"Cough, cough, cough... Fellow Daoist Yun, your mastery of music truly is unfathomable. You are a model for us all!
I concede today's battle wholeheartedly."
Du Xiangmei endured the searing pain throughout her body and forced those few words through her teeth. A trace of desolation she could not conceal appeared on her face.
Before this, as a musical Heavenly Prodigy renowned in her own region, she had never tasted such a crushing defeat. Losing to another young and beautiful woman only made her feel all the more humiliated and dejected.
"Thank you for the match, Fellow Daoist Du. Your mastery of music truly transcends the ordinary and has reached the very pinnacle. Even across the entire cultivation world, you would surely stand among the finest of the finest!
Had I not been fortunate enough to hold a slight advantage in cultivation, the outcome of this match would have been hard to predict.
As the saying goes, beyond every mountain lies a higher mountain, and beyond every master stands another.
When we have time in the future, why don't we exchange pointers in private?!"
Yun Wangshu smiled, radiant as spring flowers in full bloom.
She thought to herself: If my cultivation had been the same as Du Xiangmei's, who would have claimed the prize in today's contest would still have been anyone's guess!
Now, however, victory belonged to her. Rather than becoming smug, she felt genuine respect and admiration for Du Xiangmei, the equally gifted woman before her.
That sense of kindred heroes sharing the same vision lingered ever more strongly in her heart, refusing to fade.
"All right. If we get another chance, let's exchange pointers in private."
After a brief hesitation, Du Xiangmei finally answered slowly.
Her voice was soft and lilting, as lovely as an oriole