"Damn it, I have to go all out. I must defeat him, otherwise I'll face a disaster."
"When I think about it, making a small sacrifice is nothing!"
A look of cruelty flashed in the arrogant young man's eyes. He extended one arm and used his other hand to violently punch it.
Crack!
The sound of bone snapping rang out crisply.
As a body cultivator, even without using True Qi, his punch was still incredibly powerful.
The arrogant young man was trying to use a higher level of pain to force himself to stay awake.
This ruthless and decisive action shocked everyone present.
Finally, Chu Hao's eyes closed.
The music stopped.
"Hahaha, I win!" The arrogant young man laughed loudly, completely ignoring the excruciating pain in his arm.
Liu Feng, Liu Yun, and many other Liu family descendants all smiled.
"He actually lost," Liu Shi Yi shook her head, her expectations for Chu Hao gradually vanishing.
"Liu Jian, well done," Liu Feng and the others laughed heartily, stepping forward to congratulate him.
But just when everyone thought the matter was settled, a nonchalant, yet mocking voice rang out.
"Who said I lost?"
Chu Hao slowly opened his eyes. His gaze was clear, his consciousness was sober. There was no sign of him having fallen asleep.
It was as if the moment he closed his eyes was just a blink.
Everyone's smiles instantly froze.
This was a misconception, a mistake in their understanding.
In this game, no one had the courage to blink, because once they did, they feared they would not be able to open their eyes again.
But Chu Hao was not like them. All of his actions, including blinking and opening his eyes, were not things that a piece of music could control.
"You all underestimated him too much," Liu Ji Ya said softly. Only she knew that Chu Hao was not so easily defeated.
"Everyone, is there a need to be so surprised? Do you think my head is that easy to take?"
With the entire crowd in his sight, Chu Hao smiled and looked at the arrogant young man named Liu Jian.
"I was just playing a little trick on you just now. What do you think of my acting skills?"
"How many points would you give me?"
These seemingly indifferent words were like thunder rumbling in Liu Jian's ears. Liu Jian's face instantly turned as green as if he had eaten something foul.
What did he think of his acting skills? How many points would he give him?
These few nonchalant words made everyone both frightened and angry.
"You were deceiving me just now!"
Liu Jian's words came out one by one as if laced with blood.
"Listening to a zither piece and ending up seriously injured from it... that must have been hard for you," Chu Hao said with a half-smile.
Liu Jian's entire body trembled. He suddenly gave a self-deprecating laugh. He had said that Chu Hao was not worthy of knowing his name, but the result was such a miserable defeat.
Chu Hao had played him like a child in the palm of his hand. His pride, which he had so cherished, looked so ridiculous when compared to Chu Hao.
The fourth round, Chu Hao won again.
One hundred thousand primordial stones, plus two hundred eighty thousand primordial stones from the wager.
Liu Ji Ya was all smiles. In just a little while, she had earned several hundred thousand primordial stones. It was faster than robbery.
"Mister Chu's acting skills are very real. Even I was fooled," at this moment, Liu Shi Yi spoke. Her eyes were as clear as water.
"I wonder, Mister Chu, what do you think of my zither piece, 'Spirit Sound'?"
"It's okay."
Chu Hao said it directly. This instantly stirred up anger.
"Arrogant!"
"He's just a little scoundrel. How could he possibly understand Miss Shi Yi's zither piece? It's like playing a zither to a cow."
Immediately, angry voices from all around were aimed at Chu Hao. How many people in all of Jade City sought and failed to hear Liu Shi Yi's zither music?
Even a figure like the Liu family's ancestor, Liu Long, praised Liu Shi Yi's zither skills.
Yet Chu Hao only said it was "okay"?
From another perspective, Chu Hao's words were also a denial of them. The zither piece that was wonderful in their eyes was so looked down upon by Chu Hao. Didn't that mean they had no taste?
Liu Shi Yi's beautiful face also stiffened. She was, after all, only seventeen, with the mindset of a young woman. It was inevitable that she would care about others' evaluations.
"It's okay." No one had ever dared to evaluate her zither music in such a way.
In Jade City, other than the mysterious Mo Mei, she was confident that she could win against anyone in zither playing.
"I don't understand zither music?"
Chu Hao shook his head. Who was he? A Heavenly Venerate Realm powerhouse from many years ago. The zither music he had heard was countless.
Some zither pieces, once played, would resonate for thousands of miles, reaching the ears of all living beings, making them willingly fall into them forever, never to wake up.
Some zither pieces, once played, would cause extraordinary phenomena to appear. The musical notes would turn into laws, recreating the beauty of the myriad worlds.
Some zither pieces specialized in killing. Once the zither's sound was released, it would shatter the four seas, crack the void, and sink the earth.
That was the sound of nature, celestial music, a divine melody. Compared to that level of music, Liu Shi Yi's was still far behind.
The words "it's okay," Chu Hao had already given a high evaluation.
Unfortunately, no one could understand his words.
"There's a saying: 'A person's character is like their handwriting; to see their handwriting is to see the person.' In fact, zither music is the same. A person who truly understands the zither can know the character of the player just by listening to the zither's sound, as well as their thoughts at the time of playing."
Chu Hao's eyes were as deep as the empty sky.
"Just now, when you were playing, I noticed a slight fluctuation in your zither's sound when you saw my tired expression. Was that because of a fluctuation in your emotions?"
"And through your zither's sound, others may not understand, but I can clearly tell that you are very curious about me. You want to know my background and want to get close to me, but you are also hesitant. You and I have never met, but you have these feelings. It must be because someone told you something, right?"
Liu Shi Yi's face was filled with astonishment. She looked at Chu Hao in shock.