Chapter 149 Helping the Weak and Small

On the square beside a street somewhere in Imperial Dragon City, thirty-six young men and women stood holding various bags and instrument cases, their expressions desolate.

At this moment, a young man looked at Xiao Lan, who was gazing in the direction of the Xuanwu Dance Hall, and said, "Let's go. Teacher Xiaotian has heaven-defying abilities; he simply looks down on minor musicians like us. Do you really expect to stay here and be mocked by him?"

At this, a black-haired youth also walked over and sighed, "Xiao Lan, let's go. Did you really think he would acknowledge you as his younger sister?"

Xiao Lan desperately wanted to retort, but the moment she recalled the scene on the beach, she found it impossible to maintain any lofty image of Yue Xiaotian in her mind.

This left her feeling wronged, and she thought in her heart: *Brother Xiaotian, why won't you help us?*

Resisting the urge to cry, her eyes growing moist, Xiao Lan picked up her case and followed her friends as they began to leave.

In the distance came the booming, roaring sound waves, while the dark sky flashed with thousands of exceptionally brilliant beams of light.

Yet, the surrounding streets appeared remarkably deserted; people had already gone into the dance halls to watch the performances.

At this time, only thirty-six somewhat lonely figures remained on the street, accompanied by the occasional sigh.

After practicing bitterly for a year or two, only to have their performance canceled outright—such was the sorrow of the weak.

After walking for a while, perhaps eager to leave this place of heartbreak, the thirty-six musicians began to quicken their pace.

Just then, however, all thirty-six musicians heard a voice come from behind them: "Heh, leaving already?"

The familiar voice made Xiao Lan spin around instantly. In an instant, the figures of Yue Xiaotian and Ziwei came into view.

Dropping her leather suitcase, Xiao Lan excitedly ran toward Yue Xiaotian: "Brother Xiaotian!"

Feeling the excitement in Xiao Lan's voice and the strength of her embrace, Yue Xiaotian's expression softened gently. He affectionately ruffled her hair and said, "Are you trying to choke your brother to death? Heh."

Realizing perhaps that she had been too emotional, Xiao Lan released Yue Xiaotian and instead went over to take Ziwei's hand. "Sister, is the performance over? How was it? It must have been packed, right? Sister, don't blame Xiao Lan; I—I just couldn't get away."

Meanwhile, the thirty-five musicians who had turned around one after another realized it was Yue Xiaotian, and quite a few of them showed a hint of dissatisfaction. "We're just insignificant weaklings; how could we ever compare to you, Teacher Xiaotian? If we don't leave, are we supposed to stay here and be humiliated?"

Looking at the gazes that were unwilling to engage with him, along with the trace of sarcasm in their words, Yue Xiaotian didn't get angry. Instead, he smiled and said, "True, in my eyes you really are insignificant and far too weak. However, I want to ask you something now."

A pang of sorrow struck some of the more stubborn musicians, and they turned around to pick up their luggage and leave again.

At that moment, after struggling internally for a moment, a girl asked, "What is it?"

A smile curled the corners of Yue Xiaotian's lips as he said, "Oh, I originally wanted to ask if you'd be willing to join me in taking down that Heavenly Diva bitch. But judging by your reactions, you aren't willing. Oh well, forget it then."

Their footsteps paused. Several musicians slowly turned back around, looking uncertain.

At the same time, the dozens of musicians facing Yue Xiaotian wore expressions of utter astonishment.

Silence!

You could hear a pin drop!

Dead silence!

The next instant, the shadow cleared from thirty-five faces, replaced entirely by excitement, extreme excitement, and wild elation!

"Teacher Xiaotian, you aren't pulling our leg, are you?"
"Really?"
"I—I—I'm so excited."

Watching the thirty-five musicians dancing about with excitement, Yue Xiaotian smiled as well. "I'll take that as a yes."

Recovering her wits, Xiao Lan broke away from Ziwei, walked right up to Yue Xiaotian, stood on tiptoe, and kissed him on his left cheek.

Just as Yue Xiaotian was about to scold her, he caught sight of the thirty-five eager-to-go musicians.

"The ladies can line up; the men, step aside."
"Haha."

Following a bout of banter, Yue Xiaotian pulled over Ziwei, whom he had been holding by the hand the whole time. "Don't get too excited just yet, and don't thank the wrong person. If our Ziwei hadn't been kind enough to let me take you under my wing, I wouldn't have had the spare time to train you lot, understand?"

"Haha, we understand." Amid hearty laughter, the thirty-six musicians offered their thanks to Ziwei one after another.

At this, much of Ziwei's prior displeasure melted away.

However, the male musicians didn't rush forward like the female ones had earlier. After all, they knew that was something he wouldn't allow.

After another round of excited cheering, one of the young women seemed to remember something. "Teacher Xiaotian, I remember you don't have any matches coming up recently, right? If that's the case, doesn't that mean we won't have any performance opportunities? Are we going to have to start out performing on the streets?"

The musicians' attention was drawn to the question one by one. Yet, their faces were filled with happiness.

Because musicians determine a band's lower limit, while the conductor determines its upper limit.

Although they had never seen Yue Xiaotian conduct in person, he had occasionally offered pointers during the recruitment period. Every single one of his remarks had hit the nail on the head, profound and unfathomable—a single sentence was enough for any musician to digest for years or even a decade.

Performing on the streets was still better than not performing at all. Under Yue Xiaotian's leadership, there was a very real chance they could genuinely step onto a stage before an audience of a million.

At this, Xiao Lan chimed in happily, "I know! Brother Xiaotian is amazing at running; he can definitely win another world championship!"

Just as all the musicians looked as though a sudden realization had dawned on them, Yue Xiaotian smiled rather sinisterly. "Heh, how is once enough? How can street performances cut it? The battle has only just begun. Isn't Hongmei a third-rate star of a major nation, boasting hundreds of millions of simps? Then I am going to turn her into a shooting star. Every time she performs, there will be no audience; I am going to make her fall right here in the Phoenix Nest!"

"Gasp!" The musicians couldn't help drawing a sharp breath collectively, because it all sounded too ethereal.

Though overjoyed, the thirty-six musicians hadn't entirely lost their reason. After all, Hongmei was a Seven-Star Dancer from another realm!

Taking in their expressions and mental states, Yue Xiaotian resumed his normal smile. "The next six months will be the time you alter your own destinies. However many shows you are capable of performing, that is how many performance opportunities I will grant you. As for whether you can become shining stars and crush that Hongmei bitch, it all depends on your hard work during this period, understood?"

The musicians all nodded to indicate they understood. The notion that there are no bad musicians, only bad conductors, was pure nonsense.

If they wanted Yue Xiaotian to draw out ten or a hundred times their usual strength, the bare minimum requirement was that they themselves could not equal zero.

There had to be a baseline for this to hold true, so the conductor had something to direct. Otherwise, it would just be his solo performance.

Looking at the musicians before him, Yue Xiaotian understood their worries, as well as the worries they couldn't yet foresee.

Thus, at that moment, he took out his sound-phone, signaling for them to remain silent as he dialed.

Soon, the call went through. Using a completely different voice, he said, "I am Ziyang. Doesn't your company want to make a movie? Fine. Bring the best dance weapons, dancers, dance instructors, dance masters—bring cultivators as strong as you can possibly find. Then go to the Phoenix Nest and find a young man named Yue Xiaotian. You must arrive within ten days; if you fail to do so, don't bother coming at all. He has full authority to represent my views, and whatever he says goes."

"What kind of movie? A romance movie."
"What? You dare to question my ability? You're worried about a lack of audience? Let me tell you, *Titanic* is bound to be the highest-grossing romance movie in the martial dance civilization of the past century."
"What? Which stars should you look for? Did you forget what I said? The director, the original soundtrack, the musical score, the lead actors—none of that is any of your business. Everything is decided by this young man, Yue Xiaotian."

While the musicians stood completely dumbfounded, Yue Xiaotian dialed the sound-phone of another publishing house. "I am Ziyang. Don't you want me to write a book for you? Fine. Bring the best dance weapons, dancers, dance instructors, dance masters—bring cultivators as strong as you can possibly find. Then go to the Phoenix Nest and find a young man named Yue Xiaotian. You must arrive within ten days; if you fail to do so, don't bother coming at all. He has full authority to represent my views, and whatever he says goes."

"What kind of book? A philosophy book."
"What? You dare to question my ability? You're worried no one will buy it? Let me tell you, the *Tao Te Ching* is bound to be the most popular book in the martial dance civilization of the past ten thousand years."
"What? You want the copyright? You want derivative copyrights? Did you forget what I said? The original edition, the vernacular edition, the audio edition, editions for every major race—none of that is your concern. However, if you can make Yue Xiaotian satisfied, I can grant you the printing rights for ten billion copies and a certain percentage of the royalties."
"What? The Dance God doesn't want money? I might not, but this young man Yue Xiaotian does. Let me remind you once more: he represents me. If you displease him, I will lower myself regardless of my status and crush you to death. Understood?"

As Yue Xiaotian continued calling people one after another, all thirty-six musicians wore faces of absolute shock, thoroughly frozen in place. Only Ziwei, standing off to the side, was pressing her lips together in a quiet smile.

Because the companies Yue Xiaotian was calling through the sound-phone were all prominent heavyweights in film, entertainment, publishing, and the like—and he was claiming to be Ziyang.

Half an hour later, Yue Xiaotian had officially activated the trump cards he had kept hidden away in the past. He played a royal flush right out of the gate to slaughter that Heavenly Diva bitch!

When he finally finished his calls, the musicians gradually recovered from their extreme shock one by one.

With a slight tremor in her voice, Xiao Lan asked, "Brother Xiaotian, y-you are Senior Ziyang?"

Looking at Xiao Lan, who had clearly become constrained and nervous, Yue Xiaotian spun around in place and smoothed back his hair. "Imitation is impossible; this is the real deal."

Swallowing hard, the musicians didn't dare to act presumptuously anymore. If they had merely been excited before, harboring a certain degree of skepticism toward Yue Xiaotian's words, they were now completely and utterly ablaze with fighting spirit.

Because if Yue Xiaotian truly was Senior Ziyang, then even if their opponent was the transcendent dancer Hongmei, she could be taken down!

Sensing the steel-like fighting spirit blazing in the eyes of all thirty-six musicians, he finally spoke: "Now you know just how strict my requirements will be, don't you? If you can survive under my command, then this Dance God shall bestow upon you supreme glory!"

At this, all thirty-six musicians swallowed an ultimate reassurance pill. Ahead of them lay a highway to the heavens; how far they could walk along it depended entirely on themselves!

As for whether they doubted whether Yue Xiaotian was Senior Ziyang, they had indeed considered it. But whenever they thought about how Yue Xiaotian dared to make such declarations, it was simply the pride of a Dance God—he feared nothing.

As for his mortal identity, wouldn't a Dance God have avatars or the like? More importantly, whether it was real or not, they would experience it firsthand in the days to come.

Having resolved the musicians' motivation issue, he never expected that helping the weak would actually bring him a sense of joy.

Perhaps this was because he, too, had once been weak?

At this thought, Yue Xiaotian smiled and asked, "I'm treating you all to drinks. Who's coming?"

With that, he turned his head and caught sight of the smile blooming on Ziwei's face. In that single instant, he felt it was all worth it.