Chapter 605 - Guqin Valley
Lian Yuqing lost.
A Grade One Noble ranked fifth on Law Rank and possessed unparalleled skill in the art of the guqin, yet he lost to another playing the instrument; he lost to Ye Futian, a Grade Eight Noble.
If the competition had been one where the musical spells were used for fights, it would have been pointless as the victor would have been apparent. However, that competition was based on Ye Futian’s ideas about sparring, where one’s mastery of the art of the guqin was considered. Lian Yuqing had immense pride, especially when it came to the art of the guqin. It was unthinkable for him to attack Ye Futian, as such, he went testing Ye Futian’s skills as a fellow musician of the instrument, matching the illustrations brought forth by Ye Futian through his own extraordinary mastery at the art.
Lian Yuqing performed admirably, befitting of one who was ranked fifth on the Law Rank. Yet, the last song proved too much for him to handle. Despite giving his all, he failed to match the state illustrated by that last song. He ended up thoroughly burnt out, suffering intense mental trauma and physical injuries while the string on his guqin broke.
Many understood what that outcome meant—Lian Yuqing lost to Ye Futian at a guqin competition.
Having only arrived at the Holy Zhi Palace less than a year ago, the champion of the entrance battles emerged as a newbie to question the rules of the sparring sessions, presenting his ideas of proper sparring to the veterans and old timers. He claimed that he was not inferior to his seniors in any way but plane. He fulfilled what he had claimed, beating his seniors in both martial arts and sorcery. Now, even Lian Yuqing, the one who ranked fifth on the Law Rank, lost to him. It was a prestige for Futian like no other.
Looking at the silhouette who was still playing his instrument, many looked dazed. Rumors about Ye Futian had been all over the place since the day he entered the Holy Zhi Palace; rumors which were all unsavory, claiming him to be vile, weak, and cowardly.
So what now? He remained calm and composed even when facing the one who ranked fifth on the Law Rank.
Yun Shuisheng looked at Ye Futian with a tinge of interest in her cold eyes. She felt unable to read the young man before her.
Xiang Zhiqin’s face went pale altogether. What happened before seemed like a joke. It was a sarcastic twist of fate like no other. Even the number one noble in the Daozang Palace lost, which meant that she had no place disparaging Ye Futian or doubting the one Hua Jieyu deemed worthy. She came to realize right there and then why Hua Jieyu reacted so intensely that day: Hua Jieyu knew him through and through while Xiang Zhiqin knew nothing.
Yun Feng looked at Ye Futian. He felt the light of Ye Futian was unbearably blinding. It made him feel worthless and despaired.
Zhuge Xing had his eyes on Ye Futian as well. The impact Ye Futian brought forth then was even more intense than the ones seen in the battles prior to their entry to the Holy Zhi Palace. The one Ye Futian faced was not a newbie, but Lian Yuqing, who ranked fifth on the Law Rank. All those who were in the same batch as Ye Futian felt some kind of heat welling up in their chests. What Ye Futian had pulled just now was indeed a tale to be told in legends. That one song made him into the only truly unique being in the place meant for sparring.
Hua Jieyu smiled, looking at Ye Futian with her clear eyes. What a good-looking guy indeed. That was the Ye Futian that she knew and loved.
Yu Sheng looked composed, and he was the only one capable of looking so composed. He ceased being surprised no matter what Ye Futian ended up achieving. He deemed such achievements to be Ye Futian’s destiny: a glorious being admired and revered by tens of thousands. That was his destiny regardless of where he ended up, even in the Holy Zhi Palace.
Tremendously terrifying Spiritual Qi moved as a horrifying current was sensed from afar, encasing the entire Zhonggong Battle Platform. Ye Futian continued to play his instrument as if he had totally lost himself in the illustration brought by the song he played. It was no longer a match between him and Lian Yuqing. He played because he felt a resonating power coming from somewhere else.
It was not just Ye Futian; everyone in the sparring place felt the same kind of power. They looked far away and saw a gust of terrifying air moving toward them with the wind. Intense vibrations were whipped up around them. The air came from an area located between where they were and the Law Power Zone. The area was incredibly vast, with many secret sites and ruins strewn about the place, as well as blessed sites for training left by the predecessors of the Holy Zhi Palace for those who succeeded them. There were even places that were incredibly difficult to tread.
The students of the Holy Zhi Palace spent many years to advance themselves, not even having to go on pilgrimages outside. The reason for that lied within the tremendously rich resources for training in the Holy Zhi Palace. Even if one were to spend five to ten years studying there, it was still impossible for one to step foot in every single place for training there was.
The song Ye Futian was playing grew incredibly loud and vivid, reverberating everywhere. All eight statues resonated and burst with dazzling light. Mystical energy was conjured in the air, resonating with the sound of Ye Futian’s guqin. The tune was practically heard everywhere by then, spreading far and wide, invoking even stronger vibrations.
“It’s musical notes.” Many were shocked to their core.
Lian Yuqing looked up in the air. Countless musical notes were seen coming from the area of ruins, attracted by Ye Futian’s playing. They resonated with the sound of Ye Futian’s guqin, writing a new tune with him.
Lian Yuqing’s pride was practically shattered by then. He was utterly crushed by a student who had just entered the Holy Zhi Palace.
That day on the Law Battle Platform, Ye Futian said that there would be a day when he would have Lian Yuqing hear him play. Lian Yuqing did not bother with him. It was totally unexpected that that day would have come so soon. Within mere months, Ye Futian indeed came to play him a song.
“That would the Ukiyo song.” Although Lian Yuqing had no idea that the Ukiyo song was introduced to the Barren State through Ye Futian, he nonetheless knew of the song renowned to be one of the top ten pieces in existence. What Ye Futian played was infused with the will of rulers. Thus, it was none other than the Ukiyo song introduced to the Barren State. It was said that Bai Luli learned the song, but it was unexpected that Ye Futian knew how to play it as well, and furthermore, was able to be so richly illustrative with the Ukiyo song.
Lian Yuqing lost to Ye Futian in the art of the guqin. He was pitiful, yet he did not feel much sadness about it. To anyone who devoted their lives to the guqin, there was nothing to be sad in losing to someone playing the Ukiyo song. What was embarrassing about his predicament, however, was that the one who was playing the Ukiyo song was Ye Futian. Ye Futian, who Lian Yuqing disliked intensely, bested him with one such legendary song.
The crazed rush of the current continued as more and more musical notes were seen. One figure after another moved to the site where the tune was played. Even some of the elders in the Holy Zhi Palace were so moved that they had to hear the song in person.
The minds and hearts of many were shocked. The sparring sessions attracted the attention of the elders due to Ye Futian’s actions. They had thought the sessions were just about to begin only to find out that it was already the climax.
With such a magnificent display of skills and power demonstrated at such a stage, what more could have happened that was deemed capable of surpassing what was seen right there and then?
Some of the Holy Zhi Palace elders looked in the direction of somewhere in the area of ruins. They knew of a mystical place there, a place left behind by an extraordinarily powerful predecessor, and it was a place few were able to tread. At that moment, musical notes traversed the space between the two places to write a song with Ye Futian.
“Following the trail of the musical notes, head to Guqin Valley,” an elder told Ye Futian as they looked in the direction of the Zonggong Battle Platform.
A spark was seen in Ye Futian’s eyes, and he leaped up from where he sat, playing his instrument as he headed for the place where the musical notes came from. If it was a place the elders of the Holy Zhi Palace told him to visit, then there was no doubt that it was a place worth visiting.
So the resonating power came from Guqin Valley?
“Guqin Valley,” Lian Yuqing went pale as he uttered the name of the place. It was as he had guessed. The sounds came from Guqin Valley indeed. He had tried multiple times to venture there, yet he was unable to enter the mystical place even now. However, right there and then, the possibility of Ye Futian being given the right to enter was incredibly high. It was indeed sarcasm like no other. Lian Yuqing suffered a truly crushing defeat.
Everyone stared at Ye Futian as he left for Guqin Valley, and they turned their eyes to Lian Yuqing, feeling extremely uneasy. The sparring session had been rather cruel to Lian Yuqing. Not only did he, the one who ranked fifth on the Law Rank, lose to Ye Futian at a guqin battle, but the victor was also even summoned by the valley itself.
It was natural that many had heard of the Guqin Valley. It was said that there was a frightening powerful figure in the Holy Zhi Palace who reached incredible heights training with the guqin, becoming an existence feared by many. His skill in the guqin allowed him to mesmerize people and take control of their minds. It even allowed him to stimulate the latent potential of people, and his abilities were incredibly eerie in nature. Many top-class figures in the Barren State avoided him like a plague. It was said that he was the number one on the Barren Sky Ranking of the previous generation.
That figure was none other than Liu Kuangsheng, the Nine-fingered Guqin Demon told in legends. He had been a madman throughout his life, and his soul came to rest in Guqin Valley. Many in the Holy Zhi Palace knew that Lian Yuqin tried many times to gain entrance into Guqin Valley to inherit the lineage of the ruins of Liu Kuangsheng. However, he failed at every single attempt and had never been able to truly step foot in Guqin Valley. Yet, Ye Futian’s song managed to move the Guqin Valley instead. It would have been anyone’s guess how Lian Yuqing, the one known to be the best in the art of the guqin in the Law Rank, felt.
Lian Yuqing’s eyes were locked on the figure who just left the site. His expression changed as he took to the air, chasing after Ye Futian. He wanted to see yet again if he would be able to make it into Guqin Valley.
Yu Sheng, Hua Jieyu, and some others flashed and took to the air, going after Ye Futian. Many in the sparring place looked funny as one figure after another left. Despite the event of the day being sparring sessions, Ye Futian practically stole the event’s thunder. With Guqin Valley resonating with Ye Futian, many went after him, and that rendered things rather awkward for the event itself. Shall we continue or just pause it for now?
Many turned to look at Hua Fan. At that very moment, an elder said while standing in the air, “Those who wish to leave are free to do so, but it is probably something that has nothing to do with you. Those who stay, continue the sessions.” They left as soon as the announcement was made. Some others were seen leaving, but most elected to stay behind.
“That practice was indeed inappropriate. Since Ye Futian proved his point to be true, we shall just abolish that round of events in further sessions then,” said a voice. Many turned to look at the one who spoke; it was Dou Kun from Battle Sage Palace, and Ye Futian was considered his junior.
Dou Kun was ranked second on the Law Rank.
Many went silent at his words. While there was no absolute right or wrong, Ye Futian had beaten Lian Yuqing, and it was only natural that his points were right. From that battle, it was obvious that Ye Futian’s ranking on the Law Rank would have made a considerable leap.
“This will be my last time hosting the sparring sessions. The future sessions will be in your hands. The sessions for newbies in the future shall be restricted to the difference of two planes at best, and they should be held mainly to provide guidance,” Hua Fan said calmly.
The battle of the day spelled more than Lian Yuqing’s defeat; it was also the defeat of obsolete rules. Ye Futian broke it as a newbie. If there was a day where he would end up as the champion of the Law Rank, it was something that had to be acknowledged, regardless of what everyone else thought of him.
Hua Fan did not make one thing clear, however. There was a huge possibility that the future Law Rank would have been overseen by Ye Futian, and that was probably something that would happen within just a few years.
“Continue,” Hua Fan cleared his thoughts as he said. He felt immensely moved. Many prominent figures appeared from every generation, and the ones to emerge from the younger generations were destined to best the ones who came before them!