Chapter 159: Gifting a Tune

Ge Zhonghai held a deep blue longsword in his hand. Waves of sword Qi surged across the blade, yet no sword intent was present. The longsword emitted powerful fluctuations of spiritual energy, unmistakably a seventh-grade spirit artifact.

With a cold and gloomy gaze locked onto Shen Qingyun, Ge Zhonghai suddenly vanished from where he stood.

Swish!

A streak of sword Qi slashed out from the void, aiming straight for Shen Qingyun's left arm.

With a calm and composed expression, Shen Qingyun took a single step forward. The sword Qi brushed past the robes at his back and struck a large tree. The thick trunk of the tree emitted a cracking sound before snapping in two.

Having missed his first strike, Ge Zhonghai did not give up. His figure suddenly materialized in front of Shen Qingyun, his longsword held high.

The sharpness of the blade rapidly expanded within Shen Qingyun’s pupils, startling Feng Chuxun and causing him to instinctively clench his fists. However, his intuition told him that Shen Qingyun would be fine, which was why he remained still.

Seeing that success was within reach, Ge Zhonghai wore a ferocious smile, a fierce look flashing in his eyes as he accelerated the descent of his sword.

Shen Qingyun smiled faintly and closed his hand into a fist. A vast sword intent burst forth from his body, enveloping Ge Zhonghai.

Hum...

The blue longsword in Ge Zhonghai's hand began to tremble and hum, losing its aggressive edge toward Shen Qingyun.

Startled, Ge Zhonghai felt a suffocating sensation brought on by this sudden burst of sword intent. He tapped the ground lightly with the tips of his toes and retreated backward.

Landing beside Xia Xuanji, Ge Zhonghai wore a grave expression and said, "He's tough to deal with, help me!"

Xia Xuanji naturally realized how formidable Shen Qingyun was. Since Ge Zhonghai's attacks could not even get close to him, the difference would likely be negligible even if they both attacked together.

The corners of Xia Xuanji's lips curved upward as she asked, "Very well, what's in it for me?"

"You!" Ge Zhonghai glared furiously at Xia Xuanji. "You still have the mood to talk about this now? We are from the same academy!"

"When you attacked me, you never once thought of us as fellow students of Zither and Flute Academy," Xia Xuanji replied coldly. Now she wanted to talk about being from the same academy and sharing a common fate? Too late!

Ge Zhonghai gritted his teeth and said, "After this is over, their points will go to you, and I promise not to attack you anymore."

"Not enough."

With a smile on her face, Xia Xuanji shook her head slightly.

"You two are having such a pleasant chat, but it seems you've forgotten about me."

At that moment, Shen Qingyun chimed in with a faint smile.

Glancing at Shen Qingyun, Ge Zhonghai gritted his teeth and demanded, "What do you want?!"

"Half."

Xia Xuanji raised her slender index finger and said calmly, "I want half of your points."

"You're dreaming!"

Hearing Xia Xuanji's demand, Ge Zhonghai refused without a second thought, shouting angrily.

Unfazed, Xia Xuanji shook her head slightly. "Then there's nothing I can do."

"Damn it, I can handle him by myself!" Ge Zhonghai said with a gloomy expression.

"Then I'll just wait and watch," Xia Xuanji retorted.

Snorting coldly, Ge Zhonghai turned his gaze back to Shen Qingyun as spiritual energy slowly gathered on his sword.

"Although I don't know what you two were talking about, it seems I'm being underestimated," Shen Qingyun remarked. "In that case, I'll get a little more serious. You'd better hold on."

Shen Qingyun curled his right hand into an empty grip, and a golden longsword formed in his palm.

Seeing this, Ge Zhonghai felt insulted and said in a low voice, "You are using spiritual energy to materialize a weapon. Why aren't you using a spirit artifact?"

Shen Qingyun replied, "If I use a spirit artifact, you will lose even faster."

"Arrogant!" Ge Zhonghai flickered his sword, sending out numerous sword shadows.

At the same time, a wave of biting cold spread outward from beneath Ge Zhonghai's feet.

"The material is good, but unfortunately, it was given to the wrong person to forge," Shen Qingyun commented casually.

"What did you say?" Ge Zhonghai narrowed his eyes as the chill suddenly intensified.

"Deep-sea cold crystal. This material is more than enough for crafting magical treasures, yet it was forged into a seventh-grade spirit artifact. What is that if not a waste?"

Ge Zhonghai let out a heavy snort as overwhelming waves of sword shadows flew out, their emanating chill seemingly capable of freezing the very void.

He knew that Shen Qingyun was telling the truth. His family had found a large chunk of deep-sea cold crystal, enough to forge many magical treasures. However, if they sought out master weaponsmiths, such a large piece would be heavily whittled down as commission, a loss they found far too great.

The family's own weaponsmiths were only capable of forging spirit artifacts and were simply not up to the task.

No matter how good the material was, if it could not be forged properly, it remained useless. Thus, the head of the family had waved his hand, telling the clan's weaponsmiths to do as they pleased, as long as it created some value.

Ge Zhonghai had always taken pride in this, and hearing Shen Qingyun's critique, though true, grated harshly on his ears.

With a flick of his wrist, Shen Qingyun pointed his golden longsword diagonally toward the ground. A surge of sword intent burst forth, instantly wiping out the all-encompassing sword shadows.

With his sword shadows eliminated, Ge Zhonghai's expression changed. Moving in a flash, he raised his longsword and thrust it straight at Shen Qingyun's throat.

The movement of the golden sword brought forth a dazzling golden radiance, making it appear supremely sacred.

Clang!

The two swords collided. Ge Zhonghai's sword failed to pierce Shen Qingyun, blocked by the blade of the golden sword held vertically before him.

The instant the swords clashed, sharp gales spread outward, agitating the surrounding spiritual energy and turning it turbulent.

Having failed his initial strike, Ge Zhonghai wanted to retreat.

"Want to leave?" Shen Qingyun sneered. The golden sword suddenly turned malleable, wrapping around Ge Zhonghai's sword like clinging bone and creeping upward. Its target was Ge Zhonghai himself!

Startled, Ge Zhonghai poured spiritual energy frantically into his longsword, attempting to expel Shen Qingyun's golden spiritual energy. At the same time, the phantom of a green ox materialized behind him, gradually solidifying.

Once the green ox appeared, it charged toward Shen Qingyun. Now that Shen Qingyun had seemingly lost his weapon, it was the best opportunity to deal with him.

The corners of Shen Qingyun's mouth curled upward. With a hollow grasp of his left hand, a square-sky halberd appeared in his palm. He flicked the tip upward, and a majestic wave of sword shadows erupted from it. It was impossible to tell whether it was a halberd or a sword; within the sword intent, one could seemingly perceive a mighty divine sword, yet it originated entirely from the tip of a spear.

The spear tip thrust forward, meeting the green ox's hoof head-on. Immediately, an even more terrifying power burst from the square-sky halberd. The green ox, renowned for its sheer strength, was utterly fragile before Shen Qingyun.

"How can he be this strong!"

A trace of shock flashed across Ge Zhonghai's face.

The green ox was sent flying back. With a cold, chilling smile, Shen Qingyun moved to give chase and shatter the green ox completely.

"Wait!"

A loud shout broke from Ge Zhonghai's lips, causing Shen Qingyun to pause his movements.

Clenching his hands, Ge Zhonghai said, "I concede."

The green ox was his spirit avatar. He could always earn back lost points, but if his spirit avatar were shattered, the backlash would disqualify him from the contention altogether.

Shen Qingyun landed on the ground, and just as Ge Zhonghai prepared to hand over his points, Shen Qingyun waved a hand and said, "No rush." He then turned his gaze toward Xia Xuanji, who had been watching the spectacle. "And you? Will you fight, or hand over your points?"

Xia Xuanji stared intently at Shen Qingyun. As a spectator, she had seen things clearly: in dealing with Ge Zhonghai, whose strength was comparable to her own, Shen Qingyun had not even used a fraction of his true power. Dealing with her would likely make little difference.

"If you make me hand over my points just like this, my heart won't be reconciled," Xia Xuanji chuckled softly.

Nodding, Shen Qingyun raised the square-sky halberd, pointing its tip far out toward Xia Xuanji, his sharpness fully displayed.

Since they were going to fight, there was no point in wasting time.

"There's no need to always resort to fighting and killing. How unpleasant," Xia Xuanji said. "In my Zither and Flute Academy, we primarily cultivate the zither and the flute. I will offer you a song. If you can endure it, what harm is there in giving you my points?"

"Very well." Shen Qingyun agreed with a nod.

Seeing Shen Qingyun nod, the smile on Xia Xuanji's face deepened. Ever since Shen Qingyun had appeared in the mystic realm, rising to first place on the leaderboard, down to the rumors of his terrible reputation, and now—everything about Shen Qingyun pointed to a single undeniable truth: Shen Qingyun was extremely strong!

So what if Shen Qingyun was strong? In the Zither and Flute Academy, strength was not the standard that defined everything.

Xia Xuanji produced an ancient zither, sat down cross-legged, and laid the instrument flat across her lap.

"I'm starting."

Xia Xuanji plucked the strings. The moment the zither notes rang out, everyone present was drawn into a marvelous state of mind—quiet, peaceful, as if returning to a silent night accompanied only by the sound of music. Even the pain on their bodies was temporarily forgotten.

Hearing the melody, Ge Zhonghai instantly raised his eyebrows in subconscious surprise. Xia Xuanji had actually mastered the *Disarray of China* tune.

This melody described a once-prosperous dynasty; when played ordinarily, listeners would perceive the prosperity and peace of that era, depicting a time where ordinary people lived and worked in contentment.

However, if it were used offensively and targeted at a specific individual, the melody would convey the feeling of a dynasty's collapse, filled with the cries of the grieving and the devastated.

Ge Zhonghai could not help but look at Shen Qingyun's back. Could Shen Qingyun withstand this?

The moment the music sounded, Shen Qingyun felt an invisible will attempting to pry open the defenses of his soul-sea. As the melody progressed, this sensation grew increasingly intense.

However, what Shen Qingyun possessed was not mere spiritual power, but divine sense—a higher tier of energy superior to spiritual power. Even though his divine sense was relatively weak, it was not something a newly mastered zither tune could breach.

When the melody came to an end, Shen Qingyun stood calmly in place, his expression unchanged by even the slightest fraction.

Lifting her gaze and seeing Shen Qingyun's expression, Xia Xuanji could not help but offer a wry smile, feeling somewhat discouraged.

"I lost," Xia Xuanji sighed softly.

"You are quite good," Shen Qingyun remarked. "This zither melody is relatively simple, but you were able to evoke the mood and separate me from the others, targeting only me. You naturally have profound attainments in the path of the zither."

Slightly surprised, Xia Xuanji asked, "Do you understand the zither?"

Shen Qingyun nodded. "A little."

Disbelieving, Xia Xuanji thought: Just a little, yet you can make such remarks? Furthermore, her words clearly carried the tone of a senior evaluating a junior.

"Please enlighten me without reservation."

Xia Xuanji cupped her fists and handed over her points. With a wave of his hand, Shen Qingyun collected Ge Zhonghai's points as well.

The stone stele in the sky underwent a sudden transformation, blooming with golden light.

"Shen Qingyun, points: two thousand one hundred and one."

After remaining dormant for days, Shen Qingyun returned to the top of the leaderboard!

The mystic realm fell into a brief silence, followed immediately by shouts of disbelief and shock erupting from every corner.

"How is this possible? Wasn't Shen Qingyun not even on the leaderboard? How did he suddenly shoot up to first place!"

"Look, the sixth and seventh places have changed!"

The crowd hurriedly looked up, only to find that Xia Xuanji, previously sixth, and Ge Zhonghai, previously seventh, had vanished from those spots, replaced by those who had been behind them.

The answer was self-evident: Shen Qingyun had plundered the points of both the sixth and seventh rankers.

"This has to be fake..."

For a single team to plunder two entire teams—no matter how one looked at it, it felt far too dreamlike.

The golden light in the sky lit up once more, drawing the attention of the crowd.

"Yan Mutong, points: two thousand one hundred and two."

A difference of a single point!

Deep within the mountains, Shen Qingyun looked at Xia Xuanji and said, "We are enemies here, you know."

Xia Xuanji shook her head and replied, "For the sake of learning the zither, even if you are my enemy, I am willing to acknowledge you as my master."

Hearing this, Shen Qingyun raised an eyebrow. While Xia Xuanji's persistence in learning the zither was understandable, her methods were far too radical.

It made her too vulnerable to infamy.

"Very well. Today you offered me a song, so I shall grant you one in return!"