Roleplay

A large mansion in the middle of a large city within the Great Solar Empire. On this day, the City Lord of Whitecloud City was holding a public event to find a son-in-law for himself and a husband for his eldest daughter.

Currently, one of the three tests had already ended, while the second test was about to begin. Many of the suitors were already prepared. Though, roughly half of them didn't know how to hold the instruments properly, let alone play the instruments.

Immediately, those people failed the test and didn't participate in the test, awaiting the third and final test, the martial test where they excelled in.

After a majority of those participating in the test had their turn, which attracted the crowd with their graceful playing, the young man who went last in the previous test was last again. Even though he didn't participate in the literacy test, it seemed he knew how to play the guqin.

His fingers were placed gently on the strings on each side, as he began to play a tune. As he played his piece, everyone was immersed and felt as though they were seeing the scene that was being portrayed in his playing.

In an instant, a scene of warfare, where a common soldier was summoned to the battlefield on his wedding night was seen. One couldn't hear him speak, but they could feel the emotions that the soldier and his wife felt at that moment.

That night, the soldier put on his armor and helmet, bringing his spear with his newlywed wife's help. The husband and wife hugged for a few moments, as the soldier left for the battlefield, not knowing whether he would ever return.

One could see the tall and proud back of the soldier as he walked out of his door, as his wife trailed behind and stopped by the door with tears dripping from her two eyes. Slowly, the soldier disappeared from her sight, as the scene changed.

Now, one could see the battlefield, in which many corpses from soldiers of two opposing sides were battling. In the middle of the battle, a familiar soldier was seen with three spears that tore through his chest, as blood dripped from his mouth.

The soldier held his spear and continued slaying his enemies until his very last breath, as he died standing with his eyes open, thinking about his wife with his final breath. Soon, the scene changed again, as the soldier's wife was seen.

When the soldier took his last breath and won victory for his country, the wife felt a stabbing pain in her chest, as if something was dug out of her heart. Unknowingly, tears and sorrow consumed her, as she had figured out the death of her beloved.

As the scene ended within everyone's mind, the music stopped playing. Opening their eyes, many people including the other participants all turned to face the young man who was playing the guqin just now. His music was exquisite, while the image portrayed in the mind of others was extraordinary.

Only by practicing for many years, or being a genius in the Music Concept, would one be able to project an image in the mind of others through music. Within the Music Concept, there were a few stages, Tune, Hymn, Melody, and Soul.

Only by reaching the Hymn stage within the Music Concept, would one be able to produce such a powerful image in the mind of others through their tune. The young man was obviously young, this meant that either he had been playing since childhood, or he was a genius in the way of Music.

When he stopped playing, the young man stood up and faced the crowd, who was clapping for him. He didn't smile, but one could tell that he was thankful to the crowd for listening to his piece.

Judging from the sound of the clapping, it was obvious who had won this second test. Such a genius who can reach the Hymn stage at such a young age was obviously the winner, if not, would it be the wild men who could only fight?

After this test was over, the instruments were cleared off, while the stage was set for the third and final test. After this test, the City Lord's daughter will select a son-in-law for him, allowing everyone in the city to meet his new son-in-law.

Of course, Yan Lenglei already knew who the winner would be as soon as the first test began. He was only here for entertainment at this point, to see if there was anything that may interest him.

The third round was simple, the thirty or so participants would fight in pairs in a tournament-style battle. If one surrendered, was unable to continue the battle, or fell off the stage, they would be eliminated from the rest of the tournament.

Going ahead in time, many battles took place and ended very quickly. Most of the participants were only of the Noble Realm, with only few at the top of the realm. The young man who had performed his music piece well was at the Seventh Stage of the Noble Realm.

Combined with his Music Concept of the Hymn realm, he easily overwhelmed his opponents who were of a lower stage, as himself. For him to be at this stage in cultivation, his talents were also good, not just his Music Concept alone.

He didn't even need to move from his spot to defeat his opponents. Just by plucking the strings on his guqin, his opponents would puke a mouthful of blood, before giving up. Even one person at the same stage as himself was no exception.

It seemed like only one person, who seemed to be a young master from an aristocratic family, who had done well in all three tests so far could stand a chance against him. The young man seemed to be the same age and was at the Ninth stage of the Noble Realm.

His cultivation was very high for his age, making him a top talent of his age even within the Great Solar Empire. Soon, both young men who were the top two talents in this tournament would face off in the finals.

When they stood on the stage, Yan Lenglei noticed an extremely subtle atmosphere around the two young men on the stage. The aura's being emitted naturally from them seemed somewhat similar, even though they were both clearly practicing different Concepts.

"So he is in cahoots with them as well. They must be friends." Yan Lenglei thought. Suddenly, a small motion confirmed his thoughts, but it seemed like nobody else had noticed.

On the platform, both young men had their weapons prepared for their battle. The young man with his guqin sat down on the other side with his guqin in front of him, while his opponent drew a saber from his Spatial Ring.

The saber emitted a powerful aura, making one able to tell that it was a powerful Spiritual Tool. However, in Yan Lenglei's eyes, it was just a regular steel saber that was wrapped in a powerhouse's Spiritual Qi.

His pupils constricted as he saw this. Everyone was paying attention to the stage at this moment, so nobody saw the golden shine in his pupils that seemed like dazzling stars. On the stage, the young man with the saber moved, his saber was enveloped in golden flames that seemed to be able to burn the entire world with a single slash.

On the other side, his opponent sat calmly and plucked the strings of the guqin.

Ohm!

A sound was heard as the strings began to move, while a powerful wave of Music Qi was released into the atmosphere from the guqin. The wave of Music Qi came out like a shockwave, protecting him from every direction.

A golden saber of flames came slashing down. The young man with the guqin felt as though the very sun itself was coming down for him. A blinding golden light shot through the air and cut down his Music Qi, shattering it into a million pieces like a mirror.

Ohm!

His fingers danced across the strings of the guqin, multitudes of Music Qi were launched and attacked like an endless torrent of sharp wind that could cut through anything. The Music Qi became incredibly sharp like swords, being able to cut through anything under the heaven and earth.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Boom!

The surge of Music Qi clashed against the golden Flame Qi. A single saber came crashing down from the heavens, slashing apart anything in its way. It was as if there was nothing in the heavens could stop this blade.

The golden saber cut apart wave, after wave of Music Qi with a single motion. Here, the difference in cultivation realms was showing. The Seventh Stage, against the Ninth Stage of the Noble Realm.

Normally, such a gap in cultivation would be decided in an instant. In this case, the gap was ignored as they both fought evenly. Rather, the young man with the guqin had a slight advantage. His guqin was actually a true Spiritual Tool, compared to the fake being used by the young man with the saber. The difference in their weapon of choice closed the gap even further between them.

Not only that, the Music Qi was much faster than the Flame Qi which could only cut down once, in the same timeframe in which multitudes of Music Qi could be sent out in waves. Standing up, the young man no longer sat down with his guqin.

Instead, it floated in the air under his arms, as he continued playing musical notes, while moving across the stage.

A golden saber flashed across the stage. Golden Flame Qi spewed and streaked across the air, clashing against a majestic blue Music Qi. Two figures clad in light robes clashed on the stage, which lasted a long while.

Neither side stopped their relentless attacks, as though they weren't afraid of running out of Spiritual Qi. Eventually, both sides were running low on Spiritual Qi. Even though there was a difference in Spiritual Qi due to their cultivation base, those that practiced the Way of Music, all had a larger amount of Spiritual Qi that they could store within themselves, compared to others of the same, or even a higher stage.

In a battle of attrition, there was no way for a practitioner of the Way of Music unless both sides had a huge quantitative leap in Spiritual Qi. On one side, the blue guqin was preparing a final attack, while on the other side, the golden saber was slightly weakened after such a long battle.

Even though it was a long battle, the crowd weren't bored. It wasn't everyday that one would be able to see two peak geniuses within the Great Solar Empire's younger generation battle, especially not when they are fighting for a wife.

The golden saber's aura slowly dimmed as the battle erupted over a long period of time. Since this was the end of the battle, all of the wielder's Spiritual Qi was poured into the saber, slightly enlarging the golden flames.

Both sides gathered all their remaining power into this final move. The crowd were stuck in suspense, wanting to see who the winner would be. Around the two figures standing on the stage, a powerful storm of Spiritual Qi erupted around them.

The ground beneath their feet was starting to break, while the rubble from their attacks levitated in the air. Their long black hair danced wildly along with the wind, as both figures disappeared from their locations, and appeared less than a meter away from each other.

Bang!

A blinding blue and gold light from two powerful Spiritual Qi clashing exploded on the stage. Only those with a stronger cultivation base, or the especially talented figures in the crowd could see, everyone else was covering their eyes from the light.

Once the blinding light disappeared, only two figures could be seen on the stage, standing on the opposite side of the stage with their backs turned to each other. They both appeared fine, as their weapons were lowered, and their hair sat gently on their back and shoulders.

Suddenly, both sides had blood dripping from the corners of their mouths at the same time. Their clothing were torn from long wounds that looked like sword wounds, but it was clearly wounds made from a saber and sharp Music Qi.

The battle finished here. It could be considered a draw, since both sides suffered similar wounds that didn't seem any worst on either side. Since the battle was over, and the outcome of the event was determined, Yan Lenglei had no reason to linger around the City Lord's mansion.

Slipping through the crowd, Yan Lenglei quietly left the City Lord's mansion, as he stepped outside the gate, he felt a hand approaching him from behind and turned around.