Xu Nan was slightly taken aback. It took him a while to recognize the middle-aged man.
He had attended Luo Mang's tea party before and was a powerful Bard!
Faced with an elder's criticism, Xu Nan could not help feeling a little embarrassed.
After all, he was only half-trained. His Bard skills were truly nothing to write home about, so singing a little poorly was inevitable.
Still, Xu Nan was very eager to improve.
He lowered his head respectfully and asked in earnest:
"Then how do you think I can put soul into it?"
The Bard named O'Connor said seriously:
"Don't you have an instrument you specialize in?"
Xu Nan said awkwardly, "I can barely play a little piano. Mostly, I just sing a cappella..."
O'Connor froze slightly, looking somewhat surprised.
"There are still Bards who insist on singing a cappella these days? Could you be a poet from the Little Bird Faction?"
Xu Nan's head began to ache. He wanted to explain that he was not a Bard at all, much less some kind of little bird...
But the other man had already begun talking to himself:
"If you're a fellow member of the Little Bird Faction, then it's understandable. After all, your ancestors were very close to Druids, and a great many of your skills overlap with theirs. Even in terms of songs and musical movements, you mainly favor the rugged songs of the wilderness. I've heard that some Little Bird Faction poets learn a few Transformation Spells to imitate the vocal tracts of mountain animals, so they can communicate more deeply with them... Oh, right, do you know Transformation Spells?"
Xu Nan nodded while trying to steer the subject back.
"I do know several Transformation Spells..."
"Several? You know several kinds?"
The curiosity in O'Connor's eyes deepened.