118 The Holy Courtyard (1/2)

as a cultivator, keeping face was important but it wasn't always the way it seemed. lin feng had been asked to leave for failing the test but he hadn't. everybody was looking at lin feng in a strange way. even if some people found him ridiculous and thought that he was humiliating himself, lin feng kept smiling and asked for a second chance. that smile showed that he didn't care about the fact that he was losing face by requesting a second attempt.

however, the teacher understood that lin feng wasn't acting this way because he didn't care about dignity. on the contrary, lin feng was stubborn and only stubborn people persevered and never gave up.

the crowd was surprised. the teacher had suddenly accepted and gave lin feng a second chance. on top of that, the teacher's voice sounded like he really had faith in lin feng's future due to his stubborn beliefs.

”thank you very much, teacher.” said lin feng while nodding his head. lin feng had a good impression of the teacher. he seemed friendly and easy to approach. besides, he didn't look arrogant at all.

”i'm going to start playing the zither again, this time you are the only one who is going to listen to it.” said the teacher indifferently. immediately, he started playing again. however just as he said, the crowd couldn't hear the music at all. the teacher could surprisingly control the flow of his music to make it audible to only the people whom he selected.

”how strong.” thought the crowd stupefied. the teacher had never displayed such a masterful control in front of them before. at that moment, lin feng had the feeling that the melody was a river flowing into his ears. he could already feel that his eyes were starting to feel heavy under the hypnosis. he focused his entire attention on the music and tried to abandon himself to the illusion. he could feel himself slowly drifting into the illusion with each passing moment.

however, something strange was happening.

”how cruel… if my celestial spirit remains like this then i will not be able to fall into the illusion.” thought lin feng. a cold qi had invaded into lin feng's body and he no longer was affected by illusion and the music had no power over him. everything around him was extremely clear and calm, his eyes were wide open.

even though the melody was the same as before, his eyes remained wide open and were staring at the teaching playing the zither.

”huh?” the teacher was astonished when he saw that lin feng was surprisingly not falling asleep and was not struggling to stay awake in the slightest. he suddenly started playing a completely different tune. this time the rhythm was faster and the power was much greater. however, lin feng's eyes were wide open as before.

he had been staring at the teacher from the beginning. he still wasn't falling into the illusion. the teacher played another tune with an even faster rhythm and its power was on another level compared to the original test. his fingers were moving at full speed above the strings of the instrument as they elegantly created the music. lin feng seemed completely unperturbed and unaffected. a short moment after, the teacher smiled as he started playing slower and slower and finally stopped.

he then looked at lin feng and asked: ”what's your name?”

”lin feng.”

”it seems that you didn't fail the test originally. congratulations on passing the test.” said the teacher. the crowd was stunned. lin feng had passed the test? why and how was that even possible?

why hadn't lin feng been hypnotized even though the teacher had played for him. what did that mean?

”thank you for having given me a second chance, teacher.” replied lin feng with a big smile on his face. if the teacher hadn't given him a second chance, he would have had no other solution.

”teacher, what does that mean? he woke up from the dream the first time. why did he pass? besides, he insolently asked for a second chance. how could you let him pass after being so shameless!” asked a tall and robust guy walking towards the teacher.

”the thing that you do not understand is that during the first test he hadn't fully fallen into my illusion and could not be fully hypnotised. he had just closed his eyes and fallen into a very light sleep, at most it would have only given him a brief look into the illusion, and he was never under its control. the second time, he wasn't even affected by the melody and stayed awake the whole time even when i increased the strength of the melody. this is the first time i have seen such a remarkable display and i have been working in the academy for many years.” said the teacher while smiling and shaking his head.

”he wasn't affected by the melody?!” asked the people in the crowd stupefied. they were strangely looking at lin feng wondering if he was even a human being. wen ao xue couldn't imagine it either. he was really puzzled at how lin feng had rejected the hypnosis.

the tall and robust guy's eyes were wide open. immediately after, he scratched his head and walked towards lin feng before saying: ”i'm sorry. i said unpleasant things about you without thinking. i have misunderstood you. if you are angry at me then please tell me what i can do for you to forgive me.”

lin feng raised his head and saw the huge guy standing before him. lin feng wasn't angry at him. that guy was really huge though, almost as big as han man. he was probably like han man and spoke without thinking because he was one of the simple and honest types. when lin feng thought about han man, a cold feeling invaded his heart. duan tian lang… duan han…

”what did you say a moment ago? i have already forgotten.” said lin feng while smiling. that tall and robust guy was surprised and then smiled. he stretched his big hands towards lin feng and said: ”yuan shan.”

”lin feng.” both of them shook hands and smiled at each other.

”perseverance, willpower, courage and strength are the required skills to become a great commander.” said the teacher while nodding his head. he packed up his instrument and said: ”lin feng, if you want to learn how to play the zither or the guqin. come to me and i will teach you.” when he finished talking, he turned around and left.

lin feng was stupefied as well. he was smiling and, while looking at the silhouette of the teacher in the horizon, said: ”teacher, i will do my best to show you that you did not make the wrong decision.”

everybody in the crowd was staring at lin feng with eyes full of admiration and envy. these musical cultivation skills were extremely powerful.