Endless Vitality (Thanks to helmsman Xiao Seng for the reward! Second update, begging for rewards!)

The suona's sound mimicked the calls of birds, incredibly lifelike, with various bird calls constantly ringing in people's ears!

Meanwhile.

Li Hongzheng stood outside the mourning hall, still recalling the legend that Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix could attract birds.

He happened to look up.

His gaze unintentionally fell upon a treetop nearby.

His expression immediately changed!

He noticed that many birds had already settled on the nearby treetops, and as Su Chen's suona mimicked the bird calls, more and more birds from afar began to echo Su Chen's suona with their own calls!

He quickly looked further into the distance and saw birds beginning to land on the forest-covered hills not far away!

More and more.

Until flocks upon flocks of birds were attracted by the suona's sound, a vast, dark expanse in the distant sky.

Soon, everyone around also noticed this unusual phenomenon!

At this moment, Su Chen's suona had clearly become an overture, with more sounds coming from the birds' calls.

Facing this anomaly, Li Hongzheng was deeply shaken!

Even his own master had not been able to achieve such an effect back then!

The suona itself has a high pitch and strong penetration, famously having an extremely high tone among all instruments. It doesn't need any equipment to transmit its sound very far!

If the player can imitate bird calls with remarkable skill, they might be able to attract these birds, but rather than an anomaly, it's a testament to the player's profound skill!

Su Chen held the suona high, standing before the mourning hall!

His hands began to move rapidly, lightly tapping the finger holes at an extremely high frequency!

The tone changed accordingly!

A crisp, cheerful sound emanated from the bell of the suona!

Li Hongzheng understood this technique; it was flutter-tonguing!

However, He could only understand it; he couldn't replicate it like Su Chen!

This was because Su Chen's flutter-tonguing frequency was too fast!

What was even more terrifying was that he sustained this single breath for a full thirty seconds!

Li Hongzheng, a professional suona player from the National Theater, felt his throat about to catch fire just listening.

But, like everyone present, he dared not make a sound.

For fear of disturbing Su Chen's rhythm!

As it progressed, the crisp sound began to become urgent and anxious! The birds' calls seemed to grow increasingly shrill!

Su Chen covered the suona's finger holes with his hands, his body slightly lowered. When he suddenly looked up, the sound transformed, becoming as horrifying as a bloodcurdling cry!

"Phoenix Nirvana, the phoenix's cry?!?"

Sweat began to bead on Li Hongzheng's forehead. Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix, the most difficult part was this section!

When his master played this part back then, he was like a madman!

It was even difficult to play this section without pauses; a person's lung capacity is ultimately limited. Even after playing the suona his entire life, the blind master still had to take a breath in the middle of this part!

But now!

This young man had flawlessly played this section smoothly!

What terrifying lung capacity!

The rhythm of his breathing seemed to perfectly match the performance of Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix!

Looking again at Su Chen's nimble fingers, they were already dancing rapidly.

Various short and long notes, small motifs, were switched back and forth, finally pushing the piece perfectly to its climax!

All the suona techniques were skillfully switched by Su Chen, all applied to this section!

The most soaring, and also the most magnificent and passionate part of the piece, was played perfectly by him!

The crowd was completely awestruck!

Their gazes were drawn to Su Chen, and their hearing was equally immersed in this climax!

In an instant.

Suddenly, a note higher than any before exploded forth!

Soaring straight into the sky!!

Everyone felt a prickling sensation on their scalps, heat rushing madly towards their heads! Goosebumps erupted!

Li Hongzheng's gaze had become vacant, and he repeatedly murmured in awe:

"Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix. This is the true Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix..."

His heart filled with questions, followed by shock!

As far as he knew, in Dragon Country, those who had reached such a level of mastery were all elderly people!

Even those elders might not be able to play this piece!

But Su Chen, that young man in the mourning hall!

Not only had he mastered the exquisite art of the suona, but he could also play this long-lost Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix!

That otherworldly, divinely imbued aura, he had only ever felt it in those considered ancestors!

Now, in this young man, that long-absent feeling had reappeared!

Why would someone with such skill be present at Principal Tang's funeral!?

How could someone who could play the long-lost Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix, lost for decades, so perfectly not be an ordinary person?

But, how could Principal Tang, who had been rooted in this impoverished town for almost his entire life, have any connection to him?

Recalling Principal Tang's question before his death about whether he was worthy of a piece like Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix, and then looking at the scene before him!

Li Hongzheng dared not think further!!

At this moment, in Li Hongzheng's heart, Principal Tang's image was now tinged with a sense of mystery, beyond just respect!

Everyone present began to look up.

The scene that followed, they would remember for the rest of their lives!

The flocks of birds in the distance seemed to have heard a call!

They began to flap their wings, taking flight almost simultaneously from the treetops.

The dense flocks of birds flew towards the old school, covering the sky.

A few birds that had arrived earlier landed on the dilapidated walls of the school and on the temporarily erected mourning hall.

And more birds were still in the air!

A scene that blotted out the sun!

Majestic and grand!

There were far more than a hundred birds!

Seeing this, Li Hongzheng's inner shock was evident; the legend spoken of by Master Blind Man was not a legend!

It was real!!

A stream of hot tears flowed from his eyes, down his cheeks, and fell heavily to the ground.

He would never forget this day:

On this day, at the funeral of Principal Tang Ying in Huayi Town, a young man with an extraordinary aura, dressed in ancient-style plain clothes.

Played the grand piece that only the highly respected dead could be honored with!

Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix!!

The final section of the grand piece—Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix!

Even Su Chen, who possessed a special breathing technique, had a slightly flushed face at this moment!

His fingers were also trembling slightly!

Yet, the suona in his mouth became even more agile and resonant!

Sometimes mournful, sometimes joyful, occasionally imitating bird calls!

It seemed to have reached the final climax along with the piece!

Finally, with one last breath, he blew the final long note!

This long note seemed to carry over ten years of time and scenery!

It blew over these successive mountains!

It blew over the difficult mountain paths with countless gullies and ravines!

It blew over Principal Tang's arduous and winding life path of tens of thousands of miles!

There was sorrow, and there was also satisfaction!

Finally, Su Chen's toes touched the ground!

His body leaned back, arching like the moon!

He poured all his spirit into the suona in his hands!

The pitch soared!

The melody followed, becoming more powerful!

The pitch of the suona was higher than all previous notes!

The pitch rose higher and higher!

The melody was grand, the momentum unmatched!

The feeling that had been suppressed in everyone's hearts seemed to erupt along with the melody!

Wailing and sobbing.

Cries rose with the suona!

Growing louder and louder!

As if to pour out all the people's longing for Principal Tang!

The birds in the sky also began to descend slowly at this moment!

Flocks of birds filled Principal Tang's mourning hall!

On the spirit banners swaying in the wind, On the school's dilapidated courtyard walls, On the treetops above everyone's heads, dense birds had landed everywhere!

For this long, drawn-out melody, Su Chen maintained the same posture for nearly thirty seconds!

Head held high, waist arched, his face flushed red!

He finally exhaled the last breath!

The high-pitched suona sound suddenly stopped!

Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix, The song concluded!

The mourners' crying also came to a temporary halt, But the surrounding birds remained, not dispersing!

Their chirping was incessant at the funeral!

Dense, chattering, all bird calls!

The crowd did not get up, as if they were afraid of disturbing Su Chen's suona rhythm earlier.

At this moment, they were also cautious, afraid of disturbing these birds!

Looking at the birds covering the mountains and plains.

Such an unusual phenomenon!

Yet, in everyone's minds, they could only see that young man holding the suona, head held high, waist arched.

The image of him playing the suona with all his might!

That old-fashioned aura, that vigorous and powerful tune, how could it be something a young suona craftsman could play so easily?

"This... is definitely master-level!"

"No! Band Leader Li is a master, but this young man's aura and skill are far above Band Leader Li's!"

"Could it be... a national music grandmaster level existence!?"

"Grandmaster level!?

People like that are revered as ancestors. Such a person actually appeared at Principal Tang's funeral?"

"Principal Tang is no ordinary person!"

The crowd was utterly shaken!

Not only Su Chen's identity but Principal Tang's mysterious past also aroused their suspicion and curiosity~

After the song, the birds' cries continued unabated!

Su Chen slowly lowered the suona in his hands.

The song "Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix" finally concluded, but the hope it contained was endless! Just like Principal Tang's lifelong perseverance, what was left behind was not just a moving experience, but the inheritance of hope for all impoverished students and volunteer teachers!

Attending Tang Ying's funeral was also a baptism for Su Chen!

Su Chen bowed deeply towards Tang Ying's portrait.

The second special mission was considered complete.

He carried his suona and walked towards the outside of the mourning hall.

Under the gaze of countless students kneeling outside the mourning hall, he gradually walked away...

PS:

The end of a funeral is not just the end of a life, but also the inheritance of hope.

Thanks to the leader Xiao Seng for the reward, here is the second update late at night!

Thanks to Boss: for the reward!

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Thanks to Boss: Ren Zhong Qu San for the reward!

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Bowing ninety degrees!!

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