Lu Changfeng dug the five-hundred-year-old fleeceflower root out of the Hundred Herbs Garden, returned to the quiet chamber in Snow Listening Tower, and began his secluded cultivation.
While his days passed in peace, the world outside had boiled over.
Word of last night's elegant gathering at the Nine-Shao Music Bureau had spread.
First, Lu Changfeng had played "Ambush from Ten Sides," his zither strings conjuring gleaming weapons and armored steeds, a martial grandeur that could swallow ten thousand miles, utterly shattering the Taiyuan Wang Clan's "Blue Sea Raging Tide Melody." His mastery of music had reached the pinnacle of martial arts. Then, in mere moments, he had composed the line "Yun call to mind her robes, flowers her face," displaying breathtaking poetic genius and unrivaled grace!
Yet what struck deepest into people's souls was his beauty, beyond anything they could have imagined.
The effects of the fully mastered Ice Skin, Jade Bones Art were truly unparalleled. His lustrous skin seemed to glow faintly with a precious light, his exquisite bone structure lending him the air of an immortal banished to earth. All who saw him felt their hearts sway, as though Pan An had returned to the world and Song Yu had risen again!
Had only one or two people said so, it would have been nothing remarkable.
What made it so extraordinary, so utterly astounding, was that among all the high officials, nobles, celebrated scholars, and refined ladies present that day, not one could utter even the slightest disparagement of his looks, regardless of their loyalties or connections.
This near-miraculous consensus pushed his fame to heights bordering on myth.
And so, overnight, Lu Changfeng's name swept through every corner of Chang'an like a wildfire across the plains.
His verses were sung to the melodies of Pingkang Ward, while storytellers