Chapter 4 Playing the Qin in the Void! "Wind Chant · Dust-Clearing Song"!The three of them walked along the shaded path at the edge of Shrek Square, and after turning a few corners, a huge white building appeared in their field of vision.The doors of the dormitory building were wide open, and in a shady spot next to the entrance, a rattan chair of unknown age was placed.Half-lying on the rattan chair was an elderly man who looked terrifyingly old.He was wearing a grey cloth tunic, and his entire body was skin and bones, as if a gust of wind could blow him over.Sunlight happened to pass through the gaps in the leaves, dappling down upon his body.The old man's face was shriveled, and the wrinkles on it crisscrossed, deep enough to trap over two digits' worth of flies at the same time.His eyelids drooped, his eyes were dim and turbid, and his breathing was long yet carried a frailty that seemed ready to cut off at any moment—he completely looked like someone in the twilight of his years.However, the moment Director Du Weilun, who was leading the way, saw this elderly man clearly, his previously steady footsteps suddenly came to a halt.His pupils instantly constricted, and then he hurriedly prepared to bow in salute.Just at the instant Director Du Weilun was about to bend his waist, the elderly man lying on the rattan chair did not raise his head, merely shaking his head with sluggish movements.This action was extremely subtle, yet it forcefully halted all of Director Du Weilun's movements.Director Du Weilun froze in place; he swallowed a mouthful of saliva, forcefully suppressing the awe in his heart, and abruptly changed his bowing posture into a rigid, upright stance.Others might not know, but Director Du Weilun knew very well that the seemingly decrepit old man before him was precisely the true stabilizing pillar of Shrek Academy, the Pavilion Master Mu En of the Sea God Pavilion, a ninety-ninth-Rank Limit Douluo.Director Du Weilun activated his spirit power, transforming the situations of Xiao Yan and Xiao Xiao into a secretive sound line, transmitting the sound across space directly into Pavilion Master Mu En's ears.The sound transmission ended, and Director Du Weilun stood quietly to the side, waiting for the pavilion master's reaction.He had originally thought that upon hearing information like "eleven years old, Rank forty-six," the pavilion master would at least reveal a look of surprise.However, Pavilion Master Mu En's expression did not change in the slightest.His dim and turbid eyes slowly lifted, precisely falling upon Xiao Yan.Unlike Yan Shaozhe's fanaticism upon seeing high-Rank spirit power, having reached this Realm, Pavilion Master Mu En had long ceased to limit himself to surface-level numbers when looking at people, instead observing the Dao and the momentum.In Pavilion Master Mu En's vision, the youth before him did not look like a child of only eleven years old at all.Xiao Yan stood quietly there, releasing not a shred of his Spirit's aura, nor intentionally radiating spirit power.Yet his entire body's breathing frequency and heartbeat rhythm unexpectedly fit together perfectly with the surrounding breeze, the dappled sunlight, and even the heavy earth beneath his feet.An invisible momentum surrounded the youth's entire body.That was a sense of rounded perfection that transcended worldly things and remained impervious to all laws.Pavilion Master Mu En had lived for over two hundred years, having witnessed countless astonishingly talented Prodigys and peerless powerhouses standing at the Peak of the continent.Yet never had anyone, at an age like eleven, inadvertently displayed such an unfathomable degree of resonance with heaven and earth.Deep within the old man's eyes, a trace of a singular light lit up.That was the expectation revealed only when, after experiencing a century of vicissitudes, one finally saw some hope of breaking the conventional rules."Xiao Yan, may I address you like this?"Pavilion Master Mu En spoke.His voice was hoarse and aged, sounding like two withered tree barks rubbing against each other, yet his tone exuded the gentleness of an elder toward a Junior.Meeting the old man's gaze, Xiao Yan's profound black eyes held none of the cowering and restraint of ordinary students.He could clearly perceive the power of light contained within the elderly man before him—that was a pure Origin precipitated after being baptized by the passage of time.He nodded and replied with impeccable manners: "Please feel free."Pavilion Master Mu En's shriveled lips twitched upward, revealing an ugly smile.Tremblingly, he reached his hand into his bosom, groped about for a moment, and then pulled out a dark wooden plaque made of unknown material.The surface of the wooden plaque was engraved with complex ocean wave patterns, exuding an archaic and heavy aura.The old man raised his hand, handing the wooden plaque toward Xiao Yan, his voice still hoarse and slow."Regarding your Spirit, that qin, I cannot teach you. The path you walk is different from all of ours. But in the future within the academy, if you encounter other problems that cannot be resolved, or have any doubts in your heart, you can take this and find me at the Sea God Pavilion."As soon as these words were spoken, Director Du Weilun standing to the side was struck as if by lightning.He stared fixedly at that dark wooden plaque, his eyeballs almost popping out.That was the token of the Sea God Pavilion!What made Director Du Weilun find it most incredible was Pavilion Master Mu En's words — "I cannot teach you".A dignified ninety-ninth-Rank Limit Douluo actually openly admitted that he could not teach an eleven-year-old child!Xiao Yan looked at the wooden plaque handed before him.He naturally knew the value of this wooden plaque and the identity of this elderly man.He did not decline, nor did he display the wild joy of being flattered; he merely received the wooden plaque with both hands and calmly nodded in greeting."Thank you very much, sorry to trouble you."Pavilion Master Mu En waved his hand, closing his eyes once more as his eyelids drooped down, and his entire person lapsed once again into that half-dreaming, half-waking state of the twilight years, as if the peerless powerhouse who had casually given away the Sea God Pavilion token just moments ago was not him at all.Xiao Yan put the wooden plaque away into his storage spirit tool, lingering no longer.He turned to look at Director Du Weilun, gently nodding as a farewell, and then strode forward, walking straight into the white dormitory building.Seeing this, Xiao Xiao, like a little tail that could not be shaken off, hurried to follow along with small, hurried steps.Leaving Director Du Weilun standing alone in the sunlight, utterly shocked and disheveled in the wind.The light inside the dormitory building was somewhat dim, with tightly closed wooden doors lining both sides of the long corridor.A stale odor from long lack of ventilation permeated the air.According to the number on the key, Xiao Yan stopped in the middle section of the corridor.He inserted his key into the door lock, and just as he prepared to push the door open, his peripheral vision caught sight of Xiao Xiao cautiously poking her head and edging toward his side.The little girl had her hands behind her back, her body twisting restlessly, her large emerald-green eyes filled with hope, and her toes tapping as she inched toward Xiao Yan's door, with every intent of squeezing directly inside to set up camp.Xiao Yan stopped the action in his hands, turned around, and quietly looked at her."Your room is upstairs." Xiao Yan's voice was steady, leaving no room for discussion."Brother..." Xiao Xiao drew out her ending note, her voice so soft and sweet that it could melt someone's heart.She stepped forward, reaching out to tug at the corner of Xiao Yan's moon-white robe, gently shaking it."It's so tiring to tidy up the room all by myself, and there are definitely bugs inside. How about... I help you tidy up, and I can just lay a straw mat to sleep on the floor here tonight, okay?"Xiao Yan's gaze was like an ancient well without ripples, unmoved.He understood this girl too well; as long as she was allowed to step across this threshold one step, laying a floor mat would quickly turn into sleeping at the end of the bed, and then she would rightfully occupy half of the bed space."Go upstairs." Xiao Yan withdrew the corner of his clothing, his tone calm.Looking at his brother's completely waveless face, Xiao Xiao knew this trick had failed.She pouted, her cheeks puffing up like two little steamed buns, stamped her foot unwillingly, and turned to walk toward her own room, muttering softly under her breath that her brother was truly a wooden block with a heart of stone.Watching Xiao Xiao go upstairs, Xiao Yan then pushed open his own room door."Creak—"Accompanied by the opening of the door, a choking scent of dust rushed toward his face.This was a small single room, containing no extra furniture besides a hardwood bed, a desk, and a simple wardrobe.Because it had been left vacant during the long holiday, sunlight slanted in through the gaps of the improperly closed window, allowing one to clearly see the fine dust dancing wantonly in the air.The desk, the bed, and the windowsill were all covered with a thick layer of accumulated dust. On the walls of the corners, even a few intricate spiderwebs were spun.If an ordinary young master from a wealthy family faced such an environment, he would likely have long since spent money to hire someone to clean it.But Xiao Yan merely stood quietly at the doorway, showing no displeasure whatsoever.He did not search for a broom or a rag, but simply walked into the room and turned to close the door properly.Xiao Yan stood in the center of the room and took a deep breath.The Taiji Innate Qi within his body began to circulate along a specific Meridians route.He slowly raised his right hand, hovering it in mid-air before him.His slender index finger and thumb lightly twirled together; there was nothing between his fingers, but the expression on his face was as focused as if he were facing a rare ancient qin.This was a brand-new method he had recently comprehended from the Fusion of the Art of Emperor Fuxi and the Dao of the qin — playing the qin in the Void Realm.Using heaven and earth as the qin body, and formless primordial force as the qin strings.Although limited by his current cultivation, this method could not yet be used for high-intensity actual combat and slaughter, but for delicately controlling surrounding matter, it had unexpected effects.His gaze became ethereal.The spirit power between his thumb and index finger was instantly compressed to the extreme, and then his fingertips abruptly crossed and plucked."Zheng—"A crisp and pleasant sound, resembling a real qin string being plucked, abruptly reverberated within the enclosed room.There was no substantial qin, nor any flashing spirit ring.Yet along with this clear cry, a circle of invisible sound waves, impossible to capture with the naked eye, centered on Xiao Yan's fingertips and rippled outward toward the surrounding walls, floor, and ceiling.This tune was named "Wind Chant · Dust-Clearing Song".Wherever the sound waves swept, the dust that had originally quietly adhered to the desk and bed board seemed to suddenly lose the shackles of gravity, simultaneously stripped from the surface of the objects by an extremely precise vibrational force.Even the stubborn spiderwebs in the corners broke inch by inch under the vibration of the sound waves.The dust particles flying in the air stopped their irregular movement under the constraint of the sound waves, all floating suspended in mid-air.Xiao Yan's actions did not stop.His hands plucked rapidly in the Void Realm before him.His ten fingers fluttered, bringing out patches of dazzling afterimages."Zheng! Zheng! Zheng!"Continuous and rhythmic qin sounds constantly rang out.Every time he plucked, the frequency of the sound waves underwent delicate changes.The air in the entire room seemed to have transformed into a stream of water that he could knead at will.The dust floating in mid-air, the spiderweb remnants, and the unknown small particles began to regularly gather and rotate under the traction of the sound waves.They formed an increasingly large gray whirlpool in the center of the room, continuously compressing and condensing, ultimately transforming into a dense gray ball the size of a bowling ball.Xiao Yan stopped his left hand, and his right index finger pointed into the air, aiming at the half-concealed window.The final high-pitched qin sound surged outward."Hum!"The tightly closed window was forcefully pushed open by an invisible gale, slamming into the wall with a "bang" sound.That dense gray sphere followed the trajectory of the sound waves, shooting out of the window like a cannonball leaving its chamber, landing far away deep into the forest outside the building.The window closed tightly again under the residual force of the wind.The entire process took no more than a dozen breaths of time.The originally filthy and messy dormitory had already taken on a completely new look at this moment.The desk was bright and clean enough to reflect people, the wooden bed was spotless, and even the stale odor in the air had been scattered by the qin sounds, replaced by a freshness akin to the clearing skies after a rain.Having finished all this, Xiao Yan withdrew both hands, calming the slightly fluctuating spirit power within his body.Playing the qin in the Void Realm consumed an immense amount of essence, Qi, and Spirit; merely a simple "Dust-Clearing Song" also made him feel the loss of spirit power in his Meridians.But this kind of practice regarding the absolute control of power was itself an excellent form of cultivation.He walked to the windowside, taking out the clean bedsheets and bedding he had brought from his Storage Ring.His actions were methodical, arranging the bed neatly and smoothly without a single wrinkle.The bedding carried a faint, calming fragrance, originating from the same source as the scent on his body.After setting everything up, Xiao Yan took off his moon-white outer robe and hung it on the clothes rack, wearing only his form-fitting pure white inner garment.He walked to the center of the bed, crossed his legs, and assumed a standard five-centers-facing-the-sky posture.His hands rested naturally on his knees, his spine straight.His breathing gradually became long and profound; every inhalation was like a whale swallowing seawater, while every exhalation was as thin as a gossamer thread.Deep within his Sea of Consciousness, that huge Fuxi Bagua Array Diagram began to slowly operate, scattering starlight across the sky.His heart was as still as stagnant water, and all distracting thoughts were completely eliminated.Xiao Yan closed his eyes, thoroughly immersing himself in the complete circulation of the Art of Emperor Fuxi, completely isolating all external hustle and bustle.This freshly cleaned dormitory fell into a long-lasting tranquility.
