Musical Rhythm: Nine Phoenix Dancing Flute

Inside the room, Yuwen Tuo sat cross-legged in meditation, circulating the Divine Fire Doppelganger cultivation technique.

Part of his soul power had been absorbed by Ma Xiaotao again, but not nearly as much as before. It was no longer the sort of thing where he would drop from level twenty to level ten at the slightest provocation.

He was now at level nineteen, having lost only one level.

Perhaps it was because there was not much evil fire left in Ma Xiaotao's body, so she no longer needed to absorb so much Supreme Pure Fire. Or perhaps it was because most of Yuwen Tuo's remaining nineteen levels consisted of Innate Soul Power, which was no longer something an ordinary person could absorb.

After meditating for about two hours, Yuwen Tuo got dressed and walked out of his room.

Though he did not have much freedom at the moment, as long as he did not leave the academy, Shrek Academy did not seem inclined to interfere with him. Since he was already out, he might as well walk around some more.

To his surprise, the moment he went downstairs, he saw a little girl glaring at him furiously.

"You, Yuwen Tuo! You've finally shown yourself!"

"Uh, Xiao Xiao, why do you look so angry? You could hang an oil bottle from that pout. Did I offend you somehow?" Yuwen Tuo asked.

Xiao Xiao complained, "You're asking me? Didn't we agree to have dinner together last night? I waited for you in the cafeteria for two whole hours, and you stood me up."

Only then did Yuwen Tuo remember that such a thing had happened. But Ma Xiaotao had suddenly arrived yesterday and held him while cultivating through the entire night. He could not beat Ma Xiaotao yet, nor could he resist her, so he could only stand Xiao Xiao up.

"Sorry, Xiao Xiao. I didn't do it on purpose. I cultivated all night yesterday and lost track of time."

"You cultivated all night on your first day? You really are diligent. But you don't have a soul ring yet, so no matter how much you cultivate, your level won't change," Xiao Xiao said.

Yuwen Tuo smiled helplessly. "It did change. I'm level nineteen now."

Xiao Xiao froze. "Level nineteen? But I remember you were level twenty yesterday. Are you sure you were cultivating and not dispersing your cultivation?"

"Could something have gone wrong during cultivation? Were you too impatient and suffered a cultivation deviation? Did your soul power run wild, forcing you to disperse part of your cultivation to save your life?"

"More or less." Yuwen Tuo could hardly tell her the truth. Being forcibly drained of his cultivation by a woman was far too humiliating.

"Oh dear, you look so mature, yet you're actually this reckless. Cultivation has to proceed step by step—that's the most basic principle. Are you all right now?" Xiao Xiao had already forgotten about being stood up. She was now more worried that Yuwen Tuo had suffered a cultivation deviation. Would dispersing his cultivation cause problems? If mishandled, it could damage his meridians and affect the foundation of his soul power. Worse still, it could destabilize his mind, making it difficult for him to enter deep meditation ever again.

Yuwen Tuo smiled. "Don't worry. I should be fine."

How could he not know whether he was fine? Though his soul power was one level lower than yesterday, his foundation had become even more solid. Moreover, his actual combat strength had not weakened, since Innate Soul Power was far more condensed and pure than soul power cultivated after birth.

"What do you mean, 'should'?" Xiao Xiao's eyes darted around. At last, her gaze became resolute, as though she had made some decision. Grabbing Yuwen Tuo by the arm, she said, "Come with me!"

With that, she dragged Yuwen Tuo around the academy, specifically choosing places with few people. Only after reaching a small grove, with no one nearby, did she say, "This place will do."

"This place... what do you mean?" Yuwen Tuo asked blankly. Could this cute little Xiao Xiao be some kind of female hooligan too?

"Yuwen Tuo, you have to keep this secret for me. This was supposed to be my trump card for the freshman assessment, but to help you, I can only reveal it early." With a flip of her palm, a jade flute appeared in Xiao Xiao's hand, bearing the imprint of a phoenix.

A yellow soul ring revolved around Xiao Xiao.

So she was preparing to reveal her second martial soul. No wonder she had acted so mysteriously.

Yuwen Tuo feigned surprise. "Xiao Xiao, you're actually a Twin Martial Souls wielder."

He knew that Xiao Xiao had never intended to conceal this secret. In the original story, she had revealed it voluntarily quite early on. She had even added a Hundred-Year Soul Ring to her second martial soul ahead of time. Clearly, she had long intended to use it during the freshmen entrance assessment, all to achieve excellent results and become a Core Disciple of Shrek Academy.

Yuwen Tuo did not really approve of such an approach. It was undoubtedly a waste of her potential.

"Hehe, that's right. Impressive, isn't it? This is called the Nine Phoenix Dancing Flute!" Xiao Xiao said proudly. "Come on, listen carefully. I'll play you a tune."

Xiao Xiao brought the Nine Phoenix Dancing Flute to her lips and began to play. A melodious tune flowed from the flute. It was clearly a piece meant to calm the mind. It seemed Xiao Xiao truly believed he had suffered a cultivation deviation and wanted to help him this way.

To be fair, this method did have some effect. But first, Yuwen Tuo had not truly suffered a cultivation deviation, so why would he need to calm his mind? Second, Xiao Xiao's mastery of music did not seem very good. She made at least three wrong notes in a single piece.

Yuwen Tuo smiled, casually plucked a leaf from a tree, and began playing along with her. He played the very tune Xiao Xiao had just performed, only his rendition was more flawless and pleasing to the ear.

Xiao Xiao shot Yuwen Tuo a shocked look. Clearly, she had not expected him to understand music as well.

She did not stop. Following Yuwen Tuo's melody, she joined him in a duet. Under his guidance, she did not make a single wrong note throughout the latter half. A perfect calming melody echoed continuously through the grove.

After a long while, the two played their final note. Xiao Xiao lowered her jade flute and said excitedly, "That was amazing, Yuwen Tuo! I never expected your mastery of music to be so high. I even wanted to use music to help stabilize your mind, but I only made a fool of myself."

Yuwen Tuo smiled. "No, Xiao Xiao. I'm truly grateful for your intention to help me."

Not everything came down to actions rather than intentions. This time, Yuwen Tuo cared about the intention rather than the result. Though Xiao Xiao could not actually help him, her desire to do so was genuine.

"Xiao Xiao, are you interested in playing another piece together? Follow my melody, and I'll teach you a tune. How about it?"

"Yes, yes!" Xiao Xiao hurriedly nodded. How could someone with a flute-type martial soul possibly not love music?

Unfortunately, she was not born into a powerful noble family, nor had she received instruction from any particularly skilled music teacher. As a result, she was still only a novice.

To properly wield a martial soul like the Nine Phoenix Dancing Flute, which used sound to unleash soul skills, weak musical attainments simply would not do.

"Then follow me. This piece is one of the Meng Chun Six Melodies."

Yuwen Tuo began playing first. After he had finished one rendition, Xiao Xiao followed him and started from the beginning. At first, she still missed notes very easily, but under Yuwen Tuo's guidance, she soon began to find her rhythm.