The song came to an end and the three singers bowed. The amphitheater awarded the sacred daughters a hearty applause for their hard work. Everyone was familiar with that song. Most of the immortals had heard it many times before. But each rendition was a treat for their ears.
"Excellent!" Li Shishi's voice echoed through the arena, "What a wonderful song. Let's see what our judges think of the performance!"
The abbotesses each raised a piece of paper between their hands. On it was written three names and three numbers. The score was rated between one and ten and each sacred daughter received a score. There were thirty-four abbotesses including Li Shishi but there were thirty-five scores… because Cardinal Liu was one of the judges.
At a glance, there was already a clear winner. Wu Qi's scores ranged from eight to nine to even a couple of tens. The other two's scores were no higher than six.
"Du Qianzhi, a score of one hundred and seventy. Zhao Siyi, a score of one hundred and seventy-eight. Wu Qi, a score of three hundred and ten!"
She was a clear talent. The whole arena now knew her name and of her existence. Even people who wanted to deny it could not. This was the purpose of this end-of-year examination, to showcase the jewels of the generation.
Given the overwhelming score, Wu Qi would surely move on to the next round of the competition. However, the other two sacred daughters still had a chance. It would depend on the other scores in the singing competition.
Zhao Siyi and Su Qianzhi were not necessarily bad. Those chosen to perform the song on stage were already the top students based on recommendations from the teachers. Other singers didn't get that chance and had to go through their preliminary test on a smaller stage to the judges tomorrow. Otherwise, all of these immortals and important guests would be stuck here forever.
The singing competition was only a part of the end-of-year performances. There were four classics in total; singing and dancing, musical instruments, literature, and art. There were multiple subcategories in each classic. All of them had to be given the opportunity to shine. Each classic needed a champion.
Therefore, the stage performances for singing involved performing famous songs of several popular subjects. These subjects included the primary elements such as earth, air, ice, fire, wood, and lightning. They also included popular cultivation paths such as sword arts, fist and palm arts, and even healing arts.
Long Yifei, naturally, was chosen to perform the popular song of ice, Reflections Beside an Icy Stream, along with three other sacred daughters.
"Master, I should get going." Long Yifei said.
The next round of singers had just finished singing about the swiftness and ethereal nature of the sky. Her turn would be the one after the next and she had to go down to prepare.
"Mmm, you're the best." Chen Wentian said, encouraging her.
She smiled and got up. With a small wave, she descended the stairs while the audience was paying attention to the scores.
Chen Wentian sank back into his seat and watched the next performance alone. It was a song named The Defense of the Kingdom that could temporarily raise one's constitution, stamina, and fighting spirit. It was an earth element Dao and a powerful one at that, especially for battles of desperation. The three sacred daughters who sang were nothing special. Their scores were around the two hundred mark, far from what a genius like Wu Qi could obtain.
Finally, it was Long Yifei's turn.
Chen Wentian smiled, eager for a good show. His disciple would surely get a perfect score and shock these acolytes and abbotesses into submission.
"Please welcome to the stage Xu Mengyuan, Tang Junyan, Qi Xia, and Long Yifei!"
Four sacred daughters stepped onto the stage to loud applause. Among them, Long Yifei was the tallest. Her steps were most graceful like she was floating on air. Her long black hair fluttered behind her, highlighting her captivating curves. In his heart, it was clear, she was already the winner. There was no point in singing at all.
Long Yifei walked across the stage and stopped at her designated position. The four contestants faced four directions. In front of her was a sea of faces. Some were shocked. Others were awed. Even more bore the signs of jealousy and discontent. She searched the crowd and finally found her master who had a silly grin on his face. She gave him a warm smile.
Chen Wentian almost wanted to leap out of his seat and stop her. She wasn't supposed to smile like that. Such a beautiful smile was only supposed to be reserved for him, not for all these dirty eyes. He lamented that sacred daughters could not wear veils. It was a stupid rule. All of these old virgins could wear veils, why couldn't the sacred daughters? It was completely unfair!
The music started. A long soulful melody played on a single erhu. It set the mood of a cold winter, a lonely night filled with snow. Reflections Beside an Icy Stream was such a song. It was used for icy contemplation, self-reflection, and solitary cultivation. It had the effect of improving one's icy constitution and one's understanding of ice Daos.
The sacred daughter named Xu Mengyuan sang the first verse. It was one that lamented the loneliness of winter and the coldness that seeped into one's bones. The one named Tang Junyan went next with another verse praising the beauty of the icy stream and the strength that it provided. Qi Xia followed with thoughts of self-reliance and perseverance.
It was finally Long Yifei's turn. She had the most iconic part which was the chorus. She was the best student so she deserved it.
Chen Wentian sat up, eager to listen to her heavenly voice.
"Walking beside the icy stream…" Her voice rang out, bright and clear.
It was immediately apparent to everyone just how special her voice was. It was vibrant, full of character. The tone, the quality, it was so unique and instantly attractive. Compared to all the singers who had taken the stage until now, no one could match her in terms of talent.
Chen Wentian closed his eyes and let his spirit wander. He had heard her sing Reflections Beside an Icy Stream many times before. It was soothing, expressive, calming, and stirring. He always loved every moment of it and he was ready to enjoy this one as well, knowing just how much it would shock the people who had never heard her before.
However, before Long Yifei could belt out the next line…
Kacha! Pling!
A horrible noise rang out, bringing the performance to a screeching halt. Long Yifei looked around in confusion before turning to the musician area below the stage. The musician playing the erhu had a horrible expression on their face and their complexion had turned a sickly white. The cause of the noise was that person, or more specifically, the two broken strings on the instrument.
"What happened?"
"The erhu…"
"How can it break?"
The crowd started to murmur. Some were disappointed. Others were confused. These instruments were all valuable treasures of the Order. How could one such as a prized erhu simply break like that? Was the musician an idiot?
Regardless, one thing was obvious to everyone. This song performance that was just getting started was completely ruined.
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