Chapter 475
First of all, he was a master of the flute and the zither, and he really couldn’t hold his own in a verbal spar. Secondly, he felt he wouldn’t stand a chance against Li Mo.
“Brother, you seem to have misunderstood me. I’m not...”
“The Master of Mourning Love said he learned from you.”
“...Alright, what else?”
“Also, no underhanded tricks, like poisoning, monkey stealing peaches, throwing lime powder, or hitting someone from behind...”
“I really don’t know how to do any of that...”
“Really? I thought Huang Donglai learned it from you too.”
Ning Que looked skeptical.
“He... is just exceptionally gifted.”
Li Mo sighed and turned away.
“Eh heh~”
Murong Xiao rubbed his bald head and laughed, his eyes sparkling with wisdom.
“Hehe...” Huang Donglai’s smile was a bit dark and lewd, and he even made a gesture as if to say he had it all under control.
Li Mo: “...”
They’re not praising you!
What’s there to laugh about!
But soon, Li Mo understood what Huang Donglai was laughing at.
Because as Ning Que spoke, his mouth and hands suddenly began to swell and turn red:
“Although I admit you’re quite handsome, no less than me, but... um, what’s wrong with my tongue...?”
...
In the audience, Murong Xiao was taken aback, pointing at Ning Que: “Donglai, did you notice his mouth suddenly swelled up, looking like a sausage? And his hands, they look like pig trotters...”
“This is my latest research achievement!”
Huang Donglai stood with his hands behind his back, looking calm.
To make it easier for Brother Li to win, he had specially developed this using many precious materials he couldn’t afford before.
“Aren’t we not allowed to use deadly poison in the competition?”
“Of course, dangerous poisons are banned, but this isn’t a poison at all, not even toxic.”
Huang Donglai took out a small vial from his pocket:
“This is the ‘Faceless Powder.’ When applied, it causes swelling due to bruising and impurities in the body. After an hour, it will automatically return to normal and can even clear internal injuries.”
“So, it’s just a medicinal powder with side effects!”
Murong Xiao leaned back slightly.
He noticed that as Huang Donglai spoke, he too began to swell, his face resembling a bear that had been stung while stealing honey.
So Old Huang had just coated himself with the Faceless Powder, deliberately letting Ning Que hit him?
No, wait, his mouth... oh right, the jade flute!
Hiss... Old Huang is truly a wolf in sheep’s clothing...
...
“Buhau!”
“I’ve fallen for it!”
Ning Que gritted his teeth, his face twisted in frustration as he pulled out the jade flute from his waist:
“How dare you embarrass me like this! Don’t blame me for being merciless!”
“This poison really wasn’t my doing.”
Li Mo hoped he could stay calm.
The whole city was watching; he had finally found an opportunity to showcase his skills as a graceful swordsman in a gentlemanly duel.
Now, with such a huge mess on his head, where could he seek justice?
But Ning Que was already furious, bringing the jade flute to his lips, ready to play:
“Pfft~~”
Li Mo: “...”
The crowd: “...”
Xiao Qin had just returned, looking bewildered: “Who just farted so loudly?”
After a moment of silence, low laughter spread through the audience. Ning Que’s lips were swollen like sausages, nearly as thick as the jade flute, and his hands looked like pig trotters, unable to hold back the laughter.
It looked miserable, but that fart-like sound had everyone in stitches.
“I know you’re anxious, but I might be able to help you detox first...”
“None of your business!”
Ning Que lost his cool, slamming the jade flute to the ground, then clasping his hands together and stretching them out.
With a whoosh—
An invisible zither appeared, formed entirely of flowing water, its strings resembling rippling waves, ethereal and enchanting.
A clear note rang out.
The strings vibrated, and the air around them transformed into flowing water, dark currents swirling and eddying in response to the music.
If it weren’t for the arena being constructed from the principles of the Huai Kong monk’s mustard seed and Mount Meru, the entire Wu Gate would have been submerged in the sound of the zither.
Even if the hands playing the zither were like pig trotters...
“Sigh...”
Li Mo sighed, wondering why being a dashing swordsman had to be so difficult.
But with the situation as it was, the power of the divine weapon left no room for further words.
He had to calm his mind, grasping the Tianren Divine Sword, its shimmering light like autumn waters rippling.
This sword merged with his perfected Dugu Nine Swords, simplifying complexity, fully unleashing its power, and combined with the divine sword’s mystique, the might of the strike soared.
Obscure yet direct, sharp yet strange.
The zither’s sound seemed to shift from formless to tangible, transforming in Li Mo’s eyes into obscure sketch lines on white paper.
This strike was like an eraser wiping away those lines.
Dugu Nine Swords could break through a thousand weapons, including musical instruments.
The Tianren Divine Sword could cut the formless with the tangible.
Amidst the waves of zither music, it flickered, separating the intertwined rhythms and severing the cadence of high mountains and flowing waters.
It pointed directly at Ning Que!
If it weren’t for his Xuan Dan forming a cycle, even if the Tianren Divine Sword had some divine might to lend him, he wouldn’t be able to wield it.
At this moment, Ning Que had calmed down; it was the glinting sword tip that demanded his full attention.
The music shifted, turning from offense to defense, ethereal and lofty, as if layers upon layers were coming from a thousand miles away.
With each layer of sound barrier the Tianren Divine Sword crossed, the shimmering autumn waters dimmed a little.
This piece, played by a divine weapon, was no longer merely a sensory experience of distance.
It was a tangible construction of layers of sound barriers that felt near yet far.
The speed of the sword slowed.
But it ultimately landed on Ning Que’s Qinghai Yuyin zither.
Crack—
A string snapped, vanishing into nothingness.
“Good swordplay, I underestimated you, thinking your swordsmanship was nothing special.”
Ning Que’s eyes flickered, but he quickly changed the subject:
“But if that’s all there is to it, not to mention Jiang Yu, even I wouldn’t be able to win.”
He too possessed perfected divine skills.
And while the Qinghai Yuyin zither might not be as renowned as the Tianren Divine Sword, it all depended on who wielded the divine sword.
---
Chapter 532: High Mountains and Flowing Waters, Breaking the Stalemate
The zither music flowed.
The dark clouds that had covered the sky slowly dispersed, revealing a clear blue sky washed clean.
On the arena, the broken invisible zither strings were rejoined by Ning Que, and since he sat down, an ethereal and elusive feeling enveloped the surrounding space, making it seem distant yet unattainable.
The surroundings quickly fell silent.
“This move isn’t meant for dealing with Jiang Yu and Sikong Liang, though he’s not quite mastered it yet.”
Ning Jue pouted, critiquing her brother’s zither skills.
The disciples of Penglai around her looked as if it were only natural, with no one daring to refute her.
Suddenly, she felt a slight nibbling sensation at her feet, and looking down, she saw a rabbit with little grass growing on its head.
Not far away, Jiang Chuchong had searched around and then dashed over to pick up the rabbit:
“Sorry... it... it might be hungry... I’ll give you my shoes.”
“....”
Ning Jue’s sea silk boots revealed a little pink toe, which moved slightly in the cool air.
“No need, what are you wearing on your eyes?”
“Sunglasses, Brother Li gave them to me, I can’t give them to you...”
“What a strange name.”
“Brother Li made them, so they’re called sunglasses.”
Jiang Chuchong adjusted her sunglasses, her gaze scanning the stage, her brows furrowing slightly:
“This zither music seems quite troublesome...”
“Of course, this piece is called ‘High Mountains and Flowing Waters,’ inscribed on the Qinghai Yuyin, and it’s no less than a divine skill.”
...
On the stage.
“High mountains and flowing waters, where can one find a soulmate? I wonder if Brother Li counts as one...”
Ning Que, with his swollen tongue, struggled to maintain his composure.
Then he realized he couldn’t hold it together at all. Looking at his big pig trotter hands plucking the strings, he snorted:
“Clearly, Brother Li is not a soulmate.”
Zheng—
The tidal wave of zither music suddenly erupted around him, centered on his figure.
This power had far exceeded the realm of observing the divine.
Or rather, the melodies flowing from the Qinghai Yuyin had, in the formless, constructed a strange inner landscape.
The sound of the zither seemed to come from high mountains, and Li Mo focused his mind; he had no time to dispel this distant divine resonance.
Because the flowing waters behind the mountains had already arrived.
The Tianren Divine Sword rose, and the sound of the zither flowed forth. Li Mo felt a fierce force coming from all directions, intertwining, pulling and tugging, dissolving the sharp sword light into formlessness.
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