Chapter 155: Chapter 86: Not Even a Dog Would Drool

That music…!

Zhao Rui followed the sound, his pace unhurried.

The night was quiet and serene, the spring wind sharp and cold.

A bright moon hung high in the sky, and the faint sound of a zither drifted on the air.

For a Martial Artist seeking clarity of mind, the atmosphere was perfect.

As he drew closer, the beautiful melody of the zither grew clearer and crisper.

Zhao Rui vaulted over the campus wall. His feet tapped lightly on dry branches, his movements as elusive as a flitting butterfly, before he landed about ten feet in front of the zither player.

Before him sat a beautiful young woman with a delicate face and jet-black hair, her fair, jade-like hands caressing the zither.

Perhaps sensing Zhao Rui’s arrival, the zither’s melody abruptly changed. It now sounded like blades cleaving the air, like thunder shaking the heavens. Despite the serene depths of the surrounding woods, the music conjured the tense fear of an ambush from all sides.

Its power was that of sweeping thunder; its notes, the sobs of a hidden spring.

She was the very image of a classic poem: head bowed like a dew-kissed lotus, fingers stroking the cool strings by the water’s edge.

Her elegant fingers plucked and strummed, the tremolo like jade beads dancing on a platter. Then, with a sound like tearing silk, the melody suddenly shifted into the powerful, sweeping chords of “The General’s Order”!

Zhao Rui didn’t know the first thing about music, but even he could feel the sudden, drastic shift in the atmosphere.

“Student ’Meow,’ were you waiting for me?”

Zhao Rui asked curiously, having listened quietly until the piece concluded.

“Fifty-fifty!”

The zither player was, of course, Miao Miaomiao.

“Then tell me about the half that was waiting for me!”

Zhao Rui said directly.

Miao Miaomiao lifted her lovely face, a delicate eyebrow raised. She smiled faintly. “Very well. I want to know how you adapted to my Charm Technique.”

“That’s a rather forward question, don’t you think?”

“I can offer an equivalent exchange.”

Zhao Rui froze for a second, then scratched his head. “Oh, I don’t know about that… I’m not that kind of guy!”

“What kind of guy?”

Miao Miaomiao’s eyes went cold. With a flick of her finger across a string, a bolt of Gang Qi shot out, streaking toward Zhao Rui like a flash of white silk.

“Just kidding! Hey, watch the clothes! They’re brand new.”

With a nimble flip, Zhao Rui narrowly dodged the attack.

’This Sound Wave Skill is remarkably similar to the Profound Yin Sword Pointing,’ he thought. ’The control is so precise. It’s an absolute killer technique.’

A glint appeared in Zhao Rui’s eyes; he was clearly intrigued.

“See? Your mind is always in the gutter!”

Zhao Rui said, exasperated.

“I’m being serious. Name your price!”

Miao Miaomiao said coldly.

Zhao Rui mulled it over for a moment, then said, “I want you…”

TWANG…

The zither sang out again.

“Dammit, are you crazy? Can’t you let me finish?”

Zhao Rui dodged sideways, his form flashing between the branches as he shouted angrily, “I was going to say, I want you to teach me this Sound Wave Skill!”

“As if I’d be lusting after your body!”

“Zhao Rui!”

Hearing his words, Miao Miaomiao’s pretty face flushed red, and her anger surged. She swept both hands across the strings, and several crisscrossing blasts of Gang Qi erupted forth.

’Damned if I do, damned if I don’t!’

Zhao Rui twisted and dodged, evading the incoming Gang Qi. Reaching out to a withered tree, he snapped off a straight branch.

“You think you’re the only one who can use Gang Qi!”

With a blur of motion, Zhao Rui executed his modified Taiyi Splitting Light Sword Technique.

In the moonlight, the dead branch seemed to transform into a long sword, tracing the patterns of a dazzlingly complex swordsmanship.

From the tip of the branch, streams of Gang Qi shot forth, aimed straight at Miao Miaomiao’s zither.

…

Miao Miaomiao’s face paled. She hadn’t expected his swordsmanship to be so formidable.

She snatched up her zither and hastily dodged.

Her form flickered evasively through the treetops.

TWANG! WHOOSH!

The two of them were instantly trading ultimate techniques in the dense woods, clashing with blasts of Gang Qi.

After more than thirty exchanges, Miao Miaomiao suddenly stopped and said in a solemn voice:

“I can tell you the Zither Sound Mantra!”

“Just like that?”

Zhao Rui froze, lowering his branch. He hadn’t expected her to agree so readily.

’He’d been thrilled to encounter this particular Martial Art. While he could copy it, learning it properly would be far better for true mastery.’

“When do you want to learn?”

“Anytime works.”

“Fine. Sit down cross-legged, and I’ll impart the Qi Circulation Method to you.”

“Uh…”

“Stop dithering! You already know a Gang Qi Technique. For you, this skill is just icing on the cake. Why would I be stingy about it?”

Miao Miaomiao said with a frown.

Hearing this, Zhao Rui couldn’t help but break into a relaxed smile. “You’re right. I’m the one being petty.”

With that, Zhao Rui sat down cross-legged and listened as she began to recite the Heart Method Mantra in a low whisper.

“’The secret to killing with sound lies in opening the twelve meridians, aligning with the celestial stars and terrestrial apertures. Treat the strings as your sword, and your True Qi as your spear.’

’One who unleashes Qi with the sound of thunder shatters evil before it can form. One whose rhythm stirs the vast seas can pulverize metal and stone without a trace…’

’The zither is an instrument to suppress the earth like Mount Yue, its cool strings connecting to the starry apertures. Pluck the low notes, and gentle waves will spread across the plains; strike the high notes, and blades of Gang Qi will tear through the sky.’

’Practitioners of this art must comprehend Wu Hou’s Eight Array Map and master the Five-Tone Transformation Slash…’”

Miao Miaomiao’s soft, pleasant voice drifted into Zhao Rui’s ears.

It was just that the Cultivation Technique wasn’t recited in plain language. It was filled with obscure musical terms that made it a real pain for Zhao Rui to memorize.

’But it didn’t matter. He only needed an excuse. The moment Miao Miaomiao had first unleashed her zither attack, he had already chosen to copy the skill.’

’The Cultivation Technique was called the Profound Sound Sky-Cracking Chart. It shared the word ’Profound’ with Profound Yin Sword Pointing. I wonder if they’re related.’

“How much did you understand?”

When she finished, Miao Miaomiao’s gaze locked onto Zhao Rui as she asked the question.

…

Zhao Rui couldn’t be bothered to answer her question directly. Instead, he retorted, “A good teacher should start with the basics. For instance, what exactly *is* melody? What are all those notes you mentioned? And what does any of it have to do with the Eight Arrays…”

Miao Miaomiao stifled a laugh and rolled her eyes at him. ’He has no clue, yet he acts so self-righteous about it.’

“I’ve already given you the Cultivation Technique. How much you understand depends on your own aptitude.”

’What the hell!’

’How am I supposed to learn a damn thing from that!’

Zhao Rui was furious. ’This girl isn’t playing fair,’ he thought. He was completely tone-deaf and couldn’t even remember what she’d said. How was he supposed to learn?

“Don’t complain. That’s how I learned it, too. No one taught me!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep