Anyone proficient in the Musical Arts knew that for Lord Chixiao's piece, Wind Rises Over Daqing Mountain, the emergence of Profound Mystery was signified by the explosive roar of thunder from the heavens.
At this moment, everyone in the Five-Color Gardens, every single one of them, could almost hear the sound of that thunderous explosion.
Inside the venue, whether it was the grandmasters who had studied the arts for millennia or the prodigies like Wu Hen, Chi Yu, Wei Chaoqun, and Li Qianhua, all stared wide-eyed in disbelief. They could all see that Young Lord Chiyan's playing technique was utterly ordinary, even the melody was off. So how could he manage to evoke the Profound Mystery from Wind Rises Over Daqing Mountain?
And not just any thunderous roar, but one of extraordinary momentum, shaking the entire Five-Color Gardens as if it were trembling.
Boom!
Crack!
Continuous, frenzied roars of thunder came crashing down, as if from the heavens above, from all directions!
Ten peals, a hundred peals!
Three hundred...
Four hundred...
Five hundred...
Boom!—As the thunderous explosions continued unabated, the expressions of those present grew increasingly shocked, increasingly incredulous. The thunderclaps had already surpassed six hundred and were still ringing out incessantly.
Seven hundred...
Eight hundred...
Nine hundred...
Boom!—Crack!
When the thunderclaps reached nine hundred and ninety-nine, everyone in the venue held their breath. The grandmasters of music, the musical prodigies, everyone—their faces were a spectacle of shock and astonishment. They gazed at the white-robed man playing the guqin in the pavilion as if beholding a ghost or a god.
It was common knowledge.
Wind Rises Over Daqing Mountain contained nine hundred and ninety-nine Profound Mysteries of Crimson Thunder.
However, because this piece was composed by the Monarch, its melodies were too wildly imaginative, its notes too unfathomable. Even though Grand-Uncle Ku Mu possessed the original score handwritten by the Monarch himself, containing the Monarch's annotated spirit, to this day, no one had ever managed to play Wind Rises Over Daqing Mountain to its Great Perfection.
Yes!
No one.
No one could do it. Not the grandmasters, not the prodigies, not even many reincarnated great powers.
Who could have imagined that this Young Lord Chiyan, with his mediocre technique and incorrect melody, would somehow, inexplicably, play Wind Rises Over Daqing Mountain to its Great Perfection of nine hundred and ninety-nine Crimson Thunder Profound Mysteries!
Why was this?
Wasn't he supposed to be a fake Young Lord Chiyan?
Wasn't he supposed to be someone Ouyang Ye and Han Dong had found to impersonate him?
How could a fake Young Lord Chiyan play Wind Rises Over Daqing Mountain to Great Perfection?
Could it be he wasn't fake?
But the real Young Lord Chiyan?
Otherwise, how could his mastery of the Musical Arts be so inconceivable?
No!
He couldn't be real!
At the very least, Ouyang Ye, Han Dong, and Qian Shan, who knew the truth, were aware that the person playing Wind Rises Over Daqing Mountain was not the real Young Lord Chiyan, but Lao Jiu, specifically found by Ouyang Ye to impersonate Gu Qingfeng.
But then...
But then why was his mastery of the Musical Arts also so superb?
So superb that he could play Wind Rises Over Daqing Mountain to Great Perfection?
Why on earth was this?
"Miss Ouyang, is he really not Young Lord Chiyan?" Master Wenzhu asked in astonishment. He knew the man before him was a fake, found by Ouyang Ye to impersonate, and he knew this man's Physical Body was similarly formidable. But how could his mastery of the Musical Arts also be so exquisite?
Could there really be such a coincidence in the world?
Young Lord Chiyan was at the Golden Core realm; so was he.
Young Lord Chiyan's Physical Body was formidable; so was his.
Young Lord Chiyan's mastery of the Musical Arts was peerless under heaven; could his be as well?
And it just so happened that Ouyang Ye found him to impersonate Young Lord Chiyan?
Wasn't this all too coincidental?
So coincidental it was hard to believe it was real.
"Ye Ye, what in the world is going on?"
Clearly, Han Dong shared the same doubt. "Could he actually be Young Lord Chiyan?"
Ouyang Ye looked at Master Wenzhu, then at Han Dong, opening her mouth but unable to utter a word. She herself was utterly bewildered, her mind in chaos, her thoughts in disarray.
And it wasn't just her.
At this very moment, even Qian Shan's perpetually stern face was clouded with deep suspicion.
She too felt this matter was far too coincidental!
She could accept an impersonator of Young Lord Chiyan also having an exceptionally formidable Physical Body. But to say this person also possessed peerless mastery of the Musical Arts... that was simply too...
Could it be he really was Young Lord Chiyan?
No!
Qian Shan was certain the real Young Lord Chiyan had turned to ashes three years ago. And someone reduced to ashes could not come back to life. Taking a step back ten thousand times, even if the real Young Lord Chiyan had resurrected, he absolutely could not be this Lao Jiu before them. Although his Physical Body was similarly formidable and his musical mastery this impressive, the real Young Lord Chiyan possessed Taiji Golden Cores, and this man did not.
But if he wasn't Young Lord Chiyan...
Then what about his Physical Body and his musical mastery...
How to explain that?
Could there really be two people in the world so alike?
Or was it, as Lao Jiu had claimed earlier, that whatever Young Lord Chiyan could do, he could do too, and even things Young Lord Chiyan couldn't?
But he had also repeatedly claimed to be the real Young Lord Chiyan!
This...
The more Qian Shan thought, the more confused she became. The more she pondered, the more bizarre this matter seemed. So bizarre that her initial firm belief that Lao Jiu could not be Young Lord Chiyan was now somewhat shaken.
Inside the venue.
Within the pavilion.
The white-robed man stood tall, his hands still dancing chaotically over the guqin. His technique remained ordinary, but the melody grew increasingly vigorous, the musical style becoming more and more passionate and surging, its momentum astonishing, as if it could swallow mountains and rivers whole.
Boom!—Crack!
The thunder still roared, never ceasing.
However.
At some unknown moment, a great wind began to blow within the venue!
The wind was fierce, howling and whistling.
Above in the sky, dark clouds gathered densely, blotting out the sun, obscuring the firmament. Masses of dark clouds frantically coalesced, flickering with electric sparks within.
The wind grew stronger.
The dark clouds grew denser!
Winds rose and clouds swirled!
It was like the majestic might of heaven, inspiring awe in all who beheld it!
"This is the momentum!"
"It's the wind-and-cloud momentum contained within Wind Rises Over Daqing Mountain!"
Those musical grandmasters looked up at the extraordinary spectacle of wind and cloud, their faces flushed with excitement and exhilaration.
"Heavens above!
Not only did he play the Monarch's Wind Rises Over Daqing Mountain to its Great Perfection of nine hundred and ninety-nine Profound Mysteries, he even evoked the wind-and-cloud momentum!"
"Indeed!
It's absolutely the wind-and-cloud momentum of Wind Rises Over Daqing Mountain!
Back when the Crimson Sky Monarch slaughtered his way through Daqing Mountain, this old man was present. When the Monarch played this piece back then, the sky was just like this, blotted out by dark clouds!"
Boom!
Crack!
Another thunderclap exploded, this one tearing at everyone's eardrums and shaking their very souls.
They saw, within the dark clouds, a crimson bolt of lightning, like a coiling dragon, crackle and explode!
PS: Had some family matters yesterday, so couldn't update. Will make it up over the next couple of days!