Chapter 540 538: Save My Ears

The entire arena was buzzing with excitement!

Fairy Miaoyin's descendant was the first to perform. Her melody was like a song from the heavens, earning her the highest score so far and putting her in first place!

And now, the inheritor of Fairy Miaoyin's legacy was about to take the stage!

This was shaping up to be a truly intense Piano Skill showdown.

"The inheritor of Fairy Miaoyin's legacy?"

Hua Feng Hall Master was puzzled. How had he never heard of such a person?

He felt a faint sense of threat. 'First place might be snatched away!'

"I never thought Hall Master Shang knew such a talent."

Several Hall Masters from the Martial City Spirit Hall also began to see Hall Master Shang in a new light because of this.

Hall Master Shang, who was usually ignored at these gatherings, felt a surge of pleasure.

But deep down, a sense of uncertainty began to grow.

Under the watchful eyes of the entire crowd.

The performer stepped onto the stage, and the entire arena fell silent. A strange chill filled the air.

'Fairy Miaoyin's inheritor... looks like *that*?'

The audience felt an indescribable sense of discomfort.

The Crow's appearance was just too shocking. Its feathers were scorched black, and it was still smoking.

"CAW CAW CAW! For you ants to hear this god's performance will be the proudest moment of your lives!"

the Crow squawked arrogantly.

The audience was a little disdainful. 'Fairy Miaoyin's inheritor is this arrogant?'

But they had to admit, after its bold declaration, they were genuinely curious to see what skills the Crow actually possessed!

The Crow took out the Miaoyin Zither, assumed a proper posture, and began its performance with a light pluck of the strings with its claw.

TWANG!

An indescribably horrific sound pierced their very souls, making everyone in the audience shudder as goosebumps erupted all over their skin.

"Stop... AHHH!"

Someone shouted. The very beginning was already terribly wrong.

SCREECH!

A series of terrible, demonic notes burst forth, like the shrieks and cries of ten thousand ghosts.

Wherever the zither's sound reached, everything seemed to tremble in fear.

The entire audience in the arena erupted in a torrent of pained screams!

"This..."

The woman in pink standing nearby was dumbstruck.

'This is... Fairy Miaoyin's inheritor? Even a three-year-old would sound better than this, wouldn't they?'

"My ears... Save me..."

Several judges clutched their ears, letting out agonized howls.

Having grown accustomed to beautiful melodies, the pain they endured was far greater than that of an ordinary person!

The Piano Skill competition was a pure contest of technique. The use of True Essence and Spiritual Power was forbidden!

Otherwise, those with higher Cultivation would have an unfair advantage.

But somehow, without using True Essence or Spiritual Power, the Crow's music possessed an extremely strong Penetration Power and destructive force.

At the scene, only the Celestial Level Martial Artists had stronger resistance.

But even the ten Hall Masters were stunned, their composure utterly shattered.

"Luo, could you please make your Spirit Pet... stop."

The red-faced old man's mouth twitched, his voice trembling!

He and the middle-aged woman could never have imagined that the Crow's Piano Skill would be this terrifying!

"Ugly Bird, get down here now!"

Luo Tian had already retreated to the edge of the arena.

"Young man, can't you hear the cheers all around? The fans are so fanatical! How can this god leave the stage?"

The Crow's eyes gleamed as it spoke with great enthusiasm.

"..."

Luo Tian thought for a moment, then took a few more steps back.

"Stop!"

A Hall Master from the Martial City Spirit Hall roared in anger!

According to the rules, the ten Hall Masters were not allowed to interfere with the competition, but this one simply couldn't bear it any longer.

A few more seconds of this, and he feared he would go mad.

But just then, the Crow opened its beak and began to sing: "Don't you fall in love with brother, brother is just a legend..."

The combination of its singing and the zither music elevated the Crow's performance to a level of "inhuman tragedy"!

Even the Celestial Level Martial Artists were greatly affected, becoming irritable and agitated, their qi and blood thrown into chaos!

Wails and cries of agony echoed from all directions.

Luo Tian noticed Hall Master Shang's intensely questioning gaze. He shook his head and sighed, "I told you to consider it carefully."

"Judges, what score will this god receive?"

the Crow asked while continuing to play and sing.

'Score my ass!'

That was the collective thought of all the judges. They felt as if their ears were being defiled in turn.

But for some unknown reason.

Deep in their hearts, a sense of reverence and worship for the Crow was growing. They wanted to listen a little longer, wanted to give the Crow... a perfect score!

When the judges realized this, they were terrified. Now they truly understood the meaning of a fate worse than death.

"Zero points!"

Several judges picked up their brushes, preparing to give the score and end this torture.

But they found that the moment they put brush to paper, their bodies uncontrollably tried to write "ten points"!

"No!"

The judges shrieked in terror.

If they gave it ten points, their lives would be over.

The audience saw this and stared in disbelief, wishing they could risk their lives to stop it!

In the end, the first four judges all wrote down ten points.

But the fifth judge, halfway through writing, had his qi and blood rush to his heart. He spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed!

The Crow stopped its performance.

The entire arena fell silent, followed by a tidal wave of furious curses. Some were so enraged they looked ready to charge up and kill it.

Fortunately, this was an event organized by the ten Hall Masters, so most people didn't dare to act out of line.

"This god got a perfect score!" the Crow yelled.

But how could the judges allow the Crow to get a perfect score? Wouldn't they become a laughingstock if word got out?

The last judge's "ten points" was only half-written when he fainted, so it was forcibly judged as five points!

Therefore, the Crow's final score was nine points!

"Unfair! This god deserves a perfect score!" the Crow raged.

"Otherwise, once that judge wakes up, this god will play another melody for him!"

The moment it said this, a large group of Guards was dispatched to forcibly drive the Crow out.

"Ahem, we just had a small incident. Next up is the chess showdown,"

the judge hastily announced.

On the high platform, the other nine Hall Masters all turned their gazes to Hall Master Shang.

"...This Hall Master was also deceived by it. I mistakenly thought it was the inheritor of Fairy Miaoyin's legacy..."

Hall Master Shang immediately passed the buck.

The Crow's behavior this time had been truly shocking, and it had also made Hall Master Shang lose face.

However, the Crow's final score placed it fourth among all the performers!

Hall Master Shang was relatively satisfied with this result, though he felt a bit guilty about it.

On the competition stage, two chess players were facing off.

The chess matches were determined by random draw.

Hall Master Shang's chosen candidate played a total of five games, winning one and losing four—a crushing defeat!

This wasn't just a matter of his chess skill.

It was also because the Crow's behavior in the first event had infuriated everyone.

They couldn't get revenge on the Crow, but they could take it out on the other candidates sent by Hall Master Shang.

They couldn't stand that the Crow had used such despicable means to rank fourth in the first event!

In the next three events.

They were determined to utterly annihilate Hall Master Shang's candidates!

「A day passed.」

The chess competition ended. Hall Master Shang's candidate ranked dead last.

This result made the other nine Hall Masters feel a bit more at ease.

Even though Hall Master Shang's candidate in the first event had used bizarre methods to take fourth place, his situation in the following events would only get worse.

The final outcome wouldn't change much.

"Next up is the Archery competition!"

The first to take the stage was, once again, Hua Feng Hall Master's candidate!

It was a man at the Peak of Earth Element Realm Ninth Layer. He had only one eye, which was like that of a Divine Eagle, capable of seeing through everything!

The next instant, mysterious Array Patterns flickered to life across the entire competition stage, enveloping it in a layer of cyan light.

In mid-air, round, cyan targets materialized, shimmering with light and zipping about rapidly and erratically like shooting stars!

The special targets condensed by the Array moved at the speed of an Earth Element Realm Ninth Layer cultivator.

With poor eyesight, it was nearly impossible to track the targets' movements.

"Within three breaths, the more targets you hit, the higher your score!"

the judge announced the rules!

At his command, a faint golden gleam flashed in the one-eyed man's pupil.

He nocked an arrow with lightning speed and fired it like a thunderbolt!

In an instant, he fired six arrows, and without the slightest pause, immediately took out another six and fired them. The entire motion was as smooth as flowing water, full of aesthetic grace!

WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH!

The sound of arrows tearing through the air was endless!

Three breaths passed quickly, and the one-eyed man stopped!

The Array also ceased to operate, and all the light cyan targets floated in mid-air.

The audience stared intently and began to count!

A total of thirty-six arrows, all hitting their bullseyes. A few of the arrows even pierced through their targets to hit the bullseye of a second target behind them!

"Within three breaths, he fired a total of thirty-six arrows and hit forty-two bullseyes!"

After the judge announced the result, the entire arena erupted in cheers!

'As expected of the candidate sent by Hua Feng Hall Master. That Archery is truly astonishing.'

Next.

One by one, others took the stage, but their scores were far inferior to the one-eyed man's.

The closest score to the one-eyed man's was thirty arrows fired within three breaths, hitting thirty-two bullseyes!

"Heh heh, he is a descendant of an Arrow King!"

Hua Feng Hall Master said with a laugh.

'A descendant of an Arrow King?'

The crowd's gazes toward the one-eyed man instantly changed.

Reaching the True Martial Realm meant one stood at the very pinnacle of the Broken-star Realm. They hadn't expected the one-eyed man to have such an astonishing background!

"The last contestant, please take the stage!"

the judge said.

But no one came to the stage.

"What's going on?"

"Is no one coming?"

The surrounding audience was confused.

The judge checked his information and learned that the last person was Hall Master Shang's candidate, but they hadn't shown up.

"Hall Master Shang, what's wrong with your person this time?"

one of the Hall Masters said with a laugh.

This Hall Master still held a grudge about the first event.

The Crow sent by Hall Master Shang was so detestable, yet it had ranked fourth.

But thankfully, in the chess competition, Hall Master Shang's candidate had ranked dead last.

Now, for the Archery competition, Hall Master Shang's candidate hadn't even shown up. He would probably be last again!

"Heh heh, don't tell me Hall Master Shang couldn't find anyone at all?" said another Hall Master.

"Hall Master, this is bad!"

Just then, a steward hurried over.

"Why isn't Mrs. Lin here?" Hall Master Shang asked in a low voice.

"Well... the day before yesterday, Mrs. Lin got into a fight and was severely injured. She's recuperating now and probably can't compete,"

the steward reported truthfully.

The other Hall Masters overheard this and couldn't help but laugh, feeling a sense of glee.

"Who did it?"

Hall Master Shang's expression turned grim.

If it had been caused by malicious competition from another Hall Master, he would at least have an excuse.

"...Sun Ku,"

the steward said in a low voice.

Sun Ku was the very same burly man whom Luo Tian had defeated in a single move.

Defeated at Luo Tian's hands, he felt immense humiliation and, in a fit of rage, had done this.

After hearing this, Hall Master Shang was furious.

But at this point, there was nothing he could do to salvage the situation.

He would have to forfeit the Archery competition.

"Due to an unforeseen accident with Hall Master Shang's candidate, they are unable to attend the competition, so..."

the judge on the stage announced.

"Wait!"

A voice cut him off!

"I'll give the Archery competition a try!"

In the stands, all eyes instantly focused on a man in a green robe!

"Luo Tian?"

Hall Master Shang looked surprised, and a touch of gratitude welled in his heart.

Having someone participate was definitely better than forfeiting.

As long as Luo Tian's Archery wasn't so terrible it was painful to watch, he could accept it.