Dragon's Origin

Chapter 374: To Do a Good Job, One Must First Sharpen His Tools (Part 1)

The moment Wang Sheng hummed the opening bars of "Ambush from Ten Sides," with its pervasive murderous aura and chilling intent, Master Yu's expression changed dramatically.

From just that short melody, Master Yu could sense the killing intent within the piece. What astonished him even more was that the tune seemed tailor-made for the pipa. He couldn't imagine any other instrument capable of expressing such all-encompassing murderousness as effectively.

The several grandmasters who had accompanied Wang Sheng were completely dumbfounded. Who knew that Wang Sheng could actually hum two tunes? The first tune immediately drew people into a poignant and lingering emotion, while the second, from its very first note, was utterly captivating.

Compared to Master Yu's performance, Wang Sheng's humming was like the crudest and most unrefined folk song, utterly unpalatable. Yet, after Master Yu's interpretation, it instantly transformed into a timeless masterpiece.

Wang Sheng haltingly hummed "Ambush from Ten Sides," pausing several times, mainly because of the high and low transitions. Wang Sheng's mouth obviously couldn't compare to a pipa. Though people often say that silk strings are inferior to bamboo, and bamboo to flesh, Wang Sheng's fleshy mouth was clearly not as pleasing to the ear as silk or bamboo.

This time, Master Yu didn't play through in one go and then slowly transcribe the music. Instead, he listened to Wang Sheng hum a short section, immediately played it, and after Wang Sheng pointed out corrections, immediately wrote it down.

The length of the piece was one thing, but the musical phrases were short, unlike "Pipa's Lament." The written score for "Ambush from Ten Sides" was much longer than that of "Pipa's Lament."

Finally, all the melodies were completed. Without a word, Master Yu flipped through the score from beginning to end, then sat down and began to play.

"Ambush from Ten Sides" was already an intense and soul-stirring piece. With Master Yu's extraordinary performance, it was infused with genuine emotion, instantly captivating everyone present.

If Wang Sheng didn't have the Nine Secret Words to suppress his emotions, he might have been swept away by Master Yu's music into the heroic and tragic mood of the piece.

"Good! Good! Good!" After the performance, Master Yu stood up and exclaimed three resounding "Good!"s in a row. Then, with an agitated expression, he couldn't utter another word.

Seeing that something was wrong, Wang Sheng quickly stepped forward to support Master Yu. At the same time, his other hand caught Master Yu's pipa, carefully placed it aside, and helped Master Yu slowly sit back on the wooden stool.

Master Yu was over eighty years old. Even with his cultivation, such sudden and dramatic emotional swings could easily cause problems. While supporting Master Yu, Wang Sheng secretly chanted the 'Soldier' and 'Fighter' mantras, helping Master Yu to soothe his body. Simultaneously, he used the 'Array' mantra to gradually ease Master Yu's excited mood.

Finally, under the influence of Wang Sheng's Nine Secret Words, Master Yu slowly recovered. As soon as he regained his senses, Master Yu mobilized his spiritual energy to adjust his body. He clearly felt what had happened in his body just now. He didn't say anything to Wang Sheng at this time, but just nodded to him as a silent thank you.

"This is the most suitable piece for pipa that I have ever played or heard," Master Yu said, his tone much calmer, his face full of reverence, giving it the highest possible praise: "Believe me, this is definitely a timeless masterpiece that can be passed down through the ages!"

"Of course I believe it!" Wang Sheng whispered, adding in his heart: "Of course I believe it, because on Earth, it has already been a timeless masterpiece for thousands of years."

The performance just now was so shocking that even now, several grandmasters were still immersed in the emotion it evoked. Wang Sheng settled Master Yu and then began to awaken the grandmasters one by one. Fortunately, the grandmasters all had good bodies and cultivation, and nothing untoward happened.

When the crowd began to discuss the feelings that the music had brought them, Wang Sheng realized that in his Yuan Soul space, the piano key path had moved forward another square.

Is this the charm of a timeless masterpiece? Wang Sheng suddenly felt that he had found another path. Perhaps copying all those timeless masterpieces in this world would be a good method.

"What kind of instrument do you want to make?" Master Yu stood up again and said to Wang Sheng: "I have the best works I've accumulated over the decades here, all kinds of instruments. Take your pick."

When the grandmasters heard this, they all breathed a sigh of relief. This indicated that the old man Yu had agreed to Wang Sheng's request and opened his collection of works for Wang Sheng to choose from. They believed that no matter what kind of instrument Wang Sheng wanted to make, as long as the old man Yu had heard of it, he would definitely be able to produce the best instrument in the world for him.

"The instrument I want is rather special," Wang Sheng said a little embarrassedly, scratching his nose: "Perhaps no one has ever seen it before. How about I draw it for you, and you can help me take a look?"

"An instrument I've never seen before?" Master Yu became even more interested. If everyone had said so from the beginning, he would have agreed even without testing Wang Sheng. A completely new instrument was an irresistible temptation for someone like Master Yu.

Fortunately, he had tested Wang Sheng, otherwise, how would he have known that this young man could bring him such a surprise? Describing it as a great blessing was not an exaggeration. Compared to a timeless masterpiece that could be passed down through the ages, those cultivation manuals and treasures and beautiful women were all trash.

Wang Sheng had already found a branch and started drawing on the ground. Wang Sheng's drawing skills were average, but his hand was very steady. The guitar was not a particularly complex instrument, and soon Wang Sheng drew a rough outline. After finishing the drawing, Wang Sheng also described the size, and the tones of the six strings from thin to thick were also excavated from his memory.

"This plucked stringed instrument is a bit strange, similar to the pipa, but also different," Master Yu said, looking at the sketch on the ground, stroking his white beard, pondering: "Hmm, there's also a round hole here, is this to make the sound better?"

"The principle is the same as the pipa and the huqin," Wang Sheng didn't say the technical term 'sound box,' but Master Yu had been making instruments his whole life, how could he not know what the big belly was for?

"It's a bit awkward to pick up and pluck," Master Yu gestured with the pipa's hand movements and shook his head.

Wang Sheng laughed and quickly explained: "This is used horizontally." After speaking, he made a gesture of playing the guitar.

Master Yu immediately understood. After discussing it carefully with Wang Sheng, Master Yu stood up and confidently began to assign tasks: "This job is simple. I'll go prepare the wood and string materials first, and you guys don't be idle either, grab your tools and prepare to work!"