flstandardbreds Chapter 433 Things from My Hometown
Chapter 433 Things from My Hometown
"In most of the worlds where fellow Daoists live, breakthroughs in cultivation are achieved through diligent practice and comprehending the true essence of the Great Dao."
The world they live in is not quite the same.
The world I live in is different from yours, fellow cultivators; one can achieve a breakthrough in cultivation level through their own talent.
The Six Arts of a Gentleman and the Eight Refined Arts of a Woman—reaching the pinnacle in any one of them can help one achieve breakthroughs.
"Our cultivation has been stuck at the half-step Foundation Establishment stage for decades..."
After a long and rambling explanation, everyone finally understood that they wanted to engage in a literary contest with talented cultivators from all walks of life.
Although the reasons are far-fetched, there are Confucianists in various circles.
Some Confucian scholars can break through their cultivation level by composing a classic poem.
It's ridiculous, but that's the truth!
The competition is a best-of-three format, with the cloaked figure asking the first question, and the winning side of the next round asking the next question.
Mu Zhen felt nothing but wanting to sing a song; her heart was pounding, her passion was burning…
Isn't this just vying to give me special treatment?
If you can't do anything else, just memorizing a few catchy poems is a piece of cake.
What a line from the poem: "Spring slumber unaware of dawn, lush grass on the plain, two pairs of shoes before the bed, your brother and your sister-in-law."
I can't recite the poem "When Will the Moon Be Bright," but I can sing it.
My brother's a karaoke pro, he can even write couplets, and he's good at everything from admiring flowers and the moon to appreciating Qiu Xiang.
The four men were speechless with disbelief, and Mu Yunfei was too embarrassed to repeat the story to Di Tianhuang.
She can drive in situations like this, her mind is full of lewd nonsense.
Huangfu Zique was truly exasperated this time. His peach blossom eyes were full of smiles as he helplessly and tolerantly patted the girl's head.
Mu Zhen wanted to get angry, but she didn't want to miss the big show on stage, because someone had already jumped on.
"I'll do it!" The man held a folding fan, wore a turban, and was dressed like a typical scholar.
Silver Moon raised her hand.
Then someone stepped forward.
A cloaked figure carrying two guqin (a seven-stringed zither) stepped forward gracefully. With a flick of his sleeve, one of the guqin landed on the low wooden table at the scholar's feet.
Clearly, the cloaked figure chose to play the harp in the first round.
The scholar smiled, confidently flicked his robe, sat cross-legged, and, seeing that his opponent showed no sign of starting, began to play first.
The piano music is long and soothing, and each performance seems to calm people's restless hearts.
The audience members kept their mouths shut and silently prayed that the person would pass the test.
This is to let everyone see if the cloaked man keeps his word, or if he's just making fun of everyone.
Mu Zhen couldn't judge whether the music was played well or not.
Judging from the way everyone around is listening attentively, it must be a good thing, right?
I took out my phone and turned on the recording function.
Seeing her actions, Fu Tingyu couldn't help but tease her: "Do you think he plays very well?"
I don't know if it's good or bad, but now I have to get up very early every day, and sometimes I can't sleep at night.
"I'll listen to this whenever I can't sleep; it's much more effective than sleeping pills!"
Fu Tingyu: ...
Thankfully, she couldn't hear me, otherwise I would have definitely started a fight with her.
Xiao Jukeng's gaze never left the white jade zither in the sky.
As the scholar played the first note, she saw a faint wisp of light slowly drift from the scholar's fingertips toward the white jade zither.
But the old man's pained expression did not change at all.
Just as the scholar was about to stop playing, the man in black robes flicked his fingers and his hands moved swiftly across the strings.
The melody played was like the whisper of heaven and earth.
It is like the roar of a surging river.
Sometimes it is full of heroic spirit, and sometimes it is somber and tragic.
Even Mu Zhen, who wasn't into this kind of music and was used to all sorts of classic hits, couldn't help but prick up her ears.
Hmm! I'm getting a bit excited, but it's not quite there yet; at least my emotions haven't been fully aroused!
When it comes to piano skills, laymen only appreciate the spectacle, while experts focus on the technique.
Anyone in the audience who knows the zither knows that this person is a master of the instrument.
With just the opening, he completely overwhelmed the scholar, leaving him unable to lift his head.
Emperor Tianhuang suddenly lifted his eyelids and stared intently at the person playing the zither, his dark eyes filled with unreserved admiration.
Unsurprisingly, the scholar lost the first round. In the second round, the cloaked figure chose to paint, and the scholar lost again.
"I come!"
"I'll come and meet you!"
"I come!"
In four consecutive rounds, whether it was a poetry contest, a musical instrument contest, or even a tea ceremony competition between two women, no one could defeat the other.
Just as Mu Zhen was about to raise his hand, the second prince gave a wink to one of his subordinates.
"Alright, I'm not very talented, but I've come to learn from you!" The handsome young man, having received the instruction, gracefully jumped onto the stone slab.
In the first round, the cloaked figure chose to compete in couplet writing.
As with the previous rounds, the younger player was allowed to pose the question first.
The boy's words, "Eight eyes still appreciate beauty, appreciating flowers, the moon, and the fragrance of autumn," were like a giant, sharp cone, almost making Mu Zhen, who was dozing off, jump up.
He stared wide-eyed at the small giant pit.
What's going on? Isn't this like the famous Chinese novel "Flirting Scholar"?
How did we end up here? Nobody came up to us to talk to us.
Judging from our attire, it's obvious where we're from, right?
Since we come from the same modern world, shouldn't we at least say hello?
Xiao Jukeng remained calm and collected, taking a sip of wine while his eyes were still fixed on the white jade zither. His reply was extremely perfunctory: "Isn't it normal for transmigrators to appear in other worlds?"
The second prince must have had some extraordinary encounter to have managed to suppress the female lead like that.
"So the Second Prince is a time traveler?" Huangfu Zique whispered to himself.
Little Giant Pit nodded and then shook his head: "I don't know if it's him, but it's definitely not the one on stage. He never even glanced at you."
The second prince is the same, but it cannot be ruled out that he is pretending.
The handsome young man watched as the cloaked figure who had stepped forward to challenge him struggled to come up with a matching couplet, then raised his chin arrogantly and said, "Don't waste your time."
In a contest of couplets, all of you combined couldn't possibly be a match for Zhou.
Smoke shrouds the willows by the pond.
The Moon-Reflecting Well, reflecting the moon's image, the moon's image reflected in the Moon-Reflecting Well, the Moon-Reflecting Well for ten thousand years, the moon's image for ten thousand years.
Lonely and cold, I sit alone by my window, keeping vigil.
Zhou can easily come up with a couplet that will leave you all stumped. Let's move on to the next round.
"Don't you like playing the piano? Let's have a piano match next time!"
After a series of perfectly matched couplets were recited, the noisy scene instantly fell silent.
They were all pondering a suitable second line in their minds.
Mu Zhen clutched her heart, her face filled with unconcealed grief.
The young man smiled and shook his head, then sat down at the zither, and the exhilarating melody of "The Smiling, Proud Wanderer" began to unfold.
His technique was skillful, and he mastered each syllable perfectly.
Both the playing technique and the novel melody captivated the audience.
"Now that's what you call a piece of music! I even want to belt out 'A Laugh in the Vast Sea, the Tides Rise on Both Shores' in sync with him." Mu Zhen excitedly cheered him on.
"You've heard this before?" Huangfu Zique was taken aback. It was the first time he had heard this piece of music, and he had to admit that the melody was very beautiful.
Mu Zhen straightened his back immediately, as proud as if he had composed the music himself: "Do you think I've never heard of something from our Dragon Kingdom?"