Small Mountain Village, Small Courtyard.
The cold wind cut through the air, carrying a bone-piercing chill.
The cold wind lent Nan Feng's zither music a wintry edge, drawing the soul deeper into its spell until, in an instant, the world was forgotten.
"Awoo..."
At her feet, the Heavenly Wolf, Lang Qianqian, was moved by the music. She closed her eyes and couldn't help letting out a low howl.
Nearby, despite the freezing weather and icy water, Long Zixuan was still splashing about, playing with the koi and black fish as if sleepwalking.
Dugu Yuqing's calligraphy had advanced by leaps and bounds. He had finally mastered the Righteous Sword in Regular Script.
Nan Feng, Long Zixuan, and Dugu Yuqing had made the fastest progress.
They had already glimpsed the ultimate hall. In a sense, they had seen the road ahead before the others.
So they needed little further insight or study. Their progress came as easily as walking on level ground, as naturally as water flowing into its channel.
But Ziling, Qing Chen, Lin Jiuzheng, Jiang Li, and the others were advancing just as quickly. They had all reached the peak of the Seventh Realm.
"That's not right... I clearly should have been able to win this game..."
Nearby, Yunxi was playing Chess with Li Fan. Their game had lasted quite a while, and Yunxi looked perplexed.
Her understanding of Chess had grown deeper and deeper. Over the past few days, she had come up with a new formation in which every piece could come alive, all connected as one, turning the entire board into an army.
But after playing against Li Fan, she had been trapped and crushed.
"It's a good idea, but it still needs refining."
Li Fan smiled faintly and said,
"You want every piece on the board