"Wei Kang and Ai Wan? Is this even legal? How can they allow Senior Song's own disciples to join this competition? They'll obviously dominate the entire competition!" Xuan Wuhan complained in a sighing voice, and she continued, "I just hope that they're not better than Yuan."
"I have never heard them play before, but I don't think Disciple Yuan would fall behind them." Elder Shan said, continuing with a smile on her beautiful face, "After all, he defeated their master, Senior Song, in a one-on-one battle."
While the audience talked about Wei Kang and Ai Wan, Song Ling'er spoke first for the first time, "You may begin."
The place instantly turned silent, and everybody there stared at Wei Kang who was the first to go with intensive gazes.
After taking a deep breath, Wei Kang moved his arms in an elegant and precise manner, playing three music notes in quick succession, his aura radiating with confidence and elegance.
Ting~ Ting~ Ting~
Three beautiful music notes that pulled the listeners' heartstrings resounded in the area.
"Aaahh… What beautiful music notes…"
"As expected of Senior Fairy Song's disciple— he's on an entirely different level compared to the other participants…"
"Indeed… Nobody else has managed to cause my heart to tremble in such a manner."
A few moments later, Senior Zou and Elder Jing turned to look at Song Ling'er, giving her the opportunity to go first since they were her disciples.
However, Song Ling'er remained silent, her intentions clear.
Senior Zou and Elder Jing exchanged looks with each other before nodding.
The next moment, Senior Zou spoke with a smile on his face, "That was excellent, Junior Wei. I expected nothing less from one of Senior Song's disciples. Although it was only three mere music notes, I was able to fully grasp your profound understanding of the zither with that brief performance just now. I'll give you ten points."
The crowd cheered with excitement after hearing Senior Zou give out his first perfect score, which was to be expected.
"I agree with Senior Zou. It was only three music notes, but I already want to hear more. Great job." Elder Jing praised Wei Kang.
"Thank you, Seniors." Wei Kang stood up and bowed to them before turning to look at Song Ling'er who has yet to give her judgment.
After a moment of awkward silence, Song Ling'er finally spoke in a nonchalant voice, "Do you remember what I told you about being complacent?"
"I do, Master." Wei Kang nodded, sensing an ominous feeling coming from Song Ling'er's tone.
"Then what was that rubbish just now? I've heard better sounds coming from a pig. What an utter disappointment from you, Wei Kang. Zero points." Song Ling'er said in a cold voice.
"Z-Zero points?"
Everybody there including Wei Kang himself was baffled by Song Ling'er's harsh assessment. How could such a wonderful performance be worth less than the others who were clearly worse, much less zero points?
"Maybe she's being especially harsh on him because of their master and disciple relationship. You see this very often— when the master purposefully degrades their own disciples so they can grow stronger and faster."
While everybody there felt that Wei Kang had deserved much better than zero points, who dared to challenge Song Ling'er's decision? Regarding her own disciple, no less.
After giving Wei Kang her verdict, Song Ling'er turned to look at the pretty young lady sitting beside him, her second disciple, Ai Wan, whose back was filled with cold sweat at this moment.
"Go ahead." Song Ling'er said to her a moment later.
"Yes, Master."
Ai Wan nodded, and she proceeded to take the full 30 seconds of preparation time to calm her mind and focus on the zither before her.
After taking a deep breath, Ai Wan played three music notes in a similar fashion to Wei Kang, yet it produced an entirely different sound, even giving off its unique atmosphere.
The audience could feel their bodies relaxing after hearing these music notes.
"Such a powerful yet peaceful note… How does she create such a wonderful sound?"
"I nearly dozed off after listening to her music notes!"
Sometime later, Senior Zou spoke with a smile on his face, "Wonderful! It's only been half a year since I've last heard you play and you've improved by leaps and bounds since then! A definite 10 points from me!"
"I am speechless, really." Elder Jing spoke next, and he said, "It's also a definite 10 points from me."
Once the two judges finished their assessments, everybody turned to look at Song Ling'er, and Ai Wan swallowed nervously.
After a moment of silence, Song Ling'er said in a calm voice, "I'm glad to see that at least one of my disciples had listened to my words. Nine points."
A bright smile appeared on Ai Wan's face after hearing Song Ling'er's verdict, and she immediately bowed, "Thank you, Master!"
'Che…' Wei Kang sneered inwardly when Ai Wan didn't get scolded like he had been shamed in front of millions of people by their master, feeling incredibly salty.
After Song Ling'er's disciples' turn, the next hundred teams failed to produce anything worthy of praise, as the standard had been raised incredibly high by Ai Wan and Wei Kang despite his score.
In fact, it was so boring that some of the crowds even began to doze off.
Half an hour later, three unexpectedly beautiful music notes resounded in the area, sweeping the audience's drowsiness away in an instant.
"W-Who played those three notes just now?" Someone in the audience asked.
"It was that beautiful young fairy— I think that's Fairy Fei from the Dragon Essence Temple."
"Oh! I know of her! She placed 7th in the last competition!"
"Wow! She is not only a beauty but also an excellent zither expert! I think Senior Fairy Song's disciples finally have a real opponent in this zither competition!"
"Are you sure she only placed 7th? That doesn't seem right! Her three music notes were not any less magnificent than Ai Wan or Wei Kang, who could easily reach the top 3 if they participated in the competition!"
"I'm sure! I cannot even begin to imagine how much she'd practiced since then for her to reach this level in such a short time!"
The audience was blown away by Fei Yuyan's performance, completely oblivious to the fact that her improvements were due to practicing with Yuan, and it was only for one short week!