A bet?
Everyone’s hearts sank. They all knew that a so-called emperor would not let them off so easily.
Cultivator Junjun said carefully, “Might I know what kind of bet you would like to propose?”
“I am a cultivator, and I’ve always prioritized discussing Dao, I want to compete with you in Dao!”
The emperor smiled as he looked at everyone, his eyes thoughtful and he continued, “You don’t have to worry, since it’s a discussion of Dao, I won’t use my power to suppress you, nor will I bully you with my cultivation. Only, I wonder if any of you are confident enough in your Dao? Would you dare to take up this bet?”
Discussing Dao relied on understanding the opponent’s weakness or even creating a weakness in his heart, causing the opponent to lose their spirit and crumble!
By the side, Taishang Elder suddenly shouted out a warning, “He is the String Master, and is the best at discussing Dao, don’t bet against him!”
Whips!
The man by the emperor’s side raised his hand again, and the whip was as fast as wind, practically invisible. It hit Taishang Elder’s back, causing him to collapse on the ground, another wound appearing on his body as his skin split open.
After that, the whips elongated and tied the elder up, lifting him up in the air as it constricted him tightly.
“Stop!”
The Jade Emperor shouted out, looking at Taishang Elder with reddening eyes.
Before, they controlled the Eldritch together. They would scheme against each other occasionally, but they were still tied together from the same origin.
So, when they saw the elder being bullied, they could not help but feel a sense of sorrow and anger.
Qin Zhongshan and Bei Chen who had followed along both exclaimed when they heard their opponent’s name, “The String Master?!”
The Jade Emperor said with a heavy expression, “Who is he?”
“He’s a very powerful Deity who wanders the Chaos.”
Qin Zhongshan felt a very intense pressure, and he said softly, “I heard that he revels in Dao, and can play masterpieces with just one hand. He’s learned from thousands of worlds, and is able to seize the hearts of others, causing them to lose faith in their Dao! So, he enjoys looking for strong opponents in Chaos, and by discussing Dao, the Heavenly Realm Deity’s that had fallen to him number more than my fingers can count!”
He was someone who loved to fight, and was quite famous in the Chaos.
The fact that someone like that was still well and alive was enough to prove his strength. Even within the Heavenly Realm, he would be considered strong!
Hearing that news, the crowd’s hearts sank.
Cultivator Junjun said in a low voice, “What are we betting on?”
The emperor said, “If I win, the Heavenly Palace will work for me, becoming my slaves!”
Nuwa said, “Then what if we win?”
“You can’t win.” The emperor shook his head, arrogant to the limits.
Cultivator Junjun said, “Without anything at stake, this bet won’t take effect!”
The emperor looked at Taishang Elder. “If you win, I will return this guy to you.”
The Elder’s face was pale, and his eyes were full with rage. He wanted to say something, but being tied up by the whip made that difficult.
Using him in exchange for the whole Heavenly Palace was an uneven bet, it was too unfair!
Nuwa immediately said, “That’s not fair!”
“Fair?”
The emperor smiled and mocked, “Are you still asleep? You’re actually talking to me about being fair?”
“This is the world of the strong. My bet with you is offering you a chance. Not only do you not appreciate it, you’re trying to talk to me about fairness? Hilarious, you have no choice at all!”
The crowd could not help but clench their fists tightly, anger showed on their faces, but they felt a deep sense of powerlessness.
The emperor was right, they had no choice.
That was the plight of the weak.
Cultivator Junjun exchanged a look with Nuwa, saying coldly, “We… will bet!”
“Don’t, don’t!”
The Elder looked at them with reddened eyes, he wanted to cry.
After spending so much time by the emperor’s side, he knew how powerful the emperor was. The moment he played a song, it was enough to sink heaven and earth, disrupting all the laws without anyone being able to fight back.
The most horrifying instance was when he had witnessed the emperor’s zither wipe away the Dao of a small world, and even took away their path to heaven!
How could Cultivator Junjun and the rest of them stand up to that?
In order to save him, he stared as they stepped right into the trap. That feeling caused him to despair, at the same time, feeling everyone’s concern, he was incredibly touched.
“As long as any of you can stand up to a single song from me, you’ll win.”
The emperor smiled, touching the zither in front of him as he quietly looked at the crowd. “So… who’s first?”
“I’m coming!”
Nuwa took a deep breath and stepped forward with a serious look on her face. After that, she sat down cross-legged and made her preparations.
She raised her hand, and the Lotus Lantern slowly flew out, floating on top of her head. The rays of light shot out from the lantern, enveloping Nuwa and settling her heart.
After that, Nuwa closed her eyes, and Insights began to flow out of her body, twisting the space around her, causing a colorful light to surround Nuwa, covering her whole body.
Discussing Dao wasa something that came from deep within the heart, so she had some confidence.
After all, interacting with the expert and picking things up, she was much more familiar with Dao than regular cultivators. Furthermore, listening to the expert play the zither, playing chess with the expert, or even eating the expert’s food, were all things that improved one’s understanding of Dao.
It was quite the cheat, and was enough for them to look down on other cultivators.
“Interesting.”
The emperor raised his eyebrow, and stopped speaking as he gently flicked on a string of his zither.
Twang!
The music materialized, and turned into a breeze that blew right at Nuwa, touching the light around her and disappearing.
Everyone widened their eyes and looked on nervously.
Discussing Dao might not be as flashy as fighting, but the dangers involved were actually greater than fighting.
It was possible for their insights to shatter, and they would then lose their way. Many might even begin to question their own lives, and not be able to recover, turning into a cripple.
Twang! Twang! Twang!
The emperor’s hands rapidly played the zither, and the music started to increase frantically. In the blink of an eye, the breeze had turned into a storm, heading right at Nuwa.
And finally, it turned into a tornado, surrounding Nuwa. The crowd could see the devastating winds generated by the tornado.
Through the wind, they could see the lights in the middle still glowing.
“It’s ‘Ambush!’
Even though it was just the start, they were naturally familiar with it. When they recognized the tune that was being played, their faces reddened in rage.
Hong glared at the emperor, saying unhappily, “Despicable!”
That was a song that the expert had gifted them, and contained very high level insights. To someone who cultivated music, it was an incredible blessing.
And now, not only was the song stolen away, it was being used against them. It made them feel like flies, and they were disgusted.
Twang!
Even the ears of the crowd seemed to be filled with the sounds of horses and the cries of an army. Their hearts started to speed up, like drums that were being played.
The tornado around Nuwa started to get more and more intense, as if countless soldiers were assaulting it. Weapons and horses, qi that swallowed up rivers, it was all crashing down on Nuwa, shouting right at her.
At that moment, Nuwa seemed like a weak girl, lost in a battlefield alone, weak, pitiful and helpless.
And what she was facing were countless soldiers, surging at her like a wave, almost swallowing her whole!
She could not help but take a step back.
That one step caused her Dao to falter, and she suddenly spat out blood, her spirits were severely impacted.
The emperor said, “Not bad, you managed to hold on for so long.”
Those casual words caused feelings of contempt within everyone.
Bai Chen sighed and said, “It’s too difficult to beat the String Master.”
Qin Zhongshan nodded. “In the Chaos, his movements are erratic and uncertain, but the moment he has his sights on you, anyone would end up with a headache.”
The people of the Heavenly Palace did not understand, but they had heard of the String Master before. Even their sect ancestors would not want to face the String Leader, let alone themselves.
The String Master said, “Who’s next?”
“I’ll do it.”
Cultivator Junjun walked forward, his robes fluttered and his expression was serious. With a wave of his hand, a drum appeared.
He planned on using the drum to drown out the zither!
The String Master said nothing about it, and immediately began to play his zither.
Bam bam bam.
Cultivator Junjun did not bother with words, and immediately started beating the drum feverishly.
His sound came without any rhythm.
Unlike Nuwa, Cultivator Junjun was planning on using offense as defense!
That moment, he used the sound of the drums to transmit his Dao, opposing the String Master and attempting to disrupt the String Master’s rhythm.
The two different sounds intertwined in the air, colliding with each other, causing the air to ripple like a violent lake.
Cultivator Junjun lowered his gaze, his expression unchanging. In his mind, the scene of Li Nianfan giving him the disc and witnessing the endless Dao appeared.
He submerged within the Dao, and used the drums to unleash it, trying to affect the String Master’s Dao.
Yet, the String Master’s music did not change. It was even and deep, like a tall mountain, and like flowing rivers. He maintained his rhythm throughout, and was incredibly clear, completely suppressing the sound of the drums, turning into the only sound!
“This is our song, ‘High Mountains and Flowing Water’.”
Chang’e smiled bitterly, that person was shameless!
He actually used the songs the expert gave them to show off. Shameless!
“Ah!”
Cultivator Junjun’s body suddenly shook, and he spat out blood from his mouth. His expression was pale, and his body swayed.
“Entertaining.”
The String Master was not stingy with his praise, and said curiously, “I never expected your understanding of Dao to be so deep, it’s changed my view of you.”
He then thought of the two songs he obtained. The songs were good, the men were decent, it really was the Area of the Gods. It was definitely something worth obtaining.
He swept his gaze around, and calmly looked at the crowd, asking, “Who else is there?”
The crowd was silent.
They were frustrated to their limits.
Qin Zhongshan and Bai Chen wanted to lend a hand, but after the earlier bouts, they knew they would not be able to compare as well.
Qin Zhongshan said, “I could go back and get my elder to appear!”
Bai Chen said, “I can invite our ancestors as well!”
Their ancestors were all Heavenly Realm Deities, they might actually stand a chance against the String Master!
“If only…”
Jade Emperor said, but did not finish.
However, everyone could guess what he wanted to say.
If the expert was around, then discussing Dao with that dumb String Master would be nothing, the expert would casually suppress him.
Even though Cultivator Junjun and Nuwa had lost, they had still interacted with the expert before. They had felt the Dao that the expert occasionally showed, and they could naturally feel the difference.
If the expert’s Dao was an endless sea, then the String Master’s Dao was just a little ditch that was on the verge of drying up.
Only, how could they allow the expert to make a move? That was just their inner thoughts.
They were the ones who were useless, they could not ask the expert to help but clean up!
However, Jade Emperor’s words reminded Yao Mengji of something. His expression moved, and he suddenly had a thought.
Even though it was a little crazy, he somehow felt that it was possible.
The String Master stood up, looking down on everyone, “Is there no one else? If that’s so, then you’ve lost!”
The elder was still tied up in the air, his eyes had a look of immense sadness, and he felt so awful that his entire body was shivering.
He naturally knew that there was no one else in the Heavenly Palace. Even Hongjun Daozu lost, who else would be able to fight?
He felt a sense of hopelessness.
Qin Zhongshan looked at the String Master, “I am the sect leader of the Empath Sect. Give me a few days, I can invite our Taishang Elder!”
“Empath Sect?”
The String Master shook his head. “I will go see the Empath Sect some day! However, this is between me and the Heavenly Palace, I won’t waste time with you!”
“We still have someone!”
At that moment, Yao Mengji shouted out, attracting everyone’s gaze.
The String Master frowned. “Oh?”
Nuwa had the same thought as well. “Cultivator Dao, are you referring to Manyun?”
“That’s right.” Yao Mengji nodded. “I think we can try!”
The others suddenly had a sliver of hope when they remembered Qin Manyun. After all, Qin Manyun had been training under the expert, and her skills were definitely rapidly increasing under the expert’s tutelage, and she definitely had a deep understanding of the Dao and the zither.
However, thinking about Qin Manyun’s skill, they felt that it might not be possible.
Even though discussing Dao did not reflect skill, there was still a connection. If the difference in skill was too great, there was no hope when it came to discussing Dao.
However, at that moment, they did not seem to have any other choices, all they could do was hope that it worked.
No matter what, she was still a prodigy by the expert’s side!
With that in mind, Cultivator Junjun took the lead, and he said, “That’s right, we still have someone who can discuss Dao with you!”
