"What's wrong? Is there a problem?" Zhao Yuan asked.
"No problem." Huang Shijia and Zhang Liping exchanged a glance and said in unison. Internally, however, they felt rather helpless. 'You choreographed the dance and composed the music. It's your right to use them wherever you want. What could we possibly say?'
Then, Huang Shijia said, "It sounds like your New Year's Gala is going to be quite high-caliber. I'll have to come and see it for myself."
Zhang Liping said with a smile, "I want to go too. Elder Huang, don't forget to bring me along."
Of course, the two legendary artists weren't truly interested in the New Year's Gala itself. They wanted to witness the official stage debut of "Cloud Flying Immortal" with their own eyes. And, naturally, to lend Zhao Yuan their support while they were at it.
Zhao Yuan said, "I'd be thrilled to have you two masters come. But on one condition: Elder Huang, you have to teach me how to play the 'Cloud Flying Immortal' score before the New Year's Gala. I don't want to be the one to hold everyone back and ruin the performance."
Huang Shijia chuckled in spite of himself. "I really don't get it. How can you not know how to play the Guqin, yet write such a brilliant Piano Score?"
"Didn't I tell you? I plagiarized it all," Zhao Yuan replied.
Yao Jie, standing to the side, looked like he was about to cry. 'Bro, I'm begging you, can we please stop talking about this?'
"Alright, Zhao Yuan, enough with that joke," Huang Shijia said, half-joking and half-serious. "Plagiarizing a dozen world-shaking Piano Scores all at once... what do you think you are, a transmigrator from another dimension?"
"I never thought Elder Huang would know about transmigration. You're really keeping up with the trends," Zhao Yuan said admiringly.
"Of course! This old man even browses Bilibili," Huang Shijia said, feigning cuteness.
Who knew this old master's private persona could be so adorable.
His tone then shifted as he got down to business. "In a little over twenty days, I can't turn you into a Qin Master. But getting you to play one piece proficiently? That's no problem. The only condition is that you have to study and practice diligently."
"Don't worry, Elder Huang. I'll definitely be diligent," Zhao Yuan promised, patting his chest.
Huang Shijia nodded. "Alright, shall we start now then?" He turned and beckoned to Yao Jie. "You there, student, let us borrow your Guqin again."
Yao Jie scurried over and presented the Guqin to Huang Shijia, introducing himself with a face wreathed in smiles. "Elder Huang, my name is Yao Jie."
He hoped Huang Shijia would remember his name. If the master could put in a good word for him, he'd be able to skip years of struggle.
However, Huang Shijia couldn't care less what his name was. He just nodded and said, "Alright, student. Thank you, student."
Once again, Yao Jie felt so wronged he wanted to cry.
'Is my name not even worthy of being remembered?'
After setting down the Guqin, just as Huang Shijia was about to start teaching Zhao Yuan, Zhang Liping suddenly roped him in, asking him to perform the dance moves for "Cloud Flying Immortal" one more time.
"Once you start practicing the Guqin, you won't have time to coach your girlfriend's dancing. Why don't you teach me the specific movements, and I'll coach her instead."
The word "girlfriend" made both Zhao Yuan and Lin Xue blush, but neither of them denied it, which was a silent admission of sorts...
Zhao Yuan thought Zhang Liping had a point, so he performed the "Cloud Flying Immortal" dance one more time. His stiff, clumsy movements were quite a sight for everyone to behold.
As expected of a dance master, Zhang Liping somehow managed to grasp the very essence from his stiff performance. In the time that followed, Zhao Yuan studied the Guqin with Huang Shijia, while Lin Xue practiced her dancing under Zhang Liping's guidance, making Yao Jie green with envy.
In the days that followed, Zhao Yuan and Lin Xue went to the academy of arts almost every day to be taught by Huang Shijia and Zhang Liping. They were diligent students, and the two legendary artists were meticulous teachers. Even Chen Jiao couldn't help but get jealous, feeling that Zhang Liping was more dedicated to teaching Lin Xue than she was to her, her own official disciple...
A small incident occurred during this time as well.
After their lessons ended at noon that day, Yao Jie posted about the events on his social media. He had just wanted to express his shock—after all, there were probably few people in the world who could boast of being jointly tutored by both Huang Shijia and Zhang Liping. However, his post was met with a flood of ridicule and doubt. No one believed him; they all thought he was making up a story, and a terrible one at that...
Yao Jie, who already felt wronged, grew even more frustrated after reading the replies and almost smashed his phone.
「A few days passed in the blink of an eye.」
Under Huang Shijia's careful tutelage, Zhao Yuan's Zither Skill improved by leaps and bounds. At the same time, the Wish Power generated by the publication of the *Outer Canon of the Yellow Emperor* continued to flow into him from all over the country. This finally caused something new to appear within the Information Leaf.
'A new Talisman?'
Zhao Yuan's eyes lit up as he looked at the new item under the Talisman section.
'This is... a Shrinking Earth Talisman?'
Below the new Talisman, there was a short description.
"Allows one to cross several meters in a single step, achieving the effect of traveling a thousand li in a single day!"
Zhao Yuan analyzed the description. 'Traveling a thousand li a day is whatever. We have so many forms of transportation now—cars, trains, planes. Covering that distance is a piece of cake, and you don't even break a sweat. There's really no need to run my legs off. But crossing several meters in a single step... that could be really useful. If I'd had this Talisman last time we were chasing those drug traffickers, I could've caught them easily. I wouldn't have even given them a chance to draw their guns.'
Now that he had a new Talisman, he had to test it out. So that evening, after finishing his Guqin practice and seeing Lin Xue home, Zhao Yuan didn't return to dorm room 301. Instead, he went straight to his rented apartment, grabbed his Talisman-Drawing tools, and got to work.
An hour passed, and after failing more than thirty times, he finally succeeded in drawing three Shrinking Earth Talismans.
The failure rate was so high partly because he was unfamiliar with the new Talisman, and partly because it was much more difficult to draw than the Enchanting Talisman.
'Time to test it out.'
Zhao Yuan activated one Shrinking Earth Talisman. After the talisman paper burned to ash, he felt a warm current surge into his legs. Beyond that, he didn't feel anything special.
Then, he tried to take a step forward.
THUD!
He slammed heavily into something and was forced to stop.
He looked closely. It was the wall of his rented room.
The spot where Zhao Yuan had been standing was at least five or six meters from that wall. He hadn't expected to actually cross the distance in a single step.
'What an incredible Shrinking Earth Talisman. It really lives up to its name.'
Zhao Yuan rubbed his aching head, his heart filled with excitement.
'This room is too small to test its full effect. I'll go try it outside.'