The First Sword of the Universe

Chapter 331 First Competition: Music
A tiny candlelight illuminated most of the room.

Three figures sat around the octagonal table.

Xu Xingchen flipped through the Nine Yin Manual, recounting the Sanskrit general outline on the first page in detail, while Hong Qigong and Guo Jing listened quietly beside him.

Many classic works in the world bring different insights and gains with each reading.

The Nine Yin Manual is such a classic masterpiece, and the Sanskrit general outline is the most important part of the entire manual, the key to its success.

This was Xu Xingchen's second time acting as a translator. While explaining, she would occasionally share her own understanding of the general principles of Sanskrit.

When Hong Qigong heard something wonderful, his eyes would often sparkle, and a look of joy would frequently appear on his face.

Guo Jing may be a bit slow-witted, but he always has moments of sudden enlightenment.

Having been exposed to too many divine skills and ultimate techniques, Xu Xingchen did not value the Nine Yin Manual, the number one martial arts manual in the world, too much. He only needed the martial arts principles in it to fill his knowledge base so that he could further improve his martial arts skills.

As for cultivation?!
He couldn't even perfect his own martial arts, so how could he possibly practice the Nine Yin Manual?

In Xu Xingchen's mind, none of the superior martial arts techniques in the Nine Yin Manual were as tempting as Hong Qigong's Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms.

As for having Guo Jing memorize the Nine Yin Manual, it was indeed only to increase his martial arts experience.

Although both the Nine Yang Divine Skill and the Nine Yin Manual are martial arts that combine Yin and Yang, their cultivation methods are completely different. Even if Guo Jing is not very bright, he should be able to understand the difference.

The Sanskrit canonical text is only a thousand words long, yet each word is full of profound meaning, subtle yet profound, mysterious and difficult to understand.

Hong Qigong listened to it once and memorized it all. He then sat on the bed next to him and pondered the principles behind it.

Guo Jing's memory had deteriorated considerably, so Xu Xingchen patiently explained it to him again and again. After three or five repetitions, he finally memorized it all.

At this point, the room became completely quiet!
Hong Qigong and Xu Xingchen each sat on a bed, eyes closed in deep thought, motionless.

Guo Jing sat cross-legged on the floor to meditate and rest.

A single candle flame cast a soft glow, illuminating the three figures in a half-light, half-shadow.

After an unknown amount of time, the candlelight suddenly flickered and burned out completely.

The room was plunged into darkness.
In the blink of an eye, the night had passed!

When it was fully light outside the window, a mute servant knocked on the door and brought in some food.

Seeing that there was suddenly another person in the room, he was a little surprised but didn't think much of it; after going out, he quickly brought in another set of bowls and chopsticks.

After having breakfast, I rested for half an hour.

A mute servant came and led the three out of the courtyard. They walked through a grove of trees and a bamboo forest, until they arrived at an empty spot where a pavilion was located.

The area is open and surrounded by large trees. Above the pavilion hangs a plaque with the three characters "Jicui Pavilion".

A couplet hangs on either side, with the lines "A divine sword flies amidst the peach blossoms, a jade flute plays amidst the rising tide of the blue sea" written in elegant and timeless calligraphy, exuding a sense of aloofness.

At this moment, two people were standing in the center of the pavilion: Huang Yaoshi, dressed in blue, and Huang Rong, dressed in white.

Upon seeing the three arrive, Huang Rong immediately exclaimed joyfully, "Brother Jing, Master, and Master Xu, all three of you are here! That's wonderful!"

Just as he was about to leap over, Huang Yaoshi glared at him, so he had to suppress his excitement.

Guo Jing had been on the island for several days, and this was the first time he had seen Huang Rong. He was very excited. After greeting her, he bowed to Huang Yaoshi and said, "This junior greets Island Master Huang!"

Huang Yaoshi stopped his daughter's impulsiveness, ignored Guo Jing who was bowing to him, first glanced at Xu Xingchen with surprise, and then clasped his hands in a fist and said to Hong Qigong: "Brother Hong, since you came to the island, I have been neglectful. Please forgive me."

In this world, there are only a handful of people whom Huang Yaoshi treats with respect.

Hong Qigong was one of them!
Hong Qigong laughed heartily and said, "Brother Yao, you've had quite a few guests on your island these past few days, I understand!"

After exchanging greetings, Huang Yaoshi looked at Xu Xingchen again and asked in a cold voice, "Boy, how did you escape the Peach Blossom Formation?"

Faced with Huang Yaoshi's change of expression, Xu Xingchen remained unperturbed, merely smiling faintly and saying casually, "Island Master Huang, you are not the only one in this world proficient in the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Formation; similarly, there is more than one way to escape your Peach Blossom Formation."

Huang Yaoshi frowned, about to say something more, when a strange, mournful flute sound suddenly came from not far away.

Everyone turned to look and saw a group of figures dressed in white walking slowly towards them from the end of the path not far away.

Those figures in white, both men and women, were playing flutes of varying lengths, producing sharp and strange sounds.

rustling
The grass and roads around the group were teeming with snakes, their sheer number sending chills down their spines.

Those figures came in all colors and of all kinds, a riot of colors, extremely vibrant and eye-catching.

The only thing they had in common was that they were all highly venomous snakes! Seeing this spectacle of thousands of snakes appearing, Hong Qigong couldn't help but scoff, "That old venomous creature, he always makes such a grand entrance."

As the dense swarm of venomous snakes moved near the pavilion, the flute music played by the men and women in white suddenly became sharp and high-pitched.

All the venomous snakes stopped moving forward, coiled their bodies into a ball, and raised their heads high.

Upon seeing this scene, Xu Xingchen couldn't help but have a strange thought: "These snakes look like clumps of excrement."

As the flute music ceased, the procession of dozens of men and women in white parted to the left and right, revealing the figures of Ouyang Feng and Ouyang Ke.

Ouyang Feng, holding the Ghost-Headed Serpent Staff, strode forward with Ouyang Ke, who was waving a white paper fan. His sharp, sword-like eyes swept over the people in front of him. When he saw Xu Xingchen appear in Hong Qigong's group, he was somewhat surprised, but he had expected it.

He greeted Huang Yaoshi and Hong Qigong, and they were all very polite to each other.

Huang Yaoshi glanced at the handsome Ouyang Ke and nodded in satisfaction; then, looking back at the simple-minded Guo Jing, his brows furrowed.

He had been living in seclusion on the island for over twenty years and was unaware of Ouyang Ke's dashing charm and the large number of women under his command.
I assumed that since Ouyang Ke was Ouyang Feng's nephew and came from a famous school, his martial arts skills must be the best among the younger generation. Coupled with his handsome face and elegant demeanor, I already had a good impression of him.

In contrast, Guo Jing has an honest appearance and does not have the air of a scholar at all.

As for martial arts
When he was in Lujiazhuang on Taihu Island, he intended to teach her a lesson, but she threatened him by jumping into the river, so he had to give up.

But even with Hong Qigong as his master, Guo Jing was still too young to truly learn much of the art.

People tend to have preconceived notions when it comes to their actions.

When you see someone with a handsome appearance, you feel a sense of closeness; but when you see someone with an ugly appearance, you feel a sense of disgust.
Even Huang Yaoshi, a grandmaster of his generation, was not immune to worldly customs.

After the three greeted each other, Hong Qigong asked, "Brother Yao, what kind of test questions have you prepared? Tell me quickly!"

Ouyang Feng also turned to look: "Brother Yao, please tell me the test question; my nephew can't wait to have his wedding night with your daughter!"

Upon hearing this, Huang Rong couldn't help but let out a soft snort.

Ignoring his daughter's dissatisfaction, Huang Yaoshi glanced at everyone present and said in a deep voice, "My three tests are music, martial arts, and reading."

At this, Huang Rong was furious. She stamped her foot and shouted, "Father, aren't you blatantly bullying me? Brother Jing doesn't know anything about music, and he's probably not good at studying either!"

Huang Yaoshi scolded, "If my son-in-law can't even read or play music, wouldn't he become a laughing stock?"

Ouyang Feng's voice was like metal: "Brother Yao is absolutely right. We martial artists cannot only learn martial arts; we must also make achievements in reading and music. As the saying goes: 'Of all things, only reading is noble.' This is the foundation upon which great dynasties have stood."

Hong Qigong disagreed: "We martial artists should ultimately judge each other by our martial arts skills; as for reading and music, those are just minor details."

Huang Yaoshi said coldly, "Brother Hong, Brother Ouyang, you don't need to argue anymore; my mind is made up, I will test you on these three aspects."

Seeing Huang Yaoshi's resolute attitude, Ouyang Feng and Hong Qigong, who were locked in a fierce confrontation, exchanged a glance, snorted coldly, and fell silent.

Xu Xingchen stood aside, watching quietly, thinking to himself, "It seems that things haven't changed."

"However, I'm afraid Island Master Huang has miscalculated."

"While teaching Jing'er martial arts, I also made him read a lot of books; although he can't apply them flexibly, in terms of the breadth of knowledge, Ouyang Ke might not be able to compare with him."

"Even if Island Master Huang takes out the lower part of the Nine Yin Manual and has Jing'er and Ouyang Ke recite it together, with the upper part of the Nine Yin Manual that she memorized last night as a foundation, Jing'er should be able to remember it more easily."

While Xu Xingchen was deep in thought, Huang Yaoshi had already ordered people to bring over two large drums and place them on both sides of the field.

"The first round is a contest of musicality!"

Huang Yaoshi glanced at Ouyang Ke and Guo Jing and instructed them, "Each of you choose a drum and beat it in time with my flute music. The one who can finish a song and keep the beat will be the winner."

Guo Jing and Ouyang Ke quickly stood beside the two drums and picked up the drumsticks wrapped in red cloth.

Guo Jing turned around and glanced nervously at his two masters.

Hong Qigong shouted, "A real man, a true hero, should never cower or be looked down upon, regardless of victory or defeat!"

Xu Xingchen said, "Jing'er, don't worry about the competition. Just go with your gut feeling and win beautifully!"

His words immediately drew the attention of others, some with disdain, some with surprise, some with astonishment, and some with indifference; a diverse range of reactions from all walks of life.

Guo Jing had grown up by Xu Xingchen's side since childhood and knew his master's extensive knowledge and talent. Encouraged by these words, his confidence was greatly boosted. He nodded vigorously and said loudly, "Don't worry, Master, your disciple will do his best."

Seeing Guo Jing's excited and energetic appearance, Hong Qigong asked curiously in a low voice, "Boy, did you teach him music?"

"No." Xu Xingchen shook her head in denial, but said firmly, "However, I believe Jing'er can win!"

(End of this chapter)