Chapter 188: It’s so lonely to be peerless!
Xu Que’s words jolted everyone back to their senses.
Everyone thought about the bet which Xu Que and young master Zhao had laid down before the challenge.
Young master Zhao’s face swelled so red it resembled a pig’s liver. He gritted his teeth and glared at Xu Que. He was so furious he couldn’t even speak!
A young student finally arrived and brought the necessary stationary to the table. Xu Que then opened a roll of paper before young master Zhao and even warmly picked a pen up for him.
Young master Zhao glared coldly at Xu Que as he bit down hard on his teeth, "Li Bai, I shall remember you! My revenge for today shall eventually be taken!"
"Alright, alright. I welcome the coming days. Pui. I mean, I welcome your revenge any day! That’s right. In the meantime, write my name down, and remember to include my Heavenly Explosion Faction!"
Xu Que was beaming from ear to ear. The expression on his face was one of a wretched winner taunting his foe!
"Hmph!"
Young master Zhao cleared his throat before he picked up a pen and started waving it up and down the piece of paper.
This was the hole dug by himself, even if he had to kneel down, he would do so with dignity!
This was the words used to describe the bitterness within young master Zhao’s heart. It wasn’t that he was willing to fulfil the terms of his bet. The reason he actually did it was because there were far too many students present. In fact, even Madam Ya had witnessed his bold statements. Hence, young master Zhao didn’t dare to go back on his words, for if he did, his reputation would be much worse off than this!
"Tch tch..."
The pen in his hand was dancing across the paper, as his arms trembled. If he hung these words over his body, it would be hard to imagine the humiliation and taunts which would befall him.
However, a good man would do as he said he would. Under the scrutiny of all the students, young master Zhao finally wrote, ‘Zhao Wu is no match for Li Bai of the Heavenly Explosion Faction". After he had written it, he still had to imprint his own stamp on it, to prove that this were on his own words.
The entire hall was filled with silence. Some of the students shook their heads in sympathy, while others felt that it was such a pity. He was the leader of the four great students, and yet he was defeated to such an extent. His status had been reduced dramatically!
"Eh?"
At this point, Xu Que was watching by the side when his expression fell and he shouted out, "Fuck me. Zhao Ri Tian is no match for Li Bai of the Heavenly Explosion Faction? Is your name Zhao Ri Tian?"
The audience were taken aback.
Zhao Ri Tian? Who is Zhao Ri Tian?
Everyone cast their glance towards the piece of paper and were at a loss for words.
Big brother, those words are Zhao Wu, and not pronounced Zhao Ri Tian!
(T/N: The written word for "wu" is a combination of both words "ri" and "tian")
You are bloody doing this intentionally. Forget the fact that you refused to give face to young master Zhao after winning your bet. You still had to resort to such methods to instill doubt into the hearts of everyone about young master Zhao’s honor.
Young master Zhao’s pupils gleamed in cold light as he shouted out, "Li Bai, don’t be self conceited. Today, I admit that I’ve lost. But another day will come, when you have to repay double!"
As he finished speaking, he took the piece of paper and slapped it fiercely on his chest. He then stormed off.
"Alright, alright. I shall wait for you to exact your revenge. Come come come... The mighty Zhao Ri Tian shall depart from this place towards the cold winds and frozen lake. He shall leave and never return. Today, I, Li Bai, shall play a tune of farewell for you..."
Xu Que smiled as he spoke out before retrieving a Guqin from his system inventory and hugged it tightly.
"Zhng zhng..."
His fingers started plucking the instrument as certain sounds vibrated off of it. At once, a melodious sound filled the entire hall!
Young master Zhao who had just walked out through the door paused as soon as he heard it.
The rest of the crowd opened their eyes wide and watched Xu Que in astonishment.
The mighty Zhao Ri Tian shall depart from this place towards the cold winds and frozen lake? He shall leave and never return?
He was clearly attempting to disgrace young master Zhao further. Did he mean that young master Zhao should throw himself into the lake as a form of suicide after this defeat?
This Li Bai is way too vile huh? He wouldn’t even leave a shred of dignity left for young master Zhao? He’s truly pushing young master Zhao into a corner. Now if young master Zhao doesn’t jump into the lake and kill himself, he would find it hard to ever be in the presence of educated students.
Also, why did this kid take a qin out? What was he trying to do? Could it be that... He even knows how to play music?
Under the many watchful eyes of everyone around, Xu Que opened his mouth as he looked up towards the ceiling at a 45 degrees angle. He condensed his core energy within his dantian and let his voice loose.
"In this world, I wonder if this mountain is the tallest..."
"Hoo hah!"
"Or could there be another taller peak, which extends far into the heavens..."
"Hoo hah!"
"In this world, there is something else taller than this mountain..."
"It’s another mountain. Because for every tall mountain, there’s another taller one..."
His voice was filled with power and emotions, as he sang brightly and confidently. His voice echoed throughout the entire building.
Everyone who watched on were at a loss for words. Damn it, for every tall mountain, there’s another taller one? Big brother, he’s clearly lost to you already. Do you have to continue taunting him so relentlessly? You even turned it into a song! Could it be that you truly wished for him to end his life by jumping into the lake?
Young master Zhao who froze by the door blushed a deep shade of red. The veins in his forehead looked like they were about to explode in anger. He then turned to Xu Que and glared at him in fury, "Li Bai, you..."
"Zhng zhng..."
Even before he could complete his sentence, Xu Que strummed once again, interrupting him.
The crowd was once again at a loss for words. What does this mean? The song... Changed?
Xu Que then collected his energy before his mouth formed the shape of an O. Immediately after, a deep and low sounding voice could be heard....
"It’s so lonely, so lonely to be peerless..."
"It’s so empty, so empty to be peerless..."
"I stand alone at the pinnacle, as the cold breeze blow against my skin. Me, my loneliness and I, who can ever understand me..."
The vision of the audience nearly went black as some of them risked falling to the ground.
It was so lonely being peerless? It was so empty to be peerless? You stand alone at the pinnacle as the cold wind blow against your skin?
Big brother, I beg you, can you stop singing?
Young master Zhao pressed his hand to his chest, as he contained himself, doing his utmost not to spit blood out. His eyes were almost bulging out as fiery anger welled up within his chest. However, he was careful not to cause a scene before Madam Ya. After clearing his throat in anger, he turned around to leave.
Mo Yun Shang’s face froze. He didn’t dare to linger behind as well and hurriedly followed young master Zhao.
The pair of great students had left and Xu Que still didn’t look like he was about to stop. He was still playing on his qin, singing loudly.
This song was obtained because of his Two Star Musician talent, and had affected many people around.
After listening to him repeat his lyrics, they actually felt the sense of loneliness and emptiness within his heart.
Even Madam Ya opened her mouth wide as she looked intently at Xu Que, her heart was appalled. She had never seen someone so multi-talented, and yet felt so lonely in her entire life.
Why was this young mister Li so mysterious? Apart from poems and couplets, he was equally adept in musical instruments? In this world... Was there truly such a talented person? No, no, no, no...
"Eh.. Hmm..."
Soon after, Madam Ya cleared her throat gently as her body trembled, her face was blushing a bright shade of red. She had lost control of herself and the matt which lay below was starting to emit a strange smell. The grey matt had started taking on a black shade to it as well.
However, nobody had noticed the change in Madam Ya’s behaviour since everyone else was focused on Xu Que. They had sunk deep into the lyrics of his song. They had also lost themselves in how Xu Que had managed to completely defeat the great students and was now unrivalled.
All the way till the end, when the strumming of the qin ended, and the music had stopped...
The entire hall was filled with silence!