Inside the venue.
Grand-Uncle Kumu stared at Gu Qingfeng with an extremely complex gaze.
Originally, he hadn't believed this person was Young Lord Chiyan, much less that he could be the Monarch's heir.
But after that one piece, Wind Rises Over Daqing Mountain, he not only suspected this person might indeed be Young Lord Chiyan, but even began to suspect he was the Monarch's heir.
Setting aside the fact that only the Monarch could achieve something like returning from being reduced to ashes and death, he firmly believed that without the Monarch's personal guidance, it was absolutely impossible to bring out the artistic conception of Chixiao Winds Clouds Thunder in that piece. Because several of the melodies contained within the score were created by the Monarch himself. Under the heavens, only he knew how to play them. Others, relying solely on comprehension, simply couldn't grasp them. For at least several hundred years, no one had managed it—not Musical Arts geniuses, not Musical Arts masters, not even reincarnated experts.
"You...
Are you truly the Young Lord Chiyan who was reduced to ashes three years ago?"
Grand-Uncle Kumu asked solemnly, his voice grave.
Gu Qingfeng responded with a smile and a nod.
"Then you...
Are you truly the Monarch's heir?"
This question left Gu Qingfeng momentarily unsure how to respond. He pondered for a moment, then said lightly, "Grand-Uncle, would you listen to me play one more piece?"
"Why?"
"After hearing this piece, Grand-Uncle, the doubts in your heart will be answered."
With that, Gu Qingfeng placed his hands on the guqin and began to play again.
The melody rose, not as world-shaking as the previous Wind Rises Over Daqing Mountain. The style was strange, or more precisely, somewhat turbulent and fluctuating, like a mountain stream—the rhythm sometimes fast, sometimes slow.
Hearing this piece, the eyes of many in the venue lit up, especially Qing Xi's. The moment the melody began, she knew the piece Gu Qingfeng was playing was none other than the Monarch's famous 'Journey of Youth'.
Musical pieces could roughly be divided into two categories.
The first were Mystic pieces.
Most of these pieces contained power and lethality, like Wind Rises Over Daqing Mountain.
The second category were spiritual pieces.
These pieces contained very few Mysteries, but they could evoke spiritual resonance, allowing one's spirit to wander the heavens and earth, to dream back through the ages.
And Monarch Chixiao's Journey of Youth belonged to this spiritual category.
Almost anyone with even a slight understanding of Musical Arts knew that this Journey of Youth carried the Monarch's memories of his youth.
Legend had it that this Journey of Youth was composed by Monarch Chixiao once when he was drunk, reminiscing about his youth—from wandering the Chiyan Ridge as a child, to the Yunxia Sect, then being expelled, being hunted as a demon, hiding his identity at the Yaoyue Palace, to destroying his own Tiansha Nascent Soul for Feng Zhuyue...
And so on.
It could be said it was a journey of hardship and madness.
Many regarded Monarch Chixiao as their idol. Many from ordinary backgrounds often used the Monarch's story to inspire themselves.
Back then, Monarch Chixiao had no parents, his aptitude was very ordinary, he worked as a menial laborer, was expelled from his sect, had his cultivation crippled several times, teetered on the brink of death multiple times, yet in the end, he still ascended to become the Monarch.
What in the world could be more insane than that?
As the saying went: Without hearing the Monarch's Journey of Youth, one cannot call oneself a youth of the Great Northwest.
Many had always wanted to hear the Monarch's Journey of Youth, and even more wanted to dream back to antiquity, to truly feel the madness of Monarch Chixiao's youth through the music.
Unfortunately, although Journey of Youth was only a spiritual piece, its difficulty was far, far greater than that of Wind Rises Over Daqing Mountain.
Many might be able to bring out the Mysteries of Wind Rises Over Daqing Mountain, even if it was just the false Mysteries of a thunderclap—it still counted as playing it.
But for this Journey of Youth, they couldn't even play the complete piece.
Because when the Monarch composed Wind Rises Over Daqing Mountain, he was only in his early twenties. But when he composed Journey of Youth, he was already in his thirties, his mastery of Musical Arts had long reached a divine level. Wind Rises Over Daqing Mountain contained many melodies he created himself, but Journey of Youth contained even more.
Throughout the entire Great Northwest, whether it was geniuses like Wuhen and Li Qianhua, or masters like Grand-Uncle Kumu and his peers, no one could play the Monarch's Journey of Youth in its entirety. Perhaps some could play it, but most played adapted versions of Journey of Youth, where the contained flavor would inevitably change, making it impossible for listeners to dream back to antiquity and wander through that era.
But there was one exception.
That person was Qing Xi.
To be precise, the Journey of Youth she played was also an adapted version. It was said to have been personally adapted by Fairy Suhua. Although it couldn't compare to the Monarch's original Journey of Youth, it was at least the adaptation closest to the original on the market, and the flavor it contained was relatively close to the original.
However, an adaptation was still an adaptation—it wasn't the original. Even if adapted by Fairy Suhua, it might bring out some of the flavor, it might evoke spiritual resonance and give listeners some sense of it, but it was only a sense. It similarly couldn't make people dream back to antiquity and wander through the Monarch's youth.
Even so, many still wanted to hear Qing Xi play the Monarch's Journey of Youth. Even if it only evoked spiritual resonance and gave a vague sense of the Monarch's youth, it was already very satisfying for everyone.
For this Five-Color Flower Festival, many had come precisely because they heard Qing Xi would play Journey of Youth at the festival.
Who would have thought that before Miss Qing Xi had even played, this Young Lord Chiyan would start playing it.
Everyone listened carefully. At first, they found it strange because it was different from how Miss Qing Xi played it, and different from how others played it too.
Most of the Journey of Youth circulating on the market were adapted versions, and there were many different versions, a bewildering variety. Many thought this Young Lord Chiyan was also playing an adapted version of Journey of Youth, and possibly one of those niche versions that hadn't yet entered the market.
But as they listened, some gradually began to feel something was off and couldn't help but listen more attentively.
This attentive listening was no small matter—it instantly evoked spiritual resonance. Their hearts began to surge, their minds began to relax, and then it was as if their spirits wandered the heavens and earth, dreaming back to antiquity.
They saw, heard, and deeply felt the loneliness and hardship of Monarch Chixiao wandering the Chiyan Ridge.
They also saw, heard, and felt the determination of Monarch Chixiao picking up five-color petals on Wuse Mountain, even feeling the anger of snatching a five-color petal back then, the joy after being saved by Liu Qingyan, the disappointment of failing to join Wuse Mountain, and the admiration the Monarch felt for Liu Qingyan when she escorted him back.
The stubbornness when he joined the Yunxia Sect as a menial laborer.
The stirring of his heart when he first met Hongxiu.
The helplessness when he was expelled from the Yunxia Sect.
The excitement when he formed his Flame True Body, the panic when being hunted, the fear when killing for the first time, the madness when surrounded by enemies.
Listening to the piece, at this moment, everyone fell into the artistic conception of the music, dreaming back to antiquity, carefully feeling and experiencing that mad, passionate era of the Monarch's youth.