Chapter 44: The Strange Melody!

  His gaze lingered on Xiao Yun's face for a moment, and it was clear that Xiao Yun was very unwilling. Xie Tianxi thought for a moment and still nodded in agreement with Mu Tian'en's proposal. Looking at the entire Bo Ya Mountain, there were probably only two people who had the qualifications to train Xian Tian Le Tong. If Xiao Yun could really find the Zu Yin fruit in the Holy Ruins to change his roots, then letting him follow Mu Tian'en and having Mu Tian'en train him would be the best choice.

  "Alright, you go to the Elite Institute tomorrow as usual and exchange your waist card. I'll let them know, so they won't arrange a place for you to stay. You can still live in the back mountain for now, but put your name on the list of the Elite Institute, with treatment the same as other disciples of the Elite Institute. On ordinary days, you can also come and go freely from the Elite Institute." Xie Tianxi said.

  Is this special treatment? Xiao Yun smiled bitterly in his heart, but he didn't care about these things. What he cared more about was whether he would still need to fetch water and chop firewood in the future.

  Originally wanted to ask Mu Tianen, but seeing Mu Tianen's face seemed somewhat unpleasant, Xiao Yun swallowed his words and responded with a sound before turning around and leaving.

  ——

  Night.

  It's another lonely night, and Mo Tian'en probably won't be back tonight. Xiao Yun is alone in the house, letting out long sighs.

  Outside the window, there are occasional calls of unknown birds that make people's hair stand on end. In the courtyard, a group of cicadas are screaming desperately, using their lives to sing for their mates.

  "Even a mantis shrimp can make progress like this, I mustn't fall behind!"

  Looking at the simple bamboo house, Xiao Yun originally still had some regrets about not being able to leave this place, but thinking about it again made her let go. Her top priority was to make good preparations and head to the Sacred Land of Xia in half a month to search for Zu Yin Guo. If she couldn't find Zu Yin Guo to change her root bone by then, she might not even be able to live in this broken bamboo house anymore.

  The window was half open, and the clear wind outside blew the candlelight inside to jump constantly. Xiao Yun sat under the lamp, took out a stack of yellow paper and pen ink, recalled the melody in her memory, and began to write quickly.

  "This tune, is it really that powerful? It's just a common melody, yet you're willing to trade the Nine Heavens for it with me."

  The sheet music on the table, the ink had not yet dried, Xiao Yun looked and looked again, but his face was filled with doubt. He thought of his experience at the Elite Conference, although he himself didn't feel anything, but there was no doubt that this piece of music had something special about it. With Xie Tianxi and Mu Tian'en's status, they would absolutely not do a losing business.

  What Xiao Yun wrote out was only a five-note score. After all, if he were to write out a seven-note score, even Xie Tianxi and Xie Muzi wouldn't be able to understand it. The seven-note score lacked two notes, so the melody that was written out would definitely not be as good as the original, but since the instrument was a five-stringed zither, Xiao Yun's performance at the elite conference was also in five notes, and he wasn't afraid that Xie Tianxi and Xie Muzi would discover anything amiss, nor did he consider it cheating.

  "It seems that I have to find some time to add the Wen Wu Er Xian, otherwise most of the tunes in my memory are seven-note scores, and it's too much trouble to convert them one by one. Not only is it time-consuming and laborious, but the power of the tune will also be greatly reduced!"

  When the ink was dry, Xiao Yun put away the score of "Terror", but in his heart, he was thinking about the seven-stringed zither. Now that he had the Nine Heavens, it was time to find an opportunity to modify them. Otherwise, using a five-stringed zither would be quite inconvenient. Although for him, changing the seven-note score to a five-note score wasn't a difficult task, doing so for each piece was a massive undertaking.

  Jiuxiao is a top-notch instrument, and to modify it, ordinary materials won't do. The two strings of Wén and Wǔ can't just be added casually; using common materials would be an insult to Jiuxiao. At the very least, you need to find two high-quality beast tendons first.

  "In the next two days, see if there is any free time. If there is, go to Fang City again to see if suitable materials can be found. Also, buy a few music sheets and keep them for the Holy Trace trip, in case of unexpected needs."

  Xiao Yun calculated in her heart, as usual, she refined the Nine Heavens Melody twice and then blew out the candle to go to sleep. The two days of the Genius Conference were truly exhausting.

  ——

  "Big brother, what are you writing?"

  Xiao Yun was sleeping, but there were still many lights on in the front mountain nursing home. Under one of the lights, Mu Tian'en was holding a brush and thinking deeply about something. Xie Tianxi suddenly appeared behind him, his eyes falling on the desk, where a sheet of white paper had scribbles and corrections all over it - he was writing music scores.

  "Strange, strange, strange!" Mu Tian'en furrowed his brow, uttering three "strange"s in a row. He turned to look at Xie Tianci and said, "That piece of music played by Xiao Yun is so unsettling. It's clearly just a common tune, but I couldn't translate it no matter what. I keep feeling that there are many places where the translation doesn't quite fit."

  It turned out that Mu Tian'en was writing the "Terror" performed by Xiao Yun, a great master of music, but he couldn't even recite a popular tune, which is simply a legendary story. To know, even if it's just a small musician in the realm of music, listening to a popular tune and then translating the score doesn't count as anything difficult, let alone Mu Tian'en being a great master in the realm of music.

  During the piano art exam, Mu Tian'en had a vague feeling about the difficulty of this piece, so he asked Xiao Yun for the score. Before that, he tried to decipher it himself, but didn't know where to start. This feeling was really strange. Even if he remembered those tunes, when he wrote them down, they were incoherent and couldn't be connected. After revising for half a day, it became even more inconsistent.

  Xie Tianxi shook his head and said, "This tune is indeed strange, the rhythm changes too fast, often three notes in one rotation, five notes in one turn, there is no rule to speak of. I just tried it out, and it's the same situation as yours, drawing a tiger but ending up with a dog."

  "This kid's attainments in music are really not something ordinary people can compare to!" Mu Tian'en sighed, throwing the brush in his hand onto the table, and finally gave up. If he continued, he was afraid that even if all his brain cells died, he still wouldn't be able to translate that melody.

  "He was born with a special gift for music, and naturally he has his own unique qualities." Xie Tianxi sighed, "Let's wait until tomorrow when he brings over the score, and then we can study it carefully."

  ……

  ——

  The next day, Jingyingyuan.

  Including Xiao Yun, the twelve new disciples registered with Elder Qin Yuanfang, received their new waist cards, and officially entered the Elite Academy.

  Luo Qing looked exceptionally excited, and Lin Chunyin's face also had a faint smile. Entering the Elite Institute for cultivation meant that they could find a master. Being able to find a master who was at the Musician Realm level was almost every outer institute disciple's dream come true. With the guidance of a famous teacher, it would be much stronger than feeling one's way across the river by touching stones.

  "Xiao Shixiong, who are you planning to take as your master?" Luo Qing asked excitedly, while Lin Chuyin was also curious and looked at Xiao Yun's face, waiting for his answer.

  Xiao Yun heard this and couldn't help but smile wryly, shaking his head.

  "Xiao Shixiong, what's wrong?" Lin Chuyin asked, looking at Xiao Yun's expression, which seemed to be not very enthusiastic.

  Xiao Yun shook his head and didn't want to say more, changing the subject. "Have you guys decided which elder you'll be taking as your master?"

  Luo Qing said, "We haven't thought it through yet either. The ceremony is tomorrow, and we're not in a hurry. What Shifu meant was to hear your opinion first, Elder Xiao."

  It seems these two girls want to apprentice with me together. Xiao Yun shook her head and said, "I won't be taking on an apprenticeship for the time being."

  "Huh? Why?"

  The two girls looked puzzled, somewhat unclear about what Xiao Yun's words meant. They had gone to great lengths to enter the Elite Academy, wasn't it just to learn from a famous teacher and study even more profound music scores?

  Xiao Yun Dao said, "The sect leader let me put up a name in the Elite Institute for now, and later I'll still follow Senior Mo to cultivate, so..."

  The two women were taken aback, and a hint of surprise flashed in their eyes. Lin Chuoyin asked, "Is Master Shibo planning to take you on as his apprentice himself?"

  "Then we'll have to call you Shifu later?" Luo Qing exclaimed, with a deep envy on her face.

  In the eyes of the two girls, following Mu Tian'en to cultivate is definitely a brighter future than staying in the Elite Academy. After all, Mu Tian'en is one of the only two music masters of the Tianyin Sect, and it's rumored that his strength is even above that of the sect leader Xie Tianxi.