually managed to force him back.

Tie Chui was equally astonished. She was surprised that this man had a powerful physique; any ordinary person struck by her would either die or be crippled.

Both felt the urge to test their strength. Yun Chaoxian stepped forward, twisted his waist, and launched a sweeping slash with his halberd, creating a terrifying gale.

Tie Chui hurled her drum firmly on the ground, sending it tumbling into the distance with a crash, and then pulled out a pair of mallets.

These mallets were no ordinary mallets; they were known as the Drumming Urn Golden Hammers, each the size of a gourd. When she swung them, they conjured the apparitions of a dragon and a tiger!

Boom—

The powerful wind from Yun Chaoxian's halberd collided with the golden hammers, creating an explosive impact that sent both of them retreating over ten zhang. They landed and, without pausing to catch their breath, charged at each other again, clearly enjoying the intense fight.

In that instant, it was like thunder clashing with fire, a tiger descending a mountain meeting a dragon emerging from the sea. The thunderous drumbeats and the whistling halberd created a deafening roar.

The melody from Xue Lingxue's guqin filled the air, boosting Tie Chui's vitality and qi while subtly disrupting Yun Chaoxian's divine soul, creating a rhythmic ebb and flow that had a strong impact.

Watching from the sidelines, Luo Yao stepped forward with her curved saber.

But then, sharp notes from a flute echoed as Shen Qingyan appeared and joined the fight.

She unleashed a whirlwind of sonic blades at Luo Yao, but Luo Yao summoned the white-clad ghost to block the blades as she dashed toward Xue Lingxue's guqin.

But Xue Lingxue wasn't weak or defenseless. As she lifted her slender hand, the strings on the guqin released a wave of force, sending Luo Yao flying back several zhang.

Then, Yu Xiang'er appeared, playing her long flute and creating a swirling vortex of fallen leaves that were as sharp as blades.

Shen Qingyan, Xue Lingxue, and Yu Xiang'er played their instruments together, attacking with coordinated sound. Though they appeared to fight separately, their harmony created a complete melody.

At that instant, Luo Yao found herself trapped in the midst of the three musicians, with danger surrounding her on all sides.

Their music wasn't just trapping Luo Yao; it was also affecting Yun Chaoxian and Tie Chui nearby.

With the support of the melodies from the three instruments, Tie Chui fought with increasing strength, even starting to overpower Yun Chaoxian.

Seeing this, Yun Chaoxian let out a loud roar, "

Hah—

"

Boom—

Without another word, he ripped his shirt, revealing his chiseled, muscular physique, glistening like forged steel.

But just as he ripped off his shirt, Luo Yao, carried by her Black-Clad Ghost, flew over and shouted, "There are too many. We need to retreat!"

"Huh?" Yun Chaoxian was stunned.

I literally just ripped my shirt… You couldn't have said that sooner?

Because of this moment of distraction, he nearly got hit by one of Tie Chui's massive hammers. With his ally calling for retreat, he swung his halberd to create some distance and quickly withdrew from the area.

"If you've got guts, stay here and don't run!" Yun Chaoxian shouted before leaving.

Tie Chui stood with her hammers and drum, laughing loudly, "Ohoho! Coward! You didn't even leave your name!"

Yun Chaoxian promptly shouted back, "Yun Chaoxian of the Great Astral Sect! I'll come back one day to settle this in a deathmatch with you!"

…

Both of them flew out of the bamboo grove one after the other, just in time to meet up with the main group. Chu Liang asked, "Why did you go inside? Weren't you supposed to be luring the enemy out from outside?"

"They weren't coming out, so I figured I might as well go in and take a look," Yun Chaoxian replied, scratching his head with a grin.

Seeing the look on Yun Chaoxian's face, Chu Liang could guess that they hadn't been able to kill the team inside. He then asked, "It seems the opponents are quite strong?"

Yun Chaoxian and Luo Yao were both capable of eliminating an entire team on their own. If they couldn't eliminate this team together, it had to be a strong one.

"It's the South Melody Conservatory team," replied Luo Yao.

"Oh, them…" Chu Liang hesitated upon hearing this.

He had originally thought of charging inside with the entire group and eliminating the entire team in the bamboo grove.

However, the members of the South Melody Conservatory were people he knew. Among the members in the South Melody Conservatory team, Miss Xue had even helped him more than once. It felt wrong to storm in with the huge group of people to fight a team of four. It felt like bullying.

In past Assemblies of Immortal Sects, the South Melody Conservatory rarely advanced beyond the Competitions of a Hundred Sects. Furthermore, the disciples of the South Melody Conservatory in this generation were much stronger than those in the past. Chu Liang felt there was no need to end their journey here.

If he tried to get them to join the alliance… that might not be feasible.

This alliance of four teams already needed a substantial number of soul crystals. If another team joined, this alliance would take up half the ten advancement slots. This might provoke other teams in the illusory realm to join forces to eliminate them.

Currently, the members of the Great Astral Sect were their primary combat force. Their alliance was not strong enough, which meant that they would need to keep a low profile while collecting more soul crystals.

We should just leave

, Chu Liang concluded.

After thinking it over, he said, "I consider the members of the South Melody Conservatory as friends, so let's find somewhere else and avoid taking their soul crystals."

"Huh?" While everyone had no objections, Yun Chaoxian suddenly looked reluctant. "We're leaving already? Can't we go back for a bit?"

"Hm?" Chu Liang looked at him, puzzled. "Is there something else, Brother Yun?"

"Heheh." Yun Chaoxian chuckled, a bit embarrassed. "I met a girl there… She is special... I promised I would go see her again."

"What?" Hearing this, everyone's interest was piqued, and they crowded around, asking, "Which girl? What's her name?"

"The core disciples of the South Melody Conservatory in this generation…" Chu Liang said as he pondered. "Shen Qingyan, Yu Xiang'er, or Xue Lingxue? Brother Yun, not bad at all."

Who would've thought? Yun Chaoxian, with his thick brows and big eyes, managed to charm a girl in such a short time?

With a bashful look on his rugged face, Yun Chaoxian replied, "Her name is Tie Chui[2]."

1. Her name means iron hammer ☜

2. Imagine. Your bro tells you he has a crush on someone and you ask what's her name and he says The Rock. Same concept. ☜

GLTD Alternate Universe's Thoughts

Translator: GT