“?”

Upon hearing Xue Lingxue’s words, everyone in the audience was somewhat surprised, including Chu Liang himself.

Those present were all savvy people who had been mingling in the upper echelons of Nan Guancheng for a long time. “Emotional Intelligence” was a basic course that they had already read and memorized.

When Young Marquis Xia An arrived late on purpose to show his status and presented the precious gift of the Tan Yuan ancient qin, almost everyone present could see that he had ulterior motives towards Xue Lingxue.

So when Master Li suggested that Xue Lingxue play the Tan Yuan ancient qin, it was actually a message, reminding her to naturally choose Young Marquis Xia An as her partner.

Whether it was based on status or the gift given, Young Marquis Xia An was undoubtedly the most deserving and the first choice for interaction tonight.

But Xue Lingxue didn’t follow the script.

She unexpectedly called out a name that no one knew.

Chu Liang stood up and smiled lightly, “Miss Xue’s invitation is truly an honor, but I’m afraid I have a completely different understanding of music… I’m afraid I won’t be able to assist you?”

“It’s alright.” Xue Lingxue smiled softly, and someone had already set up the qin table in front of her, placing the Tan Yuan ancient qin on it.

She gently stroked the body of the qin and said with a smile, “Because the piece I prepared tonight is the ‘Canglang Assisting Battle Song’ from Nan Yin Fang. It is a song that contains the mystical powers of assisting battles in the battlefield. I want everyone to appreciate the magic of Nan Yin Fang’s music through this.”

“In order to do so, I need a skilled cultivator to assist me, and Hero Chu, who comes from Shu Mountain, is naturally the most suitable. May I ask if you would be willing to join me on stage?”

Canglang Assisting Battle Song?

Chu Liang had heard of this name before, it was considered one of the classic pieces of Nan Yin Fang, but he had never heard it personally.

Since Xue Lingxue said so, he couldn’t refute her anymore, so he nodded and agreed, “I would be honored.”

Only Lin Bei beside him had a serious expression, “Skilled cultivator, from Shu Mountain… Is this guy not human?”

The person who felt the same way was Young Marquis Xia An sitting across from him. He almost gritted his teeth and forced a smile, feeling restless in his heart.

Am I not human?

Do I not have feelings?

I went to great lengths to please you, and all you said was thank you, then turned to interact with another man.

And you even used the qin I gave you.

Didn’t you want me to feel involved?

Although he was angry, he still had to maintain his composure on the surface. Young Marquis Xia An stared at the background where Chu Liang went up on stage, his anger rising to his head.

Chu Liang came to the qin table, and Xue Lingxue had already sat down, gently raising her hand to signal Chu Liang to sit on the floor as well.

“What should I do?” Chu Liang asked.

“Hero Chu, just calm your mind and activate your cultivation technique,” Xue Lingxue instructed. “If anything unusual happens later, as long as you don’t feel uncomfortable, there’s no need to be alarmed.”

At the same time, she plucked the strings of the Tan Yuan ancient qin one by one, feeling the sound of the qin.

“Alright.”

Chu Liang nodded and took a deep breath, cooperating fully by activating his cultivation technique and slowly circulating the Shu Mountain’s “Nine Heaven Mysterious Heart Technique.”

Since he obtained the Zhou Tian puppet, he only needed to supply it with Gathering Qi Pills every day to practice continuously without rest. The cultivation he gained would all be attributed to him. Because of this, he hadn’t been cultivating much himself. But now, when he started cultivating, he truly felt a sense of familiarity.

The pure and calm true qi flowed through his meridians along the established route, neither hurried nor slow, and he quickly entered a state of tranquility.

…

Deng.

Xue Lingxue quickly played the first note.

The reason she chose Chu Liang to assist her on stage was naturally because she had her own plan. One could even say that this was a test she casually arranged.

You see, cultivators of their age who had reached the Fourth Realm could already be considered geniuses, top-tier in the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, and absolute core disciples in the Immortal Sects.

As an inner disciple of Nan Yin Fang, Xue Lingxue was also considered a genius in her cultivation, and her cultivation level was not weaker than others.

But Chu Liang’s display of sword qi that day was truly terrifying. If he really had such a realm at his age, then he was undoubtedly a peerless genius.

However, such a person had no reputation in Shu Mountain. Xue Lingxue hadn’t seen Xu Ziyang or Jiang Yuebai from Shu Mountain, but it was unlikely that they had such cultivation.

As fellow disciples of the Immortal Sects, Xue Lingxue naturally felt curious.

Could it be that Shu Mountain intentionally hid their most talented disciples?

Of course, it couldn’t be ruled out that Chu Liang had some life-saving treasure, and the sword technique wasn’t something he released himself.

But this possibility was very small, because the special nature of the jade talisman made it ineffective to store pure attack spells, and few people stored sword qi. If it was something that amplified his own sword technique, then that type of treasure was also quite rare.

After pondering for a while with no result, Xue Lingxue decided to test the depth of his cultivation.

That’s why she made her move now.

As she said, the Canglang Assisting Battle Song was one of the most classic mystical songs of Nan Yin Fang. Besides being melodious, its greatest effect was in its name.

Assisting in battle.

Deng deng deng—

The melody became more compact, like a sudden storm. Flowing out from the strings of the Tan Yuan ancient qin, it vividly displayed Xue Lingxue’s exquisite qin skills.

The listeners sitting at the banquet couldn’t help but feel their blood boil, feeling their energy and spirit being stirred up.

Lin Bei held the shoulder of the general next to him, his face full of eagerness. “Uncle Zhang, the biggest regret of my life is not joining the army! Do you think I still have a chance?”

He patted the city’s chief official next to him, “Old Chen! You tell me, who here do you find displeasing? I’ll go up and punch him for you!”

They were only influenced on a spiritual level by the music, and they were already like this.

Sitting beside Xue Lingxue, the direct recipient of the Canglang Assisting Battle Song, Chu Liang felt an even stronger impact.

As the qin music played, he felt the speed of his cultivation technique increase several times, and the Nine Heaven Mysterious Heart Technique flowed smoothly within him, like surging waves.

This acceleration meant that if he were to fight someone at this moment, the speed at which his true qi would recover would increase several times.

And besides that, he could also feel that the enhancement from this qin music was all-encompassing, not just in the circulation of true qi, but also in energy recovery, spiritual consciousness activity, and so on… In short, it could completely double his combat power!

Its power was unquestionable.

“What a powerful assistance…” he silently thought.

Because Xue Lingxue was currently focusing the power of this qin music on him, when it came time for a real battle, she could influence not just him alone.

It was like having her by his side, which could double the combat power of their side’s cultivators.

That power…

Chu Liang even thought of a conjecture. If he found five disciples from Nan Yin Fang to play the Canglang Assisting Battle Song at the same time, and they mutually influenced each other. You make me stronger, I make her stronger, she makes me stronger… Could this mutual enhancement form an infinite spiral of strength, eventually reaching a terrifying level?

Lost in his thoughts, the Canglang Assisting Battle Song reached its climax, and his true qi circulation also reached an unprecedented peak. A strange feeling surged up, and smoke and mist billowed forth.

For a moment, Chu Liang was surrounded by radiance!

On the platform, mist filled the air, and smoke and mist billowed, as if showing a divine scene.

Only those who were well-versed in cultivation matters in the audience couldn’t help but exclaim, “It’s a Zhou Tian phenomenon!”

Legend has it that when a top-tier cultivation technique reaches a state of perfect flawlessness, a Zhou Tian phenomenon will occur. This has nothing to do with the level of cultivation but is related to the degree of operation.

But generally speaking, this kind of perfect flawlessness only exists in theory, and it is almost impossible for it to occur below the Realm of Enlightenment. Even for a powerful cultivator in the Realm of Enlightenment, it is quite difficult and may only be achieved easily after reaching the Eighth Realm and mastering the Heavenly Origin.

But at this moment, under the influence of Xue Lingxue’s Canglang Assisting Battle Song, Chu Liang was experiencing the charm of the Zhou Tian phenomenon for the first time in his life!

The Nine Heaven Mysterious Heart Technique was in full force!

“This…” Xue Lingxue looked at the radiance surrounding Chu Liang and her eyes also showed surprise. She silently thought to herself, “Such a weak phenomenon…”