Reigning Supreme in countless worlds With Beast taming

The zither music was melodious, like a stream flowing through a mountain valley, producing a pleasing sound that made one feel relaxed in body and spirit. Yet this originally comforting music was constantly changing, leading one to unconsciously fall into it, allowing it to manipulate their emotions.

Within the lingering zither music, it could actually stir up the seven emotions of joy, anger, sorrow, contemplation, grief, fear, and shock.

At first, Tang Qiyun acted rather covertly, but once the opponent's emotions were completely stirred, the person's seven emotions would fall entirely under her control as the music began to shift. She could induce sadness, happiness, worry or fear at will, overwhelming the spirit.

This was her unique Seven Emotions Zither Sheet, created with the power of laws she had comprehended from the Academy's legacy and from her own insights.

It was precisely with this piece of music that could provoke the thoughts of the seven emotions that she ultimately secured the position of Chief Disciple of the Music Department.

Outside the arena, the crowd was not the main target of Tang Qiyun's attack, and as she also restrained the range of her attack, they all heard her zither music but were not as severely affected as Ma Xingkong.

However, the crowd also recognized the formidable aspect of the music from its sound, with many of them whispering in admiration of Tang Qiyun's achievement in this field.

Kong Xuan, however, furrowed his brows. He could see the various emotions constantly changing on Ma Xingkong's elongated face, showing happiness, worry, grief, and horror at times, which made him somewhat anxious.

Although he knew that Tang Qiyun wouldn't go as far as to kill, if Ma Xingkong was so easily manipulated emotionally and his actions fell into her hands, he would have no power to retaliate and would be easily defeated by Tang Qiyun.

Indeed, Tang Qiyun wouldn't even need to lift a finger to beat him. She could just manipulate his emotions to make him withdraw from the arena on his own and she would win with ease.

Had it been a fight to the death with a mortal enemy, he believed that with Tang Qiyun's musical talent, she could definitely incite a sense of despair in her opponent, leading them to take their own life!

However, just as Kong Xuan was becoming worried, Ma Xingkong shook his head and broke free from the zither music.

He asked in confusion, "Sister Qiyun, why does your music sound so strange? I feel like I can even hear your worries. Has someone bullied you? Don't worry, just tell me who it is, and I'll go give them a lesson."

Those cultivators outside the arena who were aware of Tang Qiyun's abilities widened their eyes in disbelief. This guy—did he really just snap out of the music's spell because he wanted to stand up for Tang Qiyun?

Was it that easy?

Kong Xuan also sighed in relief. Now that this guy had come to his senses, there was no need to worry that he would be easily defeated by Tang Qiyun.

Upon hearing this, Tang Qiyun was also taken aback but did not stop her hands. Instead, she suddenly intensified her zither music, increasing its emotional agitation.

"Sister Qiyun, since you want to compete with me in playing instruments, I will accompany you with a piece!" Ma Xingkong, noticing that Tang Qiyun's zither music was getting louder, thought she was inviting him to join her. Excited, he pulled out a long flute from his storage bag, placed it to his mouth, and started to play mournfully.

However, as his flute's sound began, the expressions of the people outside the arena changed immediately.

This guy, his playing was just too dreadful to listen to!

Although Tang Qiyun's original zither music, with its undulating emotions, did not detract from the sound of the music but made it even more lively and pleasant instead.

Once Ma Xingkong played his flute, it felt as if people were listening to a beautiful and moving ancient music piece when suddenly someone blasted a funeral dirge with a suona, grating on the ears, and at one point, even overpowering Tang Qiyun's zither music.

Ma Xingkong's flute playing lacked Principle Fluctuation. It was somewhat inaccurate even in its rhythm, but somehow, he managed to produce a sound more resonant than a suona horn.

Standing on the periphery of the battleground, Tang Sanyuan's face turned even darker. This Ma Xingkong was actually playing "Phoenix Seeking Phoenix."

Though played horribly, he recognized the tune.

Actually, Ma Xingkong wasn't necessarily intent on performing "Phoenix Seeking Phoenix"; it was simply the only piece he knew. So he played with focus and excitement, feeling it to be a grand joy of life to collaborate with Tang Qiyun.

Even more essential was his ability to lead the rhythm. His terribly-played tune almost led Tang Qiyun astray several times.

When Tang Qiyun nearly played the wrong string again, she was speechless.

She knew her Seven Emotions Zither Sheet would no longer have the same effect under Ma Xingkong's interference. So, she stopped insisting on it, suddenly changing her melody—the sound resounded, mimicking a battlefield with clashing gold and iron, boiling with fervor.

At the same time, invisible attacks were released from the strings, aimed at Ma Xingkong.

"Hmm?"

Ma Xingkong, seeing this, promptly put away his long flute.

He didn't have Tang Qiyun's skill to play and battle simultaneously.

After putting away the flute, a flicker of his figure easily dodged Tang Qiyun's zither sound attacks.

Then everyone saw his movement resemble White Colt Passes, floating like a Heavenly Horse. Now west, now east—he didn't vary much, but his speed was so fast that it was difficult for the eyes to keep up.

"Ha-ha, Sister Qiyun, mere zither sound attacks like these will never hit me."

Ma Xingkong became even more excited as he dodged. Suddenly, he changed his position, passing through several closely spaced sonic waves and abruptly appearing in front of Tang Qiyun.

Tang Qiyun was slightly taken aback, surprised by his speed reaching such an extent. It not only made her prediction of Ma Xingkong's dodging direction in vain but also allowed him to get to her front. It seemed that Ma Xingkong was planning a counterattack.

Indeed, Ma Xingkong extended his hand, reaching directly for her Seven-Stringed Zither.

He figured that without the zither, Tang Qiyun couldn't use the music to attack him anymore.

But unexpectedly, Tang Qiyun suddenly slapped her hand on the zither. The seven strings sprang forth, sharp as if piercing the void, thrusting toward him.

Ma Xingkong was startled, but luckily fast enough to dodge before the strings could hit him.

"Amazing!"

Ma Xingkong praised, "Watch out, Sister Qiyun, I'm making my move."

Having said that, his figure alternated between advancing and retreating as if capable of shuttling through the void, sometimes appearing close to Tang Qiyun to disrupt her rhythm and sometimes retreating a hundred zhang away to evade the tangle of the seven strings.

Tang Qiyun stood and cradled her zither, her hand flicking the strings that sent resounding notes hurtling towards Ma Xingkong. Though she couldn't hit Ma Xingkong, she could significantly slow down his speed.

Even so, she rhythmically plucked countless notes, attempting to confine Ma Xingkong to a relatively small space; otherwise, with his great speed, it was very difficult for her to track his movements.

Upon seeing this, Ma Xingkong chuckled and suddenly extended his hand to summon a spiritual beast.

The creature was pure white, with a horn on its head and wings on its back, appearing extraordinarily spirited and pure, inciting immediate fondness in those who saw it.

Lo and behold, it was a unicorn!

Indeed, it was the level-nine demon beast unicorn from the Otherworld Continent.

Obviously, Ma Xingkong had visited that continent before, and as the direct lineage successor of the Heavenly Horse Family, how could he not covet the unicorn after knowing that such formidable equine demon beasts existed there?

From the sidelines, Qin Feng felt a surge of curiosity seeing the unicorn, wondering how exactly Ma Xingkong had managed to subdue it.

Before Ma Xingkong returned to the Sect from the Otherworld, his dao cultivation was clearly not on par with the unicorn. To have tamed it, he must have employed some unsavory tactics!

In fact, when Qin Feng noticed the annoyance in the unicorn's eyes as it looked at Ma Xingkong, he knew his guess was correct.

The other onlookers were also taken aback.

Though the majority of the cultivators were unfamiliar with unicorns, this didn't prevent them from sensing its formidable power, clearly on par with beings of the Purple Mansion Realm. Surprisingly, Ma Xingkong had managed to subdue such a powerful spiritual beast, which caused them to look at him with newfound respect.

Even though most cultivators present felt they could contend with the Purple Mansion Realm, contending was merely that—whether they could defeat beings of that realm, let alone subdue a spiritual beast of such stature, was another matter entirely.

"Heh heh..."

Ma Xingkong patted the unicorn on the back and said, "Darling, go and hold up Sister Qiyun for me, but don't hurt her. Just buy me some time."

"Pfft..."

The unicorn, exuding an aura of sanctity all over, snorted discontentedly at him before reluctantly turning around and looking toward Tang Qiyun.

Despite being filled with anger towards Ma Xingkong, the unicorn had no choice but to obey his words. It simply expressed its disdain with pride and still got on with the task when it was time to work.

However, as soon as this unicorn saw Tang Qiyun, its gentle large eyes immediately brightened.

Compared to the despicable Ma Xingkong, it found the elegant young woman Tang Qiyun far more suitable to be its master!

Furthermore, since Ma Xingkong had instructed not to harm Tang Qiyun, the unicorn deliberately toned down its magical prowess, only casting light and thunder magics to restrain her.

Ma Xingkong didn't mind the unicorn's actions, nor did he count on it to secure his victory.

Just as Tang Qiyun strummed the zither strings and sent out invisible waves of sound to counter the thunder unleashed by the unicorn, suddenly, Ma Xingkong summoned another small horse only about a foot tall, enveloped in a rainbow light.

When Ma Xingkong shouted, the small rainbow horse seemed to transform directly into a rainbow, then streaked across the void, piercing through the layered sonic barriers of the zither notes, and smashed into the Seven-Stringed Zither, knocking it several hundred yards away.

Although the rainbow horse was then immediately sealed by Tang Qiyun's sweeping robes and couldn't move, her Seven-Stringed Zither had been knocked away a hundred yards' distance.

Before she could summon the Seven-Stringed Zither back, Ma Xingkong's long face had already approached her. With a strange chuckle, his eyes gleaming, he reached out his large hand toward her!

Tang Qiyun knew she couldn't outpace Ma Xingkong in terms of speed, so she didn't retreat at all. Instead, she lifted her hair with her right hand, while her left hand moved swiftly like a phantom, using a strand of hair as a string. A series of zither sounds chimed out, causing Ma Xingkong to scream in alarm. Even as he rapidly retreated, his white robe was still slashed by several notes.

"Good technique!"

The onlookers praised her in admiration.

Qin Feng and the other Beast Taming Sect disciples watched this unfold and were greatly impressed. They hadn't expected Tang Qiyun to possess such an extraordinary method of attack.

It seemed that this woman must have cultivated some special secret techniques to refine her hair to be as powerful as common magical treasures, as it wouldn't otherwise be capable of launching such a formidable attack.

After forcing Ma Xingkong back with her hair as zither strings, Tang Qiyun took a short flute hanging from her waist and put it to her lips to play.

Her fingers danced, and the tune was joyful, yet when it reached Ma Xingkong's ears, his expression dramatically changed.

This song directly targeted his Divine Soul, shaking his spirit and making it difficult for him to concentrate.

In fact, the power of the piece was even more profound. She split the flute's sound into two parts. The portion that reached the Unicorn's ears contained tones that soothed the Divine Soul and undermined the fighting spirit, causing the already of reluctant Unicorn to cast ever-weakening magic.

In the following moments, Tang Qiyun demonstrated her strength as the Chief Disciple of the Music Department. She played the flute and at times moved her fingers across the zither strings as countless sound waves barraged Ma Xingkong, putting him at a disadvantage.

However, Ma Xingkong was by no means a weak opponent, and his talent in speed was nothing short of astonishing.

His figure weaved through the sound waves, often managing to evade the invisible musical assaults in the most perilous situations, causing the crowd to watch with bated breath.

Yet Tang Qiyun's Dao Cultivation was indeed superior. She connected countless sound waves into a wall, attempting to block Ma Xingkong's path of movement.

As time went on, the space Ma Xingkong had to dodge became increasingly narrow. Just when everyone thought he was about to be defeated, Ma Xingkong's figure shifted in rapid succession. He passed through nearly impossible narrow spaces, dodging a series of attacks.

Under the pressure from Tang Qiyun, he had realized the Speed Principle, elevating his innate Divine Ability, White Colt Passes, to a new level.

Seeing Ma Xingkong break through the musical blockade, Tang Qiyun ceased her assault.

The two of them were simply sparring with each other, and there was no point in continuing the fight at this juncture, not unless she deployed her most potent secret techniques and went all out. Otherwise, it would be truly difficult to defeat the current Ma Xingkong.

Of course, Ma Xingkong had no chance of overcoming her either.

Tang Qiyun's Dao Cultivation was still superior to Ma Xingkong's.

"Congratulations, Brother Ma, I didn't expect you to make a breakthrough and grasp the Speed Principle amidst battle. I admire you," she praised.

"Haha..."

Ma Xingkong's face was flushed with excitement: "I must also thank you, Sister Qiyun, for your assistance. Otherwise, it might have taken me several more months to pierce through this barrier and fully comprehend the Principle!"