Chapter 323 - Appearance of Hao Zhong and The Soundless Instrument (1)
Insolence, blatant insolence!
“How dare you injure me! How dare you do this to a Saint of the Sacred Sect!” the Saint growled. With a deathly stare, he glared ahead at Wang Xian, who was leaving.
The contempt, and the look of disregard, made Wang Xian appear all the more indifferent.
“Leave your name. In no time, I’ll slaughter you, with my own bare hands!” the Saint called out harshly as he watched Wang Xian from behind.
Upon hearing the Saint, Wang Xian stopped short and turned around to look at the young man. “You’ve lost your chance!” he mocked.
In a fit of anger, the Saint snapped in a grimace as his eyes filled with bloodthirst. He took a quick look at his arm and called out, “I’ll kill you soon enough!”
Wang Xian looked back at the Saint. Smiling, he beamed with a glimmer in his eyes before turning to leave.
“Saint, are you alright!?” a voice asked.
“Saint, let me have a look at your injuries. I have some elixir pills with me!” another called out in concern.
The crowd of disciples had barely recovered from shock. To think that the Saint had been injured by a nobody with one mere strike. Just how could this be!
“I’m alright!” the Saint brushed them aside. With a glum face, he took one look at the injuries on his shoulders.
As he watched Wang Xian leave, a young man tried to appease the Saint. “Saint, had the lad not snuck an attack, and had you brought your Sky Devil Zither along, you would’ve maimed such a lad easily!” he flattered.
“Hmph!” the Saint replied impassively. Displeased, he looked at Tang Yinxuan and pressed her for an answer. “Who is he? Which Sect or Clan is he from?”
Upon hearing the Saint’s words, Tang Yinxuan furrowed her brows and shook her head. “Saint, I have something to attend to. I’ll return to the Sect now!” she replied before making a direct exit.
“Hold it right there, Tang Yinxuan. The Saint is asking you a question!” a female disciple of the Heavenly Sound Sect yelled at Tang Yinxuan.
Ignoring the call, Tang Yinxuan excused herself again. “Apologies, Saint. I’m feeling unwell. So I’ll head back to rest!” she said before hastening her steps. Feeling helpless, she sighed softly as she rushed back to the Sect.
“Well, well, this Tang Yinxuan!” the Saint rebuked. As he watched Tang Yinxuan disappear gradually, he headed straight for the exit with a steely expression.
“Saint!” a few disciples called out with unease.
“Go, get me details of the lad’s identity!” the Saint ordered one of them as he turned his head back.
“Yes, Saint!” the crowd of disciples replied hurriedly, shocked by the comment.
The Saint of a Sacred Sect is not someone to be trifled with.
Offenders shall die!
…
As Wang Xian entered the Presidential Suite, he was immediately welcomed by Mo Qinglong, Mo Yuan and seven Dragonians. “Young Master!” they greeted respectfully.
“Hmm. Just place the information you’ve got over there!” Wang Xian replied. Acknowledging the gang with a wave, he picked up the documents and headed for the bedroom.
“Noted!” Mo Qinglong and gang nodded, before they headed outside.
Meanwhile, a worn out Tang Yinxuan returned to her room, located atop the ninth summit of Ning City’s Nine Peaks Mountain.
As she placed the zither on the desk, she looked to the side, where two zithers rested. One of them was covered in cracks, and bore obvious signs of repair.
But repaired zithers could no longer be used.
As for the other zither, it boasted an all-green body which exuded both extravagance and beauty. This was a zither gifted to her by her Master.
This Green Zither had been obtained by her Master at an overly exorbitant price. According to her Master, it was a Level 6 Zither.
As with all things in life, even weapons are classified by levels, as they are graded similarly to humans. In fact, where grading is concerned, only the classification of Spiritual Grasses and Elixir Pills differ vastly from the others.
Weapons are graded in ascending Levels. And where a weapon has surpassed Level 9, it would then be named a Meta-mortal Spiritual Weapon, also known as an Inborn Spiritual Weapon.
Inborn Spiritual Weapons possess a spirituality of their own. When a weapon ascends to such a level, it gains unimaginable powers.
Take the Ancient Sword of Zhan Lu which Wang Xian now owned, for instance. It is no sword to be owned by mere mortals, given that it possesses Energy of the Gold Summit. An average Martial Artist could even be killed by the sword simply by holding it.
Similarly, an expert Martial Artist of Level eight or above could challenge someone at superseding levels, simply by wielding the sword.
So much so that a Level nine Martial Artist could kill a Half-Step Inborn with the Zhan Lu Sword in hand, which is what makes an Inborn Spiritual Weapon so formidable.
That said, Inborn Spiritual Weapons were few and far between in the current world, as there were barely any blacksmiths left. Along with the Art of Equipment Refining being long lost, all current renowned weapons were the ones passed down from ancient times.
Thus, this Level six Green Zither gifted by her Master was incredibly rare.
Tang Yinxuan looked at the casing which held the zither from Wang Xian. Its appearance was very common, and it even bore a trademark.
“Ling-Yin!” Tang Yinxuan chimed, giggling as she looked at the trademark brand. Ling-Yin was currently one of the top zither brands.
An exquisitely customized zither could cost tens of thousands, while the pricier ones could even fetch more than a million dollars.
Yet, in her eyes, these supposedly branded zithers were no different from the ordinary ones.
They could not compare to the Green Zither gifted to her by her Master, which currently rested by her side.
“To think an invincible expert of his times is this insincere. How miserly!” Tang Yinxuan pouted, looking really adorable.
It appeared she would only reveal this endearing side of her when she was alone.
“How ordinary it is! It’s also an ordinary zither which Mother gifted me!” she presumed. She had been prepared to reject this gift from the start, and hence gave little thought to Wang Xian’s intentions.
As she opened the casing, a simple yet classic-looking garnet zither emerged before her. Written on it were several traditional characters.
On the center of the zither were two enlarged characters. Stupefied, Tang Yinxuan stared at the two characters in a daze.
“Hao Zhong, Hao Zhong!” she mumbled, repeating the name. Astounded, her face twitched in shock.
She placed her hands on the zither immediately.
Zing, ring, ring!
Suddenly, a melodic note rang through her mind. She shuddered as though she had heard heavenly music.
In an instant, she felt as though she was bursting with energy. Her vision became crystal clear, while the Spiritual Energy in her circled frantically.
“Hao Zhong! To think it’s the Zither of Hao Zhong!”
Tang Yinxuan shook at the thought. She caressed the zither with trembling hands, sensing each chord as she went, her eyes filled with disbelief.
“Hao Zhong, the world’s number one zither. Used by the Top Zither Artist in history, Master Boya. Subsequently passed on to Duke Huan of Qi, leader of the Five Hegemons during the Spring and Autumn Period. Deafening as it plays, the zither chimes clear like a bell and trumpets like a blowing horn. Legend has it that the Duke played music on the zither during a war to boost morale. And because of that, he emerged victorious and rose to become Leader of the Five Hegemons!” Tang Yinxuan murmured incessantly with burning passion in her eyes. [1]
“Hao Zhong, the legendary Inborn Spiritual Weapon. To think that this…” she uttered under her breath. Gradually, she began to recollect herself as she continued to caress the zither.
Just then, a thought came to her mind, and she flipped the zither over immediately. On the bottom hung an exquisite, long scarlet sword.
It was known as the Enchantment Sword.
Tang Yinxuan bit her lip, blushing as her eyes glinted.
“To think that a married man would do something like this?”
Endnote:
[1] Spring and Autumn period refers to 770 to 476 BC
