The monks supervising the first two examinations were ordinary monks from the Shenlong Holy Temple. Most of them served in the book hall.
This time the monks invigilating the art subject examination all came from the art hall of the Shenlong Holy Temple. They were completely the deities at the pinnacle of the art pyramid in this world.
Meng Tuoluo had also said that the best artists in this world were all in the Shenlong Holy Temple because they spent their entire lives researching and delving into it.
And the great monk Byron was the leader of this group of deities.
It could be said that almost all princesses and princes of royal families throughout the world had once been his students. He was the highest authority on art in the entire world.
Previously the great monk Byron had always been teaching the children of various royal families in the Shenlong Holy Temple in Yanjing. A few years ago he had been dispatched to the Zhidu Holy Temple and had become one of the thirteen purple robed great monks of the Zhidu Holy Temple.
And Zhi Ning, Zhi Yan and Meng Tuoluo had once been his three most beloved students.
Byron was already advanced in age. He was over seventy years old. There were very few things that could stir waves in his heart anymore. For the vast majority of the time he simply sat quietly like this, enjoying this peaceful moment.
Teacher. Princess Zhi Ning walked in cheerfully. Then her slender jade hands pressed on Byron’s temples and gently massaged them.
A wave of affection surged in Byron’s heart. Among the three students the one he cherished most was Meng Tuoluo, followed by Zhi Ning.
Her misfortune especially made Byron feel pity for her. At just six years old her parents had died in the internal strife of the royal family. If it had not been for the protection of the Shenlong Holy Temple she and her elder brother Zhi Li would probably have died long ago.
You thieving girl. You only take advantages and cannot suffer losses. Tell me what price must I pay for you to give me a massage? Byron smiled.
Look at what you are saying, making me sound so calculating. Zhi Ning said coquettishly.
Tell me then. People say that we from the Shenlong Holy Temple are pure hearted and have few desires, transcending the mundane. Byron said, But humans are humans, not gods. We all have selfish hearts and we also do not want to offend you royal families of powerful kingdoms.
Teacher, Tianshui City is very important to my brother Zhi Li’s strategy and cannot afford to fail. Once it fails his position as crown prince will be in jeopardy. So please have pity, teacher. Zhi Ning said.
You want to suppress that Suolun, right? The great monk Byron said.
Teacher already knows? Zhi Ning said.
The great monk Byron said, Your bet with him has already caused a stir throughout the city.
Yes. Zhi Ning said, I want to suppress him.
Good. The great monk Byron said, I will turn a blind eye.
Zhi Ning said joyfully, Thank you, teacher.
Byron said, However Zhi Ning you should know what is the most important thing in my life?
Art and emotion. Zhi Ning said.
Correct. I am old now so I especially value feelings and I dote even more on you children. Byron said, But art has always been my first life. If someone can conquer me with art, perform a peak piece that has not been seen in a hundred years and completely destroy my soul’s defences, then I will definitely fall.
I certainly know that. Zhi Ning said, However do you think anyone can create a famous piece that has not been seen in a hundred years?
Byron shook his head and said, No, it is impossible. The art of this world has already withered. The civilisation of the entire world has once again returned to the inertia of the martial way.
Correct, and these great monks from the art hall all possess the highest artistic talent and the highest artistic taste. Their incredibly picky ears and hearts mean that no one in this world can conquer them anymore.
Zhi Ning said, That is it then. Do you think a profligate son would have such talent?
Byron gave a faint smile, then closed his eyes again.
They had stayed at the pinnacle of the pyramid for too long. In recent years there had not even been any pieces that could make them truly listen seriously, let alone conquer them.
These deities had already become so arrogant as to be almost numb.
…
The third art subject examination officially began.
From this examination onwards it was no longer everyone taking the exam together. Instead whatever subject one had chosen as an elective, that was what one would be examined on.
Sculpture, painting, music and poetry all had people choosing them.
Suolun had chosen music as his elective. It was a major category with a total of eighty people participating and eighty percent of them were girls.
Lanling seriously suspected that besides wanting to pursue Mentor Niya, Suolun had also chosen music to pursue all the beautiful female students present.
Sure enough, as soon as he entered the examination hall almost half of the girls looked towards him and most of them were filled with hatred.
Had this scoundrel flirted with every pretty girl?
The music subject examination for those who had chosen music was held in the music hall. All the students first entered and took their seats, then according to their examination numbers they performed one by one.
Not only could all the examiners hear each student’s performance but all the students could hear it as well.
Lanling found his seat and sat down. He closed his eyes and waited for the examination to begin.
The situation was very, very bad. Because Zhi Ning could not afford to lose she had already torn off all pretence and was openly suppressing him. Even before the examination had started his score had already been decided.
Moreover after inquiring he had learned that the great monk from the Shenlong Holy Temple was precisely Zhi Ning’s teacher.
In that case his defeat in the third examination seemed to have become a foregone conclusion and was already inevitable.
So where was the only way out? Lanling was willing to believe that these monks from the Shenlong Holy Temple were true artists with the highest pursuit of art.
If his performance could completely shock their hearts, shock their souls and cause complete resonance.
Then perhaps he would still have a slim chance.
And this group of people had been immersed in art for decades. They were the top artists in this world, possessing the most transcendent souls. Their artistic taste and attainments were not something Niya and Meng Tuoluo could compare to.
The vast majority of pieces, even Earth’s classic famous songs such as Fur Elise or Wedding March in a Dream although very pleasant to listen to, might make them reveal a trace of a smile but to conquer them? It was completely impossible. They might even feel that these pieces were somewhat vulgar.
This group of people had stayed at the pinnacle of the art hall pyramid for too long. They were already incomparably aloof and their vision had risen to the heavens. In recent decades no piece could make them look at it seriously unless it was god level.
However there had not been a god level piece for over a hundred years.
So which piece should Lanling choose? One that could completely shock their hearts and shock their souls?
Moreover it had to be combined with his own experiences so that this piece would not seem so abrupt?
Without doubt Lanling had already made his choice and he had already performed it countless times in his heart.
At this time more than twenty examiners entered the music hall one after another. At the head were Princess Zhi Ning and the great monk Byron.
Princess Zhi Ning raised her beautiful eyes and gave Lanling a faint glance.
The bet was already over. Suolun losing his title and the position of lord of Tianshui City had become a foregone conclusion.
Dong! The bell rang and the third art subject examination officially began.
…
The noble students participating in the art department examination swept away the dejected state from the first two examinations. Their level was completely higher than the last one.
Especially these noble girls. Whether it was singing, violin or harpsichord they were all extremely outstanding.
The harpsichord as the king of instruments in this world naturally received favour from most people. Out of the eighty noble students participating in the music subject examination fifty had chosen the harpsichord.
And these noble girls had beautiful appearances and graceful demeanours. Most of their performance levels surpassed those of girls in music departments on Earth.
However…
Today’s scoring was truly somewhat terrifying. It was completely lower one after another.
Fifty two points!
Fifty nine points!
Fifty five points!
Moreover these were the scores given by the Wangcheng Academy examiners.
Hearing these scores the tears of these noble girls were about to fall. They could not believe that today’s scores would be so low.
And from beginning to end the monks from the Shenlong Holy Temple had never opened their eyes, had not given a single comment, let alone participated in the scoring.
These noble girls’ performances in their eyes were completely incomparably immature and were simply clumsy imitations.
Finally one girl raised her own question and said, Our performance levels are all quite good. Why are the scores so low?
The chief mentor of the art department said indifferently, Because all of you performed classic famous pieces. Not a single one of you created your own.
At once all the students fell silent.
Creating one’s own? How easy was that to talk about?
Even at the level of the art department mentors in Wangcheng Academy they would not dare to speak lightly of creating their own, let alone these students.
Only the topmost monks in the Shenlong Holy Temple were the main force in creating their own works.
In the past hundred years all the famous pieces that had spread had come entirely from the Shenlong Holy Temple. Because only they devoted their entire lives to artistic creation.
Next candidate, Yi Yun.
When Lanling heard this name he could not help but feel slightly startled because this was Suolun’s former girlfriend. She was the daughter of a fallen noble whose father had owed nine hundred gold coins in gambling debts. In order to repay the debt he had wanted to marry her off as a concubine to the casino boss. Later it had still been Suolun who had shouldered this debt for her.
At this moment Lanling was seeing this woman for the first time.
Moreover she was the one right before him. The next turn would be his and he would be taking the stage very soon.