Zhuang Xiuyin could not hide her disappointment.
Even with a veil over her face, this beauty was extraordinarily captivating with only her eyes showing.
Among the disciples of the various peaks around her, quite a few stared in a daze.
Pretty women were plentiful in the world. Even among ordinary folk, one in ten had pleasing features.
But true connoisseurs had long since passed the point of judging beauty by appearances alone.
A seasoned admirer first studied a beauty's bone structure, then her figure, then the lively spark in her eyes, and finally the radiance of her character.
Those who submitted to everything and undressed on command were like jade ornaments carved by craftsmen: neatly made and pleasant to handle, but lacking a measure of charm.
A touch of fierceness, on the other hand, was like a vein formed naturally within the jade, lending it three parts more life.
If she was also cultured and understanding, able to ease a man's worries and know his heart, she was like fine jade suffused with a glow—a grade higher still.
And if she had an illustrious identity, that raised her another grade.
Men's tastes varied even more wildly.
Some favored the green innocence of girls barely in their teens, delighting in buds yet to bloom and finding the sight most refreshing.
Others preferred the charm of a newly married woman behind the curtains of a grand house, like a ripe peach that responded to the lightest touch, sweet and full of juice.
As the holy maiden of Western Kunlun, Zhuang Xiuyin was as far beyond reach as the bright moon in the ninth heaven. Her talent and beauty were both unsurpassed; she was naturally of the highest grade.
Yuan Shujian of Dragon Head Peak looked hesitant, as though unsure whether to voice