Chapter Thirty-Six: Sudden Enlightenment, Plucking the Strings

  Dark clouds obscured the moon, outside the window the rain poured down in a patter, and the wind howled. The聚贤楼 was like a fortress, silently withstanding the wind and rain erosion. On the梁山 bed, he sat cross-legged, his hands clasped together, his ten fingers moving in a changing pattern, as if performing some sort of hand seal, yet also seeming to play a musical instrument.

  At midnight, Liangshan stopped practicing the White Bone Flowing Light Skill.

  After the foundation is established, a white bone lotus appears in the dantian. The daily practice process is to transform white light into liquid, and the liquid enters the flower room of the white bone lotus. If the flower room is full, further practice is futile.

  This is a matter of capacity for cultivation. Some people cultivate quickly because their capacity is large, which is due to both innate talent and the effectiveness of their cultivation method.

  Unable to continue his cultivation, Liangshan turned to comprehend his finger-plucking zither music.

  Three years ago, at Ma Jia Pu's Qing Yu Building, he fought with Qin Lang and retreated to Liangshan. He tapped his Achilles tendon, causing him to fall to the ground. Since then, Liangshan has been pondering for three years, during which time he also tried his hand against the Wu brothers. Now, basically, Liangshan doesn't need to directly touch them; with just a virtual point of his finger, they lose control and jump around wildly.

  The subtlety of Tan Zhong Xian's music lies in Liangshan's understanding of "strings", which is also an extension of Liangshan's unique musical talent.

  The human body has strings, the tangible ones are like tendons and bones, grasping their secrets is excellent at separating bones and tendons; while the intangible ones are like a person's energy and spirit, if you can pluck them, it can be said that every second counts.

  Liáng Shān's deepest realization today is that even if he temporarily loses his entire domain, it seems that he can still use the Finger Flicking Skill, only he didn't dare to gamble at that time.

  Liáng Shān's inner thoughts: In the future, it is highly likely that a weak state will still appear. At that time, if there is no way to save one's life, it would be too passive.

  A slight pluck of the strings doesn't require much strength, as long as you grasp the opponent's key points, a light pluck can trigger the greatest resonance within their body, making them lose control. Killing is not even an option, but self-defense and escape should be no problem.

  Soon, Liangshan became immersed in the profound experience, and his whole body did not emit any light, but gave people a sense of mysterious and subtle aura.

  Hiss, Liangshan's eyebrows suddenly rose, his fingers instantly transformed into a flash of light and shadow, and he shot at the window. Almost simultaneously, the window opened, and a snake-like object shot out like lightning, shooting straight at Liangshan.

  The snake leapt into mid-air, almost biting Liangshan's nose, but was shot down by him and fell onto the bed with a thud, motionless.

  The Red Viper of House Martell! Something stirred in Liangshan's heart.

  Liáng Shān lifted the red python from its tail, the snake's head still flexing back and forth, its eyes gleaming with an evil light. Liáng Shān flipped over the python's belly, and to his surprise, it was a Mo Family Dao product, worth thousands of gold.

  Forged from crimson serpent steel, its body is a deep black. Seven symbols adorn it: "Faith, Ascend, Stealth, Curve, Sight, Bite, and Venom". This is indeed a small attack robot, Liangshan exclaimed in admiration at the ingenuity of the Mo family.

  The venom contained in the snake head of this red practice snake is absolutely stronger than that of the red practice snake by hundreds or thousands of times, but it encounters Liangshan's Tan Zhong, and is instantly unloaded.

  Liang Shan looked at it for half a day, unfortunately he didn't understand the Mohist magic, if it were Mo Ling, she could erase the "xin" character and rewrite the "xin" symbol, then this red snake could be recovered and reused.

  One night passed uneventfully, and Liangshan got up but did not go out, still staying in the room to ponder the finger strings.

  The day after tomorrow is the departure date, time is limited, and the hustle and bustle outside will not be participated in. The whole body and mind are immersed in the realization of finger plucking and string resonance.

  It has also been three years since the accumulation of thin hair, and last night's sudden attack by the red snake has brought Liangshan to the realm where the window paper is pierced.

  The new creation method must go through four stages: understanding principles, enlightenment, universal application and deduction.

  For Liangshan, enlightenment of reason is the enlightenment of the "sound" principle, and understanding is the understanding of the "string" way. Placed in the 21st century civilization, Liangshan can be completely called "String Theory".

  "Tongyong" means to apply this set of string theories to oneself, while "yanjing" is to apply this "principle" to others.

  It was the same with Sanlou, where 108 candidates were bustling about, using every trick in the book. To Liangshan, it seemed like a swarm of fireflies, but he stood alone under the vast starry sky, and for a moment, the secrets of heaven and earth came flooding in.

  At sunset, a mysterious and profound feeling suddenly emerged in Liangshan's heart, his whole person became ethereal, merging with the heaven and earth.

  Liang Shan's lips were half open, his Adam's apple was rolling, his chest was heaving, his whole body was shaking, and it seemed that a sound was about to burst out of his throat. Just then, "Bang! Bang!" Someone suddenly knocked on the door.

  It was just a little short, Liang Shan let out a sigh, and in an instant, the wonderful feeling of enlightenment receded like the tide.

  Although Liangshan felt a sense of regret, he didn't become disheartened. He understood that comprehension required immersion and refinement, but the final moment still needed opportunity. At this point, he spoke up and asked: "Who is it?"

  "Liáng shī dì ah, shì wǒ."

  Translation: "Younger Brother Liang, it's me."

  "Oh, it's Brother Feng." Liang Shan got out of bed and opened the door, and indeed, it was Feng Kun outside.

  Feng Kun's face still had a radiant and unrestrained smile as he said, "Liangelo, you're fine, that's all that matters."

  "What can I do?"

  Feng Kun looked around and said in a low voice: "Li, tomorrow we will set off. During this period, you are not considered a true outer door disciple."

  "Please instruct me, senior brother!" Liangshan said immediately with a bow.

  "Take good care of your jade pendant." Feng Kun said softly, then turned and left.

  Liáng Shān's heart tightened.

  Is Nanyang Wang Hou not done yet? Liangshan slapped his forehead, originally thinking that it was all over by now, but unexpectedly it didn't count. Feng Kun reminded himself to pay attention to the next few days, and he understood this feeling.

  "Who's that? You! Stop looking around!" The door to the next room opened, and out came a guy shining with golden light all over his body, pointing at Liangshan with a familiar attitude.

  Liáng Shān hesitated: "This brother, are you calling me?"

  "It's you!" Shi Hu shouted: "I thought you were some kind of mysterious guy, but it turns out you're just a poor scholar, come to my room for a chat."

  Liáng Shān's face showed a look of difficulty.

  Shi Hu strode over, grabbed Liang Shan's hand and dragged him into the house.

  The moment Liangshan entered the room, he narrowed his eyes, for the whole house was filled with gold, and the furnishings were the same as those in his own home, but they were all pasted with glittering golden foil.

  "How's that? I'm still pretty good, right?" Shi Hu said with a smug expression, his eyes wide with excitement.

  Under such dazzling golden light, even Shi Hu's eyes widened, and he couldn't be underestimated, nor could he be misled by his explosive temper.

  "This is indeed the ultimate wealth and nobility of human society." Liangshan sighed.

  "If you like it, I'll give you three big boxes!" Shi Hu laughed.

  "Brother Shi, feel free to speak your mind."

  "Good, refreshing, I like it!" Shi Hu had just finished speaking, and he suddenly stood up, feeling like a fierce tiger. The door opened, and a handsome young man walked in, dressed in simple yet elegant clothes with no accessories, but exuding an air of nobility that was overwhelming.

  "Liu Mingde, don't you know how to knock on a door?" Shi Hu said indignantly.

  "Shi Hu, isn't Liang Gongzi one of our people from Song Country?" Liu Mingde said in a cold tone.

  "Shi Gongzi, I don't know if we can come in?" At this time, a moving female voice like the oriole's outside responded.

  The stone tiger's body moved, and its huge body suddenly became as agile as a cat, darting out of the door. Liangshan turned his head and saw two women, one with a stunningly beautiful face, and the other wearing a ghost mask. Both had slender bodies like weak willow branches, but gave off an incredibly powerful aura, these were the four candidates besides himself.

  Among the four, Shi Hu is the weakest, with a mid-tier Qi Gong, while the other three are all high-tier. In terms of killing power, the strongest should be that ghost-faced woman.

  At the moment when Liangshan was stunned, two women walked into the room, and the dazzling gold in the house suddenly dimmed a lot.

  The five of them sat down as host and guest, and Cui Yingying spoke up: "I am Cui Yingying, of the Cui family from Central Plains."

  "Tuoba Qiurong." Tuoba Qiurong's voice was like a gleam of knife light.

  Liu Mingde of Song Dynasty.

  Western Qin Stone Tiger.

  The four of them finished speaking and looked towards Mount Liangshan together.

  Li Shang smiled calmly and said: "Who I am, everyone already knows."

  Cui Yuanyuan's eyes flashed with a hint of surprise, and she said: "Little sister has something to ask, please tell me, Brother Liang."

  Liáng Shān nodded.

  "How did Brother Liang obtain the jade pendant?"

  As soon as Cui Yingying spoke, the other three people all leaned in with eager expressions.

  Liáng Shān's mind suddenly surged with the thought that if he didn't tell the truth, it would be unfair to this young woman. He snapped his thumb and index finger, producing a crisp sound, which startled everyone back to their senses.

  It's not that Cui Yingying is more brilliant than everyone present, it's just that she has a deliberate mind and an unintentional one. If she were among thousands of troops and horses, she wouldn't be able to escape from under Tuoba Qiuyue's hands in a single move.

  Cui Yingying was increasingly surprised, the scholar in front of her clearly only had the standard of introducing Qi at the initial stage, but he could easily break through his own sound charm, indeed he had an unknown trump card.

  Liáng Shān smiled but did not speak.

  "Love to say or not!" Tuoba Qiurong's voice was actually very pleasant to listen to.

  Liu Mingde smiled slightly, apparently somewhat disdainful.

  The expressions of the four people were all in Liangshan's eyes, but if he had to say that he could see their hearts through their expressions, Liangshan was not so naive. The five seed players gathered together, seemingly casual and carefree, but each with their own purpose.

  "Alright, now that we've all met, we're all jade pendants holders. Just look at the way outsiders are staring at us, it's as if they want to swallow us whole." Shi Hu said.

  "Is it that serious?" Cui Yingying said with a smile, glancing at Liu Mingde and continuing, "Like the Third Prince, many people came to visit and make connections last night."

  "Cui Yingying, there is no Third Prince here, only Liu Mingde."

  "Cui Yingying, you're really bringing up the wrong pot, Old Liu is just too clever and too formidable, threatening the crown prince's position, that's why his old man sent him here, as soon as he started practicing, he was separated from the world." Shi Hu said.

  Liu Mingde said calmly, "Since ancient times, emperors have held the world in their hands, and what they ultimately sought was nothing more than the way of longevity. Why should I care about the mundane struggles of the secular world? I might as well take a straightforward approach."

  "You guys are so annoying! Are the five of us going to fight separately or form an alliance, just one sentence!" Taoba Qiurong said coldly, like a sword that directly cut through the previous scattered conversations.

  "Anyway, Qiu Rong's sister is straightforward, I have no opinion!" Shi Hu immediately expressed his stance.

  "I'm eager for all of you brothers and sisters to help me out." Cui Yingying also expressed her agreement.

  It turns out that this is the case, and it seems that the five seed players are among the other 103 examinees, under the watchful eyes of everyone, with a sense of guilt, now seeking to band together for self-protection.

  Liu Mingde nodded and said, "I've heard that in the past few times, there have been cases of jade pendants being stolen. Although those who were robbed didn't die, they returned to their families with a gloomy face and spent the rest of their lives in melancholy."

  Liu Mingde's words revealed the rules of the game. In the next few days, as long as they had not become official outer sect disciples, other examinees could snatch the jade pendant, but the unwritten rule was that no one could be killed.

  Liáng Shān thought to himself, "This unspoken rule may not be applicable to me. If the other four were to die, it would inevitably lead to a dispute between the two families, or even war between the two countries. But I am from a humble background, and if I were to die, it would be just another death." As he thought about this, Liáng Shān suddenly realized that these four people, apart from discussing their alliance, actually had an ulterior motive of testing his strength.

  Liangshan's strength is the worst, so he naturally becomes the first target for everyone to attack, drawing fire away from the other four. Of course, it's also possible that one of these four people will make a move and snatch Liangshan's jade pendant, which would mean there are two pendants, a double insurance. With a flick of his sleeve, the red snake hidden in Liangshan's clothes slips out and falls onto the table, saying: "This is the thing that sneaked into my room last night."

  "Seven Linked Symbols: Red Practicing Snake!" Shi Hu exclaimed in surprise.

  Tuoba Qiurong raised her hand and grasped the snake's tail, her face stern as she asked Liangshan, "What did you do?"

  A seven-linked chain of crimson python, Tuoba Qiurong naturally didn't take it seriously, but still maintained its entirety and collapsed to the ground, which wasn't something she could do herself.

  "I'm on good terms with Mo Jia and Wu Jia, I understand some methods." Liangshan wouldn't reveal his own finger-picking skills.

  "Brother Liang, you're quite skilled!" Shi Hu praised.

  Liáng Shān smiled and said, "It seems that all of you were unscathed last night, while I was the only one who was attacked." As he spoke, Liáng Shān clasped his hands together, looking worried: "From now on, I will still have to rely on all of you senior brothers."

  "Be polite! Be polite!" Shi Hu said.

  After a brief consultation, an alliance was temporarily formed, which seemed to have no substantial content in Liangshan's view.

  This is just a noisy play, the big shots of Shengjian Hall are looking at these people, good seedlings and bad seedlings, among them, they are looking at each other, those who are worthy of being pulled in as future helpers will be pulled in.

  Liangshan believed that if he hadn't killed that red python himself, these four people would look at him as nothing more than a pile of shit by the side of the road.

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