Nine Star Hegemon Body Art (WN)
chapter-3950

The yellow-robed woman was beautiful and carried herself with a graceful demeanor. Every move of hers seemed to radiate a noble aura, yet it was neither overwhelming nor overbearing. Her innate charm made her seem likable and respectable.

Although none of them knew her name, it could be seen that amongst these disciples of the Zither Sect, her position was the highest.

Just now, her flute had added to the beautiful music, pushing the entire song to an even greater height. She had brought them into the clouds, a testament to just how skillful she was. She was a perfect mix of beauty and power.

Even so, such a powerful Zither Sect disciple was actually so insistent on gaining Long Chen’s pointers. In the beginning, people were simply jealous of Long Chen. But after that verbal sparring and his display of knowledge, they now looked at him in a new light and no longer dared to underestimate him.

Think about it, just how high was her status? For her to lower herself to ask for Long Chen’s pointers, she must think that his judgment exceeded everyone else’s present.

“There are people who call themselves master of one of the ten thousand Daos, but on the path of music, you are always an apprentice!” said the yellow-robed woman with a slight smile.

When she said this, countless cultivators looked at the scholars disdainfully. The meaning behind the look was to contrast themselves with this fairy of the Zither Sect. Her status was higher than theirs and her understanding of musical theory was deeper than theirs, yet she was so humble. As for them? With just the slightest learning and ability, they managed to swagger all the way to the heavens. They really deserved to be slapped in the face.

In front of those disdainful looks, the scholars’ expressions grew ugly. The people that they deemed inferior were now looking down on them, causing them to feel enraged but they were powerless to do anything about it.

“Alright, then I’ll just say what I have to say. The zither music beforehand was flawless. That was an ancient song called Thousand Mountains Reflecting the Snow. The third part, in particular, which is also the climax was majestic, a perfect mix of soft and powerful. It is said that this song was created by an almighty expert of the Music Dao, Guang Ningzi. In his youth, he roamed through mountains of ice. Seeing the snow at the top of the mountains looking like clouds, he had a spark of inspiration and thus this song was born…”

Seeing Long Chen speak of the origin of the song that had just been played, both the cultivators and the scholars present were shocked. Did Long Chen really have skill in this regard?

During his time in the High Firmament Academy, Long Chen had spent days experiencing his soul being almost torn apart just to obtain more knowledge. In the end, he forcibly packed all those ancient tomes into his brain.

Since Zi Yan was a music cultivator, Long Chen spent some more time studying that aspect. Thus, he did have quite some knowledge of the Music Dao. And unexpectedly, it ended up coming in handy today.

“This song was created in Guang Ningzi’s early years, so it has a powerful Yang Qi to it that suits his youth. As that ambition to soar into the heavens in one leap is displayed in this song, the final note is a rarely seen high note. Also, to play this high note requires one’s control to reach a certain peak, a level that countless music cultivators will never be able to reach,” said Long Chen with a bit of praise.

“Brother Long overpraises me. This junior sister cannot accept. Brother Long, can you please tell me where I was lacking?” the yellow-robed woman once more asked humbly.

“Then I won’t stand on courtesy. Your final high note was a faulty note. It was too prominent, and it seems that there was an intent to show off with it. It doesn’t fit with the rest of the zither music. Although it sounds right, it is actually wrong. It is out of place,” said Long Chen.

As soon as he said this, everyone’s expression changed. These words were a bit too hurtful and tactless. It was even more ruthless than when he spoke to the scholars.

The yellow-robed woman’s expression also changed a bit. As for Liao Yuhuang and the others, they were astonished. Wasn’t this evaluation too ruthless? It was practically a complete rejection of her skills.

“Do you even understand musical theory?! You call such a beautiful thing out of place?! If it was out of place, why was it so beautiful? You’re just making up profound-sounding nonsense!” shouted the pale, pudgy scholar that had been silent for a long time.

Unexpectedly, Long Chen smiled and clapped. “I didn’t expect that you could also talk normally. How rare! You got right to the point. However, we can discuss this question later. Let us first talk about this fairy’s performance.”

Curiously, Long Chen actually praised the scholar this time even though the praise wasn’t very good.

“Brother Long, please enlighten me!” said the yellow-robed woman. Her voice was still calm and humble, but she was clearly a bit thrown off.

Long Chen looked at her and smiled slightly. “Perhaps what I’m saying is hard to hear, but since you so sincerely insisted, I can only tell the truth. It’s hard to accept criticism, but this pain is unavoidable. When it comes to the Music Dao, because I am not a music cultivator, I can only judge from the viewpoint of a spectator. The previous zither music was flawless. When you joined in, although the timing, rhythm, and first note were also perfect, in the end, you were someone who came in later, not from the start. As soon as you came in, you took the lead, leading everyone into the clouds in the sky. Although it gave a strong impact, after that impact, it gave off a sense of disharmony.”

“Brother Long is saying that I should not use the flute to guide the climax?” asked the yellow-robed woman.

Long Chen shook his head. “You still don’t understand what I’m saying. A giant tree starts as a sprout, a tall tower starts with the foundation, and a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step. You did not participate in the building of the foundation, so how can you suddenly jump from the peak of the tower? The work of everyone, the fruit that everyone worked for, was plucked by you alone? To have no start and only the end is a defiance of the natural order.”

“Are you saying that I took other people’s harvest for myself?” The yellow-robed woman’s expression suddenly changed. At this moment, there was finally a touch of anger in her eyes.

Long Chen looked at her and didn’t reply, and the woman also looked at him coldly. She finally said, “An army needs a commander, and the ten thousand spirits need a leader. If a guide is not at the front, are they supposed to be at the rear?”

Everyone felt that Long Chen’s words were going too far, accusing her of only pretending to be noble and virtuous, stealing other people’s thunder.

“Why aren’t you saying anything?”

Seeing him just stare at her without saying anything, she couldn’t help pressing him.

“You’re not even going to call me brother Long anymore?” Long Chen smiled helplessly.

“Then brother Long, please continue giving me guidance,” said the yellow-robed woman coldly.

“You are angry,” said Long Chen profoundly.

Upon hearing those words, a tremor coursed through the yellow-robed woman's heart. As a practitioner of the Music Dao, intense emotional fluctuations were a taboo. It was because cultivating music meant cultivating one's innermost being, and her anger revealed a deficiency in her mastery, suggesting that her skills were still too shallow.

What made her angry was Long Chen’s hurtful words. But the reason they hurt her was because deep in her heart, or perhaps deep in her soul, something was causing mischief.

If she didn’t have certain feelings inside of her, his words would only cause confusion, not any emotional ripples. Thus, just by saying that she was angry, Long Chen had enlightened her about the major issues.

“Brother Long, please teach me!”

The yellow-robed woman suddenly handed her flute to Long Chen, leaving him dumbfounded. When it came to bragging, he was decent. But playing the flute?