"I ended up staying at the Dragon Pavilion for longer than I'd intended… I hope I don't get scolded for suddenly disappearing after signing up for the challenge…" Yuan mumbled to himself as he power-walked back to the Carp Leaping Over the Dragon's Gate Tower after leaving the Dragon Pavilion, silently hoping that Min Li was still inside the tower.
"What the heck?"
When Yuan returned to the tower, he was shocked by the progress Min Li had made during the 3 hours that he'd disappeared, and to his surprise, Min Li was only on the 43rd floor!
'It took her over three hours to progress a little over 10 floors?! Just long will this challenge take?' Yuan cried inwardly.
After standing around for a few more moments, Yuan approached one of the nearby disciples before asking him, "Excuse me, fellow disciple. How long does it usually take for one to come out of the tower?"
The disciple looked at Yuan before speaking, "Well, it depends on how far they climb. Most people will come out after a couple of hours. However, because this is Fairy Min that we're talking about, it'll probably take a few more days before she comes out."
"A few days?!" Yuan's eyes widened with shock after hearing this, as he truly didn't expect it would take this long.
The disciple nodded and said, "Some disciples even stay inside the tower for an entire week, as they spend all 15 minutes to rest on each floor after defeating it."
'If I knew it'd take this long, I would have stayed at the Dragon Pavilion to play the zither some more!' Yuan sighed inwardly.
'Oh well… Guess I'll cultivate in the real world while I wait for Disciple Min to come out.'
With that in mind, Yuan logged off the game and began cultivating in the real world.
Meanwhile, news of Fairy Fei's breakthrough spread throughout the sect like wildfire, causing the Dragon Pavilion to have an influx of guests for the next few days as everybody and their mother wanted to listen to Fairy Fei's zither play.
However, to the disciples' disappointment, Fairy Fei stopped showing up at the Dragon Pavilion for an entire week after her 'breakthrough' even though she would normally show up twice a week.
As for what Fairy Fei was doing during this time, she went around the sect looking for information about a new Outer Court disciple named 'Yuan', but alas, no matter how much she searched or how many sect elders she asked, none of them seemed to know a disciple named Yuan.
"How is it possible that nobody knows him? If he can dine at the Dragon Pavilion, surely he must be someone with important background. Furthermore, the disciple who served him said that he had a golden identification token!" Fairy Fei sighed, feeling dejected that she could not learn anything about Yuan.
"What's the matter, Disciple Fei?"
A mature figure suddenly approached Fairy Fei from behind and asked her.
Fairy Fei turned around to see Elder Shan standing behind her.
"Disciple greets Master Shan!" Fairy Fei greeted her.
Elder Shan nodded and continued, "You seem to have a lot on your mind. Perhaps I can assist you."
"Do you know of a disciple by the name of 'Yuan'?" Fairy Fei asked her. "I have asked multiple sect elders already, but none of them seem to know this Outer Court disciple."
'Y-Yuan…?' Elder Shan looked at Fairy Fei with wide eyes. How did Yuan attract a Core disciple's attention already?
"Can you tell me a little bit more? Why are you bothering yourself with an Outer Court disciple?" Elder Shan asked her a moment later, pretending as though she didn't know Yuan, and she was curious about her disciple's relationship with Yuan.
"Well… this happened at the Dragon Pavilion not long ago…"
Fairy Fei proceeded to recall what happened at the Dragon Pavilion to Elder Shan. She spoke of Yuan's characteristics, his seemingly unfathomable background, and his amazing zither skills that'd helped her gain enlightenment.
Elder Shan listened to Fairy Fei with a loose jaw, as she would've never imagined that such a thing could've happened between the two of them.
'Yuan is not only a cultivation expert but also a genius with the zither? And to think Disciple Fei, a Core disciple, would receive enlightenment from listening to his zither music... Just what kind of entity is he?' Elder Shan wondered to herself.
"What do you think, Master Shan? Do you know of this disciple?" Fairy Fei asked again afterward.
A profound smile appeared on Elder Shan's face, and she spoke, "Who knows? Maybe I do, maybe I don't. If this Outer Court disciple is as amazing as you described him to be, you'll definitely meet him again in the future. Anyway, I am currently very busy running errands for the Sect Master. I'll talk to you later, Disciple Fei."
And without giving Fairy Fei a chance to respond, Elder Shan disappeared from the place, dumbfounding Fairy Fei.
"So Master Shan knows this Outer Court disciple… but why isn't she telling me anything and purposefully hiding his identity? I want to know more about him! No… I need to know more!" Fairy Fei mumbled to herself in a resolute voice, as she feared that she might not be able to sleep peacefully if her curiosity for Yuan's mysterious background is not settled.
Meanwhile, after cultivating for two days straight in the real world, Yuan returned to the cultivation world to see where Min Li was at for the tower.
"76 floors?" Yuan mumbled after seeing a golden light coming from the 75th floor, indicating that Min Li had passed that floor.
"Look! Fairy Min did it! She actually managed to pass 75 floors in the Carp Leaping Over Dragon's Gate Tower! And she's still only a Spirit Apprentice!"
"Hahaha! I'm so glad that I dropped everything I was doing to come here to witness this grand occasion!"
"As expected of Fairy Min! Her talent is simply otherworldly! She will definitely have a limitless future!"
The disciples there celebrated Min Li's achievements as though it was their own.