Li Bai's soul drifted forward, stopping so close it was almost pressed against Li Xingyun's face.
He carefully scrutinized this last direct descendant of the royal bloodline.
The young man before him indeed possessed a trace of the heroic spirit of the Li Tang royal family between his brows. However, his reluctance to shoulder heavy responsibilities and his lazy desire for a carefree life could not be hidden.
It wasn't the steady composure forged through the trials of a chaotic era, but rather a heartfelt desire to escape.
A silent sigh emanated from the soul of the Poet Immortal.
"Immortal..."
Li Bai's voice carried an unconcealable disappointment. His deep attachment to his fallen homeland had now entirely transformed into profound regret.
"I have observed countless people in my life. Although this child has a kind heart, he lacks the ambition of a great ruler."
"Restoring the Great Tang is not something he can accomplish."
He voiced his conclusion with bitter heartache.
Li Xingyun was completely dumbfounded by the sudden appearance of this phantom. Before he could even formulate a rebuttal, Ian's light chuckle rang out.
"Brother Li, there is no need to worry so much."
A mysterious smile, as if he saw through everything, graced Ian's face.
"Since I have intervened, I will find a true and wise ruler for this land."
He paused, deliberately keeping them in suspense.
"Besides, don't be fooled by his current hopeless appearance."
"In the next season... ahem, in the next stage, he will also grow up."
Li Bai was completely baffled.
"Next season?"
"Immortal, what do you mean by this?"
Just as everyone was captivated and thoroughly confused by this cryptic conversation between the Immortal and the ancient phantom, something else occurred.
A soft groan from inside the bamboo building broke the bizarre standoff.
"Mmh..."
Everyone's attention was instantly drawn toward the sound.
On the simple bamboo bed, Ji Ruxue, who had been unconscious all this time, slightly fluttered her eyelashes and slowly opened her eyes.
She subconsciously touched her forehead, her gaze initially clouded with confusion.
Immediately after, countless fragmented memories surfaced in her mind.
From the misunderstanding of their first meeting, to fighting side-by-side outside Yuzhou City, to him exhausting his internal energy to save her, all the way to the agonizing pain of the sword piercing her heart.
She remembered absolutely everything.
Her gaze involuntarily passed through the shattered bamboo walls, past the stunned onlookers, and finally locked firmly onto that familiar figure.
"Xingyun..."
Her soft call trembled with the joy of regaining what was lost.
Li Xingyun's body jolted. Completely forgetting about immortals and ghosts, he turned and prepared to rush into the bamboo building.
At the exact same moment, a figure darted past him at an even greater speed.
Hou Qing, clad in white, wore an expression of sheer excitement as he executed an incredibly smooth sliding kneel, stopping directly in front of Ian.
"Senior!"
"Please take me as your disciple!"
This sudden kneel left everyone dumbfounded.
Even Li Xingyun, who was about to share a tender moment with Ji Ruxue, halted in his tracks and stared at the scene in astonishment.
Ian looked at the prostrating Hou Qing with great interest.
"Oh?"
"And why is that?"
Hou Qing abruptly raised his head, his eyes gleaming with intense desire.
"Senior, that move you used earlier, 'The Great Peng Soars to the Eight Corners'... that method of reciting a poem to forge a sword, of gathering ten thousand swords into one, it was simply..."
He seemed to be searching for the perfect word.
"It was simply super, incredibly tasteful!"
"This is the ultimate art that this junior has pursued my entire life!"
To him, whether a power was strong or not was secondary. The most important thing was whether it had taste. The elegance and style of Ian perfectly blending poetic imagery with swordplay was exactly that.
That was true taste.
Just as Hou Qing was excitedly stating his reasons for wanting to become a disciple, he caught a glimpse of Li Bai's floating soul out of the corner of his eye.
He froze for a moment, then began to study it carefully.
As someone who had the pursuit of taste carved into his very bones, Hou Qing had studied Li Bai's poetry and life profoundly, even to the point of being able to perfectly forge his handwriting.
Looking at the phantom's chivalrous and transcendent demeanor, and recalling the earth-shattering line of poetry from earlier, a realization dawned on him.
A bold guess surfaced in his mind.
He asked tentatively.
"Could this... gentleman, perhaps be the Poet Immortal himself, Li Taibai?"
Hearing this, Li Bai's soul was also taken aback.
He never expected that in this chaotic era hundreds of years later, someone would be able to recognize him at a single glance.
"You recognize me?"
"Of course!"
Hou Qing instantly felt he had found a kindred spirit. Temporarily tossing the matter of apprenticeship to the back of his mind, he stood up excitedly.
"Sir's poetry is the holy grail of taste! Whether it's the taste of 'Killing a man every ten paces, leaving no trace for a thousand miles,' or the taste of 'When in life you are successful, enjoy yourself to the fullest; do not let your golden goblet face the moon empty,' they both resonate deeply with my heart!"
The two of them actually began chatting as if there was no one else around.
Hou Qing's profound understanding of Li Bai's poetry and his admiration for the poet's elegant character instantly made Li Bai—who had just been utterly disappointed with this era—view him as a true confidant.
The soul of the Poet Immortal even seemed to gain a joyful luster because of this.
Meanwhile, supported by Lu Linxuan, Ji Ruxue had walked out of the bamboo building.
She exchanged a glance with Li Xingyun. A thousand words were conveyed in that silent look.
The two walked hand-in-hand to Ian and bowed deeply in solemn respect.
"Thank you for saving our lives, Senior," Li Xingyun said with utmost sincerity.
Ian simply waved his hand casually, cutting off whatever pleasantries they were about to add.
"Save your thanks for later. I have some matters to attend to. Until we meet again," he said flatly.
Before his voice even faded.
A streak of light flew out from Ian's sleeve, expanding rapidly against the wind.
An ancient, massive sword instantly materialized and hovered steadily beneath his feet.
Ian's figure floated up gracefully, stepping onto the flying sword.
The next moment, the blade erupted with golden light, transforming into a dazzling streak that vanished into the horizon in the blink of an eye, leaving everyone staring in awe.
He arrived suddenly and departed with effortless grace.
Leaving behind only a ruined battlefield and a group of dumbfounded spectators.
Hou Qing stared blankly in the direction Ian had disappeared. He picked himself up from the ground, muttering to himself.
"Senior just left like that..."
Suddenly, he felt something. Looking down, he discovered that an ancient-feeling, thread-bound manual had somehow appeared in his hands.
On the cover, three flamboyant characters were written, exuding a wave of elegant sword intent that rushed at his face.
Sword of the Poet Immortal.
Hou Qing's breathing instantly quickened. The very name of this cultivation method looked incredibly tasteful.
The group remained in a daze for a long time, still processing Ian's godlike methods.
Li Xingyun, in particular, let out a long sigh of relief.
This unfathomably powerful senior seemed to harbor no ill will toward him, and even subtly showed intentions of helping him.
Perhaps his dream of living as a free-spirited crane in the clouds wasn't so out of reach after all.
Night quickly fell, shrouding the bamboo forest that had just witnessed a bloody battle.
The cool evening breeze rustled the bamboo leaves.
Inside the bamboo building, Li Xingyun had long since fallen into a deep sleep. Days of constant running and fierce combat had completely exhausted his mind and body.
A beautiful silhouette silently appeared by his bedside.
It was Ji Ruxue.
Bathed in the moonlight, she quietly gazed at Li Xingyun's sleeping face. Having regained all her memories, her heart was filled with both reluctance and absolute resolve.
She knew that staying by his side would only make her a burden to him.
Furthermore, she needed to return and personally face the future of the Phantom Melody Pavilion.
She leaned down and left a gentle kiss on Li Xingyun's forehead.
"Xingyun, wait for me," she whispered.
She turned around, her figure turning into a white blur as she quietly left the bamboo building, vanishing into the heavy darkness of the night.
Early the next morning, another group of people found the temporary camp of Li Xingyun and his companions.
The envoy made no attempt to hide his intentions, directly handing over a letter of challenge.
"My Highness has issued an order," the envoy declared.
"One month from now. Chang'an. The Vermilion Bird Gate."
"We will await your arrival to determine who is true and who is false, and to decide the fate of the world."
Jolted awake, Li Xingyun accepted the gold-stamped challenge letter in a state of utter bewilderment.