Chapter 256. The Wrath of the Sound God (2)

The third floor of the Pavilion of Prince Teng had several guest rooms prepared to entertain distinguished guests.

Not even a gold tael was enough for a single night.

However, as mentioned earlier, even if one

had

the money, it wasn't a place one could enter with just money.

This was a famed pavilion originally built to entertain the Emperor. That was why not just anyone could enter the third floor.

Although it had distanced itself from politics and was now under the control of the Melody Gate, becoming a force of the

murim

, its majesty was still intact.

From the third floor, the view of Nanchang was breathtaking.

From the direction of the main gate, one could see the bustling market and people moving busily. When looking out the back windows, one could see the eastern shore of the Ganjiang River, a tributary of the Yangtze River, which was also spectacular.

"This really does deserve to be one of the three famous pavilions of Jiangnan."

Zhou Xuchuan pretended not to be interested as he covertly looked around.

I guess I really didn't know much about the arts.

In his previous life, after completing his training and entering the world of the

gangho

, war immediately broke out. After that point, he had only spent his time fighting various wars.

Even what he called relaxation was just drinking while sleeping at inns.

In this life, he was too busy trying to save the

murim

. Instead of thinking about women, the first thing that was always on his mind was Blessed Existence, whose face he didn't even know.

While he had definitely dreamed of such things when he was young due to never having the chance to hold a woman's hand properly in his previous life, now, he didn't have the luxury of such thoughts.

Rustle.

The sound of a sliding door opening pulled him from his thoughts.

In the Melody Gate, one had to be more careful of sounds rather than swords.

"Were you waiting for me?"

The Sound God, Shao Leijin.

Their beautiful voice pierced his heart. It was a pleasant sound like the rolling of jade beads. However, Zhou Xuchuan was careful not to allow himself to be drawn in.

Shao Leijin entered the room with a courtesan, or rather a Melody Gate disciple, and sat down at the dining table.

With elegant movements, the Melody Gate disciple set up a lavish meal before bowing and leaving the two alone.

"Just who are you?"

"The Phantom Bow Swordsman."

"That's not what I meant."

Shao Leijin glared at him with narrowed eyes.

"Coruscant Realm Master."

The Manifestation of One's Path was not something that could be achieved by luck alone. It not only required luck but also natural talent and a perfect opportunity.

"While they say that there are as many eccentrics in the

gangho

as there are grains of sand, that's not the case for Absolute Masters. Wondering if there's even a single one of us among the hidden or secret forces is what it means to be a Coruscant Realm Master."

Shao Leijin had heard of the Phantom Bow Swordsman before.

But he wasn't a master of this caliber.

"The Four Gates Rebellion. Did you hide your true cultivation back then? No, more importantly, why did you pretend to be from the Xia Wu Sect?"

A few of the rumors about the Phantom Bow Swordsman were now fact, one of them being his allegiance before he participated in the Four Gates Rebellion.

"It's quite suspicious."

There were more than a few things that were concerning.

"You ask too many questions."

Zhou Xuchuan smiled faintly.

Well, I just wasn't at the Coruscant Realm back then.

Shao Leijin appeared to be deeply mistaken about something.

"If by who I am, you mean what gate I'm from, then that, I can answer. I'm the Successor of the Archery God (弓神)."

He wasn't lying, either.

"...!"

When the Archery God's name was mentioned, the Sound God's eyes widened.

"The Eclipse Divine Archery Art?"

"Exactly."

The Archery God was a legendary warrior, one of the best in the world.

He was incomparable to the Pure Saber from earlier.

Whether it was his reputation or his cultivation—everything was on a different level. It was only natural for the Sound God to be surprised.

"As expected. Then, I can understand how you've reached your level."

Shao Leijin nodded in agreement.

"Then why did you come to see me? No, why did you impersonate the Xia Wu Sect in the first place?"

"Your question is out of turn. Since I've answered one of yours, shouldn't you also answer one of mine?"

"Are you saying that while understanding who you're sitting in front of right now?"

Hum.

The bowls on the table began to tremble on their own.

The 'sound' of the bowls that floated through the air alone was threatening.

"Of course."

The sound stopped and the bowls stopped shaking.

Spatial Manipulation wasn't something that only Shao Leijin could do.

"...hmph. Fine."

If Zhou Xuchuan hadn't been an Absolute Master, the result would have been different. Now, Shao Leijin treated the Phantom Bow Swordsman as an equal.

While there may have been matters of compatibility, there weren't any rankings within the Coruscant Realm.

The only thing Coruscant Realm Masters focused on was the fact that each of their Paths were different.

"Yumen Pass."

Shao Leijin's hand, which was reaching for a bottle of liquor, paused momentarily.

"Gansu Province's Regional Military Commissioner."

"...I don't know what you're talking about."

Shao Leijin grabbed the bottle of liquor and poured it into a glass.

There was no wavering in their hands, which were long and slender like feathers[1], or in their captivating eyes, which seemed to draw one in.

The Sound God grabbed the bottle of liquor in a relaxed manner and poured it. To an ordinary observer, there was nothing unusual, but Zhou Xuchuan noticed the subtle change in demeanor.

"Not long ago, the Regional Military Commissioner fell off his horse. When I investigated it, I heard that the horse suddenly went berserk and started running wild."

"And what does that have to do with me?"

It turned out that the horse wasn't poisoned, nor was it attacked by a hidden weapon. Moreover, multiple stable keepers had checked it before sending it out. After all, if their Regional Military Commissioner fell into danger, their lives would have also been in danger, meaning that they wouldn't have just let the horse go carelessly."

"..."

"Everyone related to that horse was beheaded, so it took some time to gather information, but I was able to come to a conclusion. I think it might have been under the influence of sound arts."

While there was still a demand for poison arts, the same wasn't true for sound arts. It was a nearly extinct, non-mainstream martial art.

In fact, sound arts still existed due to the Sound God. If not for them, there might not have been any sect that specialized in it.

"Sound God, Shao Leijin."

The smile on Zhou Xuchuan's lips disappeared.

"Did you kill the Gansu Province Regional Military Commissioner?"

"No."

Thud, Thud, thud.

All the doors and windows slammed shut.

"Strictly speaking, it wasn't me who killed him..."

Clang! Clink, clang!

Thud, plink!

Clatter! Clatter!

The dishes shook violently once more. Porcelain and every other object in the room that could produce sound vibrated.

"Wasn't it the horse?"

The delicacies on the table fell to the ground.

"I answered, so now it's my turn to ask a question."

Shao Leijin slapped the floor with their palm.

Bang!

The floor didn't crack or shatter. Instead, a musical instrument appeared as if it had been summoned.

While Zhou Xuchuan thought it would be the Seven Strings Zither, strangely, it only had two strings.

The Literary Martial Strings Zither (文武絃琴)...!

One was a string of literary arts, and the other a string of martial arts. These two strings were collectively called The Literary Martial Strings.

Moreover, the Literary Martial Strings Zither was a one-of-a-kind treasure in the

murim

, being the divine instrument of the Melody Gate.

The Literary Martial Strings were made by twisting not regular thread but Heavenly Silkworm Silk. If converted into gold, its value would exceed a thousand jin.[2]

"I want to know why the Hero of the Evil Dao is investigating the deaths of officials. Could it be... are you an imperial official?"

"How could that be?"

"Don't question me, answer."

"I just wanted to know who opened the Yumen Pass."

"...!"

Shao Leijin's eyes sharpened.

"Who are you?"

"I already told you, the Phantom Bow Swordsman."

"Nonsense. Only a very small number of people know about that. Just who the hell are you?!

This was information that the Failed Phantoms of the Valley of Phantoms, the greatest assassination force in the world, worked tirelessly to obtain. It was true that only a very small number of people knew about it.

Just like you're asking me, just who are you?

Moreover, Shao Leijin, who knew about this very secret, also had something they were hiding of their own.

Zhou Xuchuan had never actually suspected the Melody Gate. He had only come here because there was no other place for him to investigate after suspecting the horse fall accident to be the result of sound arts.

However, after talking to the Sound God, his thoughts changed.

The Melody Gate, no, the Sound God, was related to what happened at Yumen Pass.

"If you don't give me the answer I want, you'll die in a pain worse than death."[3]

"Don't break the rules, Sound God. It's not your turn to question, but mine."

A moment of silence passed before Zhou Xuchuan narrowed his eyes.

"Are you part of the Blood Cult?"

A ceaseless stream of qi flowed from his lower abdomen.

"Or..."

Zhou Xuchuan looked at Shao Leijin.

"Are you part of the Dark Heavens Association?"

"...ha."

Shao Leijin lowered their head and laughed softly. Their long waist-length hair, which cascaded like a waterfall, fell over their shoulders.

"Hahahaha!"

Their laughter grew louder, filling the room.

Zhou Xuchuan heard a sound. Something was stimulating his senses, hitting his eardrums.

"Phantom Bow Swordsman."

Shao Leijin abruptly stopped laughing and called his name.

"While I don't know why the successor of the Archery God isn't carrying a bow... if that identity of yours really is true, then you should know this too. It's because the non-mainstream techniques, like archery arts and sound arts, are being discriminated against."

"..."

"Do you know why the Righteous Faction and the Evil Faction were divided?"

Shao Leijin poured themself a glass and drank it slowly.

Zhou Xuchuan didn't answer and remained silent.

"You don't have to think about it too hard. It started because of the correct path and the flawed path."

Shao Leijin continued again.

"The martial arts of the Righteous Faction require patience, stamina, and a pure heart. If I were to list their characteristics, well, the cultivation speed is slow, meaning that the accumulation of qi takes time. However, in return, the risk of falling into cultivation deviation or damaging one's cultivation is low, and it's relatively easy for one to overcome the barriers between realms."

If there were any martial artists around, they would have risked their lives to be able to listen attentively.

After all, these were the teachings of not just anyone but one of the Seven Empyrean Overlords. There were hidden clues to one becoming a master in every one of the Sound God's words.

"However, humans have always been creatures that hope for luck. Some people cannot endure the requirements and give up. Moreover, some, in their struggle to increase their rate of cultivation, devise a new method and discover new directions for their martial arts. That is how the martial arts of the Evil Faction began."

In short, the Righteous Faction was orthodox, and the Evil Faction was not.

In return for its speed, the martial arts of the Evil Faction were weaker than the martial arts of the Righteous Faction in breaking through the barriers between realms. They also left a martial artist with weaker foundations, making them prone to falling into cultivation deviation.

This was the very reason why the Righteous Faction had many experts but few members, while conversely, the Evil Faction had many members but few experts.

"Let alone acknowledging their own mistakes, people don't even want to acknowledge what is different. They would criticize something that is slightly different from what they know, saying, 'That's not right.' That's why the two Factions are in conflict."

It was really a trivial reason.

They just killed people because they each pursued different things.

Over time, they clashed for a variety of reasons.

The Righteous Faction (正派) emphasized discipline and ethics.

At the same time, the Evil Faction (邪派) criticized the excessive discipline and ethics, saying that they suppressed people's freedom and cursed them for being pretentious.

The nature of their martial arts soon became an ideology, and different people gathered together to distinguish between the Righteous Faction and the Evil Faction.

"Now, here's the question. Where do you think sound arts go?"

Shao Leijin's eyes glowed with a chilling light.

"The answer is 'nowhere.'"

Shao Leijin gritted their teeth.

"Throughout the history of the

murim

, sound arts were never treated like a proper martial art. Those Righteous Faction bastards rejected it as a useless parlor trick, and eventually, it grew to be classified as an Evil Faction art. But, do you know the funniest part?"

Zhou Xuchuan could feel the anger the Sound God had toward the

murim

.

"Even in the Evil Faction, it was ridiculed and discriminated against as being a false path and a mere trick! All because it's not a mainstream path!"

Zhou Xuchuan looked at Shao Leijin and thought of Zhuge Shengji.

While sound arts may not have been as ridiculed as mechanisms, they were still something that would be more ridiculed than not.

"I had thought that this treatment was because it was weak!"

Sound arts generally weren't used unless they were on the level of the Shaolin Temple's Lion Roar.

"After all, the

gangho murim

is a world of strength!"

While there were applications of qi that would lead to increasing the volume of one's sound by imbuing one's voice with qi or using it to spread the vibrations in all directions, that wasn't a specific technique.

"That was why I tried to get us to be recognized somehow! I wasn't asking for much! I just wanted to be recognized like any other ordinary martial artist! I came all the way here to eliminate the discrimination against sound arts!"

The Sound God had succeeded in reaching the pinnacle of martial arts.

As a result, they had assumed that they would be recognized now.

However...

Nothing had changed. Sound Arts were still looked down upon as non-mainstream martial arts.

Even among the Eight Gates of the Evil Dao, it had the lowest number of disciples.

Even though the Evil Faction members may have been afraid of the Sound God, they weren't afraid of the Melody Gate.

Once, when the Evil Valley was hosting a feast, Shao Leijin had sent a Melody Gate disciple in their stead.

When the Melody Gate disciple had returned, she said, "Gate Master! An elder of the Evil Valley told me to show off my skills as a disciple of the Melody Gate. He told me to come up with a poem and dance to liven up the feast! How long will we have to be treated like this?!"

Shao Leijin was furious when they saw their disciple's tears.

"The

murim

... is rotten."

1. Literally says bracken, but that doesn't sound good. ☜

2. Roughly 53 million USD. For reference, that's about 600 Kilos of gold. ☜

3. Yes, I know, this makes no sense. I don't know how dying is worse than dying, too. ☜