Chapter 550: Madman's Song

Elder Wu, a 4-star pinnacle master teacher and a 4-star demonic sound master, had perfected his control over power. Given it was a fair competition, how could his initial attacks be strong and then weaken?

Young Master Ruohuan's words to Teacher Zhang were clearly intended to undermine his confidence. While such a tactic might affect someone from a remote area, it would have no impact on Fu Xiaochen.

"Since you know, you should understand that no one can dispute my decisions!"

Young Master Ruohuan glanced over with an indifferent expression.

"The same goes for me!" Fu Xiaochen also nodded.

Even before the mental state assessment began, the two sides were already at odds.

"Oh? In that case," Young Master Ruohuan said, "I suggest we have a match first. The winner goes first!"

"Alright! What shall we compete in?" Fu Xiaochen nodded.

With similar strength and both being favorites to win, neither was willing to yield.

Each wanted to suppress the other from the outset, believing that it would be difficult for the opponent to recover later, even if they tried.

"We'll compete in..." Young Master Ruohuan mused, just about to declare the terms of their competition, when he suddenly heard a sound.

*Ding-dong!*

He turned his head and saw Feng Mosheng, who had, at some unknown point, retrieved a formation plate and was now sitting cross-legged, ready. Meanwhile, Elder Wu's fingers rested on the ancient zither, gently plucking the strings, and a sound vibrantly emerged.

"Damn it!"

To their dismay, while they were bickering, someone else had seized the initiative. Fu Xiaochen and Young Master Ruohuan's faces turned ashen, feeling utterly exasperated.

What a turn of events!

They had both wanted to gain an advantage over each other, only to find this person had stolen the march.

"Hmph!"

Knowing it was useless to dwell on it any longer, they both flicked their arms and returned to their previous positions.

*Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!*

No sooner had they settled than they saw Teacher Wu continuously pluck the zither strings. A tidal wave of music, directly assaulting the mind, surged towards them.

"This music... there's nothing wrong with it, is there?"

The music surged with an invigorating quality, yet to Zhang Xuan, it sounded quite ordinary; he felt no difficulty in controlling himself, and it seemed to have no impact on his mental state.

However, a glance at Feng Mosheng immediately told him it wasn't that simple.

As a 3-star pinnacle master teacher whose mental state index already exceeded 11.0, even he was sweating profusely upon hearing the zither music, appearing to struggle to hold on.

"It seems the zither music's attack has a range," he thought. "Beyond that range, even if one hears it, they won't feel anything..."

His eyes flickered.

Elder Wu had just mentioned that only one person could be assessed at a time. It now appeared that the zither music's attack had a limited range; sounds outside this range would be perceived as normal and cause no harm.

While Zhang Xuan felt nothing, Feng Mosheng, who bore the brunt of the attack, had already turned pale. His wrist trembled, and a carving knife appeared, scraping across the formation plate with a *creaking* sound.

The Demonic Frenzy Melody, played by the demonic sound master, echoed through his mind, making him feel dazed and unable to concentrate. As a result, the carving knife he held trembled slightly as it moved across the formation plate.

"It's truly not that simple..."

Seeing how difficult it was even for this prodigy to carve, Zhang Xuan's expression became solemn.

As expected of the Myriad Kingdoms City selection, it was incredibly difficult from the outset, causing countless people to hesitate.

"Does this Demonic Frenzy Melody have any flaws?" A sudden thought popped into his mind.

When martial artists used martial techniques or formation masters set up formations, he could summon books. This demonic sound master using demonic sound should also count, right?

He silently willed "Flaws!" in his mind, and sure enough, his consciousness trembled, and a book appeared before him.

"Wu Xu, Elder of the Myriad Kingdoms City Master Teacher Pavilion, a 4-star master teacher, 4-star demonic sound master, formation master, calligrapher and painter, and tea ceremony master. He specializes in demonic sound attacks, including the Demonic Frenzy Melody..."

"Defects:..."

The book was filled with information. He quickly flipped through several pages and soon found the section on the Demonic Frenzy Melody.

"So that's how it is!"

After reading for a while, Zhang Xuan smiled faintly, a glint in his eyes.

While the Demonic Frenzy Melody appeared formidable, it had numerous flaws. As long as one knew how to exploit them, breaking it wouldn't be difficult.

Soon after finishing the book, Zhang Xuan had an idea.

"I'll try it later!"

Knowing it wasn't the time to experiment, he suppressed the thought and looked forward again. By this point, the Demonic Frenzy Melody was nearing its end, and Feng Mosheng was swaying as if drunk, unable to sit steadily.

He had carved a considerable amount onto the formation plate in his hand, though from a distance, Zhang Xuan couldn't clearly discern what he had etched.

With a gentle pluck, the zither music ceased, its lingering notes winding through the air.

"Thank you, Teacher Wu, for your leniency!"

Feng Mosheng shook his head, stood up, bowed with cupped fists, and presented the formation plate.

He had only endured a single melody, but he knew that Elder Wu had not used his full power; otherwise, given his mental state index, he certainly wouldn't have been able to persevere.

"Mm." Teacher Wu nodded without further words and casually handed the formation plate to a nearby master teacher.

The master teacher took the formation plate, carefully counted, and announced the results: "A total of four hundred thirty-two strokes were carved, with each stroke being of equal depth!"

"Over four hundred strokes?"

"Incredible! I saw him almost collapse just now, yet he didn't fall and managed to carve so many marks, all of equal depth. Truly a genius participating in the selection!"

"If it were me, I probably wouldn't be able to carve even a single stroke..."

"Don't worry, with your aptitude, Elder Wu wouldn't even bother to test you!"

"You..."

Hearing the results, the crowd erupted in an uproar.

The Demonic Frenzy Melody lasted less than three minutes. Even without specific carving requirements, etching over four hundred strokes in such a short time was incredibly difficult, not to mention having to divert mental energy to resist the zither's influence.

"Over four hundred strokes?"

"It seems we underestimated this fellow; who knew he would make such a spectacular debut!"

Young Master Ruohuan and Fu Xiaochen both frowned.

The number of strokes Feng Mosheng carved put pressure even on them.

"Alright, next!"

After announcing Feng Mosheng's score, Teacher Wu took a few deep breaths, fully recovered his state, and looked back at the crowd.

With his strength, using the Demonic Frenzy Melody against Transcendent Mortal 4-dan experts might still be somewhat strenuous, but dealing with these individuals, without needing to engage in direct combat, was not overly difficult.

"I'll go!" Fu Xiaochen stepped forward.

This time, Young Master Ruohuan didn't vie for the spot. It wasn't that he didn't want to go, but Feng Mosheng's score had put pressure on him, and he decided to compose himself before attempting the challenge.

*Ding-dong!*

The zither music began, interspersed with the sound of a carving knife scratching against the formation plate.

Soon, Fu Xiaochen completed his assessment and stepped down.

"Four hundred twenty-seven strokes, with clear patterns and no repetitions!"

"What a pity..." Fu Xiaochen shook his head, his expression grim.

He had believed that with his strength, securing a spot was a certainty. He never dreamed that in the first round, he would actually perform worse than Feng Mosheng.

He was short by a full five strokes!

However, only by experiencing it firsthand could one truly understand the terror of the Demonic Frenzy Melody. He knew that if his will to win hadn't grown steadily stronger, he certainly wouldn't have been able to endure it.

"Although my score isn't as good as Teacher Feng's, the difference isn't significant. Now it's up to Young Master Ruohuan. If his score is lower than mine, there's still a good chance for me to secure one of the two spots in the later rounds!"

He quickly composed himself.

The selection competition aimed to choose two individuals, and this was only the first round. As long as he didn't make any mistakes later, securing one of the spots shouldn't be too difficult.

"I'll go!"

The third participant was not Young Master Ruohuan, but the beautiful master teacher, Luo Xi!

In terms of looks alone, this woman could only be described as elegant; she was far behind Princess Mo Yu and Zhao Feiwu, not to mention Zhao Ya.

However, as a 3-star pinnacle master teacher and a Transcendent Mortal 3-dan expert, she possessed a unique temperament that gave her an unusual beauty.

Though she appeared delicate, this beautiful woman's mental state index was exceptionally strong. She, too, endured Elder Wu's Demonic Frenzy Melody.

After Luo Xi, it was Du Hu, also recommended from another kingdom.

Both their scores surpassed four hundred strokes, but they were still some distance behind Fu Xiaochen, let alone Feng Mosheng.

"A dark horse!"

"Indeed, I never expected Teacher Feng to be so formidable!"

"He even surpassed Teacher Fu Xiaochen... I hadn't anticipated that at all!"

"I told you before that Teacher Feng wasn't weak, but you wouldn't believe me."

Seeing that Feng Mosheng still ranked first after four consecutive assessments, the master teachers watching were all filled with surprise.

They had initially believed that Young Master Ruohuan and Teacher Fu would undoubtedly secure the spots, but they hadn't expected Feng Mosheng to be so powerful.

It seemed Teacher Feng had always been low-key, causing many to overlook him.

"Look! Young Master Ruohuan is up!"

As they were marveling, someone shouted, and everyone simultaneously looked over.

True enough, they saw Young Master Ruohuan sitting cross-legged, having retrieved his carving knife.

*Ding-dong! Ding-dong!*

The zither music began.

With a frown, Young Master Ruohuan's carving knife swept across the formation plate, his fingers moving deftly.

"So fast!"

"As expected of Young Master Ruohuan! The zither music doesn't seem to affect him much!"

"It seems Young Master Ruohuan has definitely secured the top spot for this assessment round!"

Watching his movements, everyone clenched their fists in anticipation.

To maintain such rapid carving speed under the Demonic Frenzy Melody, he truly lived up to his reputation as the highly acclaimed Jun Ruohuan, the foremost of Myriad Kingdoms City's Four Young Masters!

Soon, the melody concluded.

Young Master Ruohuan stopped, put his carving knife into his storage ring, and handed over the formation plate.

"A total of four hundred thirty-one strokes!" The master teacher responsible for checking counted meticulously several times before shouting out in disbelief.

"One stroke fewer than Teacher Feng?"

"How is that possible?"

"That can't be right, I saw him carving very quickly!"

Hearing the results, the crowd erupted in an uproar.

Everyone had witnessed Young Master Ruohuan's extremely fast carving just moments ago, so how was it possible that his final score was inferior to Teacher Feng's?

However, the master teacher in charge of verification was renowned throughout the Master Teacher Pavilion for his impartiality, so there could be no mistake.

"Young Master Ruohuan's expression doesn't seem disappointed..."

Just as everyone was perplexed, a murmuring, disbelieving voice spoke up. The crowd uniformly looked, and indeed, something seemed amiss.

Moments ago, Teacher Fu had been visibly dejected when his score fell short of Teacher Feng's, yet Young Master Ruohuan showed no sign of defeat; instead, he wore a faint smile!

A smile?

What was going on?

Could it be that he didn't care about losing?