Before the stone steps of Qin Pass, Lu Changfeng lifted his robes and sat down.
An Ancient Zither, black from end to end, rested on the table before him. A faint, dark sheen glimmered along its body; one glance was enough to tell it was a fine instrument with many years behind it.
He raised a hand, pressed the strings, and tested a few notes. Its tone was clear yet steady, its string spacing just right, and it felt excellent beneath his fingers. He nodded in satisfaction, made a few adjustments, took a deep breath, and rested both hands lightly on the strings.
The spectators around him turned their eyes toward him.
The echoes of Jiang Xu and Meng Yang's zither duel still lingered. Now that someone else had taken the stage, attention naturally gathered on him.
Standing among the crowd, Bai Qianqian quietly removed her veiled hat. Her hands clasped before her chest, she watched him without blinking.
Lu Changfeng lowered his fingertips gently, and the first note slipped from the strings.
It was soft and delicate, like a drop of morning dew sliding from the tip of a leaf and seeping soundlessly into the earth.
The Blind Zither Master's brow stirred slightly-he sensed it. The origin qi of heaven and earth was quietly circulating with that single note. This man was an expert in the Sonic Wave Art, and his cultivation was far from low!
But this trial tested not the Sonic Wave Art, but the power to seize the heart-the ability to stir emotion.
The Sonic Wave Art could kill, yet might not move the heart; heart-seizing music might possess little destructive power, yet could pierce flesh and reach straight into the divine soul.
One was hard, the other soft; one outward, the other inward. They were