The Long Journey to Immortality

"Hmph, you're quite lucky."

"However, this piece is not suitable to be played here. It seems that this piece will not get a high score from me."

After listening to just a few notes of the song, he found yet another reason to give Han Lu a low score and a bad review.

Han Lu's hands moved without stopping, the music continued to flow in the air, and this bittersweet story continued.

To be honest, Han Lu felt that her playing of "Phoenix Returns Home" was not as good as "High Mountains and Flowing Water".

However, since neither Feng Qian nor Han Bingyan, two of the three judges, had ever heard of such a stylistically different piece before, and had no point of reference for comparison, they mentally gave Han Lu's performance of "Phoenix Returns Home" a higher evaluation than her performance of "High Mountains and Flowing Water".

Feng Qian, in particular, began to daydream, wondering if this piece of music, which he had never heard before, was composed by Han Lu.

Besides his talent for playing instruments, his high-ranking relative also possessed considerable talent for musical composition.

Han Bingyan remained calm as before.

She squinted slightly, trying to appreciate the essence of this "new piece" from an artistic perspective, much like doing a reading comprehension exercise, attempting to understand the mood of the piece and guess what kind of story this clearly narrative piece was telling.

Ten fingers playing in quick succession.

The melodies danced smoothly at Han Lu's fingertips, expressing her mixed emotions of joy and sorrow through music.

The piece was very good, and Han Lu's playing technique was flawless, but she was ultimately not a master-level performer.

Without a surprising and decisive move, Han Lu is only 50% confident that she can score at least 85 points on her rendition of "Phoenix Returns Home".

Because "Phoenix Returns Home" was a piece used for propaganda, it is naturally shorter and more concise than ancient tunes from the Central Plains.

The piece ended in just three and a half minutes.

The last note abruptly stopped, like the last enemy soldier on the battlefield having his head chopped off. Before the joy of victory could even well up in the warrior's heart, he found himself surrounded by nothing but ruins and countless corpses of both friend and foe, leaving him only with a sense of bewilderment and helplessness.

Han Lu rose and bowed, announcing the end of the performance of the second piece.

This time, Xiu Luo couldn't wait to speak and comment, trying to set the tone for the evaluation of this piece.

“The song ‘Phoenix Returns Home’ is a tune from the Western Regions, and its emotions are rather melancholic. It would be somewhat inappropriate to play it at the Hundred Birds Gathering.”

"The performance was passable; it simply conveyed the music in a basic way, and there was nothing particularly noteworthy about it."

"Seventy-six points."

Xiu Luo made no attempt to hide her true feelings and gave him a score that was slightly below average.

Upon hearing Xiu Luo's explanation of the origin of the piece, the contestants in the rest area praised this "troublesome referee" repeatedly, regarding his words as authoritative and inviolable.

If these contestants were to score Han Lu, she would be considered quite good if she scored 75 on her second performance.

Fortunately, Feng Qian and Han Bingyan both had their own ideas and would not follow Xiu Luo's lead.

Feng Qian openly contradicted Xiu Luo, saying, "Not bad, the high-spirited parts are spirited, and the low-spirited parts are also quite infectious. I give it a score of ninety."

Han Bingyan resorted to her old tricks again. After calculating in her mind, she expressed her opinion based on the final average score rather than her own score.

"His playing technique was as excellent as before."

"I haven't heard the original piece, so I don't know what it would be like if the best performers played it."

"But at least, just now, I was moved by the emotions in the music."

I give it 88 points.

The average score from the three judges, Xiu Luo, Feng Qian, and Han Bingyan, was 84.6 points, which was just below Han Lu's expectations.

However, considering that she was being targeted by one of the judges, Han Lu was already quite satisfied with this score.

She was confident that she could turn the tide in the third round and at least surpass the highest-scoring contestant to take first place.

Chapter 989 Surging Waves

The competition began with two guqin pieces, and Han Lu prepared a xiao (vertical flute) piece for her third entry.

He put away the guqin given to him by the high priest and took out the wooden xiao that he used frequently in magical duels back then.

Due to Han Lu's improved cultivation level, this wooden flute, which was only of magical artifact quality, had long lost its chance to appear in battles.

However, when Han Lu practices music and plays the xiao (a type of vertical bamboo flute) on a regular basis, she still holds it in her hand and uses it as an ordinary musical instrument, continuing to shine in Han Lu's daily life.

"Floating on the Vast Waves" is the third piece that Han Lu played.

She learned about this piece of music from Xiaoyaozi's memories.

Xiaoyaozi was born into a fisherman's family. He was discovered by a cultivator from the East China Sea when he was about eight and a half years old, and was led onto the path of cultivation.

At the age of seven, Xiaoyaozi learned to play the xiao (vertical bamboo flute), and "Fan Canglang," a piece depicting fishermen and the sea, was his most proficient piece.

Because of this memory of Xiaoyaozi, Han Lu has a special feeling for the piece "Fan Canglang" and her performance is particularly outstanding.

The music style was suitable and the skill level was excellent, which is why Han Lu chose this piece to perform at the Hundred Birds Festival.

The ethereal sound of the xiao (a type of vertical bamboo flute) filled the stage.

The group then traveled from the ruins of the ancient battlefield to a vast, calm sea.

In the distance, the coastal mountains are shrouded in clouds, and the sea reflects the colors of the sky. A fisherman sets sail in his small boat on such a fine day to go out to sea to fish.

On this day, the fishermen were lucky; with two nets cast, they caught quite a few big fish, and the music became cheerful.

However, as the fishermen's boats drifted further and further from the shore, the once calm ocean revealed its true nature.

A strong wind rose, and the waves grew higher and higher. In the blink of an eye, the calm fisherman became tense, furled his sails, held tightly to the mast, and relied on his experience to fight the sea.

The struggle between nature and mortals lasted a long time, but in the end, mortals emerged victorious.

At the end of the song, the sound of a swift wind blows across the sea, and the fisherman, though exhausted, returns home with a full catch, bringing the story to a perfect close.

This time, even Xiu Luo couldn't find any major flaws in the score.

On the one hand, Xiu Luo was not good at playing the xiao (vertical bamboo flute), and on the other hand, Han Lu, who was holding back her anger, performed better than usual.

"Eighty-five points." Unwilling to offer much comment, Xiu Luo reluctantly gave the lowest score he could.

If even Xiu Luo gave such a score to evaluate Han Lu's performance of the third piece, one can only imagine what kind of evaluation the other two judges would give.

Feng Qian first praised Han Lu lavishly, adopting an attitude of "recommending the worthy regardless of kinship," and once again gave her a high score of 95.

If Feng Qian gave such a high score to "High Mountains and Flowing Water" to "criticize" others, then Feng Qian's current high score is entirely based on his recognition of Han Lu's piano skills.

Han Bingyan, on the other hand, remained as calm as ever.

Although Han Lu's performance was also highly praised in the form of comments, it was not as exaggerated as Feng Qian's.

"Ninety points... Han Lu, if there's a chance, let's have a private chat these next few days." After extending the invitation, Han Bingyan telepathically sent Han Lu her address in the guest area of ​​Sanfenglin.

Han Lu was overjoyed. One of her purposes in participating in this competition was to receive guidance from a renowned master among birds and improve her skills in the Six Arts.

After thanking her repeatedly, Han Lu happily walked off the stage, clutching the wooden flute.

With a total score of 256.6, she is now the first among the nineteen participants who have completed the Han Lu Qin Art Competition.

If none of the subsequent contestants score more than 256.6 points, then Han Lu will be able to win the championship and bring a good honor to the phoenixes of Sanfenglin and herself at the Hundred Birds Gathering.

However, considering Xiu Luo's series of actions, Han Lu felt that this might not necessarily be a safe thing to do.

"There may still be changes."

Han Lu returned to the rest area and scanned the faces of the remaining eight contestants, trying to find any "connections" among them and see what her biggest competitor looked like.

Unfortunately, Han Lu didn't have mind-reading abilities. The person with the "connection" was very cunning and didn't reveal a single clue or flaw.

Since she couldn't figure it out directly, Han Lu simply smiled, returned to her seat, and continued to listen.

After Han Lu sat down, several other contestants who had finished their competitions quietly congratulated her in front of the audience, many of them quoting the words the three judges had used to praise Han Lu.

Han Lu humbly accepted the replies and responded one by one to the pieces they had played during the competition, just as she remembered them. The atmosphere of communication that had existed before returned thanks to Han Lu's performance.

The atmosphere has improved, but that doesn't mean the next contestant will be able to perform at their best in this environment.

Although the average level of the nine people after Han Lu was much higher than before, none of them were able to challenge Han Lu's first place.

Blacksmith need its own hardware.

Xiu Luo's alien disciple's performance on stage was only average. After seeing that Feng Qian and Han Bingyan only gave him a score of eighty, he completely gave up the idea of ​​helping him "open the back door" to improve his score.

Honestly score according to your own evaluation criteria.

After the last three pieces, the contestant who was unaware that his master had tried to give him special treatment but failed only scored a mere 243 points, barely ranking sixth and failing to even make it into the top three.

After the last contestant finished playing the first two pieces, the top three in this competition were basically determined.

The runners-up and third-place winners congratulated Han Lu, and the three of them gathered together, patiently waiting for the moment of final victory.

In the end, the last contestant from the Zerg only scored 235 points, which did not affect the top three in the slightest.

Without waiting for the phoenix to announce the program, Han Lu, along with the runner-up and the champion, took the initiative to walk onto the stage.

It was late, and since it was just a low-profile piano competition, the awards ceremony was very simple.

The three judges presented the awards one-on-one. Naturally, Feng Qian, the most prestigious of the three judges, was responsible for presenting the award to Han Lu, the champion.

In addition to receiving 1,500 feathers that could be exchanged for resources at the exchange center, Han Lu also received a medal symbolizing her status as the champion of the Qin (a traditional Chinese stringed instrument) competition.

The trophy is a piece of jade, carved into the shape of a guqin (a traditional Chinese stringed instrument), a magical artifact of the highest level.

Although there are no strings on it, it can still be played by simply injecting spiritual power and activating the magic weapon.

Holding the medal, Han Lu thought to herself with a smile, "With this, when I compare myself to Aunt Chu Yao's granddaughter in a few days, I'll have an achievement worth mentioning."

Chapter 990 Music Theory Exchange

The Qin (a type of stringed instrument) competition is the first event in all the competitions at the Hundred Birds Gathering to determine the champion.

And since the phoenix ultimately won the championship, the morning paper the following day naturally gave extensive coverage to this somewhat obscure competition.

Unlike the focus on the personal stories of the winners of the first stage of the beauty pageant, the Morning Post editors devoted more attention to the event itself when writing about Han Lu, the champion of the piano competition.

This is not because Han Lu's personal life experiences lack interesting stories.

Rather, the phoenixes in charge of the morning report weren't foolish enough to dig into the past of the Phoenix Clan Chief's illegitimate daughter and use these stories, which weren't suitable for public discussion, as selling points.

The phoenixes who wrote the morning paper articles were not literary geniuses, but that did not stop them from describing the previous day's musical competition from the audience's perspective using language and pictures, while also giving each guest who received the morning paper a jade plaque.

The jade plaque contains recordings of three pieces of music performed by Han Lu at the Qin (a traditional Chinese stringed instrument) competition.