This is the Law of Sound, encompassing all sounds under the heavens.
As information about the Eighth Tier Blood River Dao entered Zhang Chen’s Primordial Spirit, Zhang Chen quickly embraced the manifold information. Concurrently, an inscrutable symbol imprint stealthily appeared in his Blood Sea Dao’s Dao Fruit.
The symbol was gray and seemed to be veiled in a layer of Qi of Chaos. In the depths of time, ancient mystical melodies appeared to drift off the symbol, as if accompanied by the sound of creation reverberating along the rivers of time.
The symbol seemed to be an imprint of the Great Dao, containing astonishing harmonies circling within. There were whispers from Ancient Gods of the primordial lands, shouts from Chaos Demon Gods. There were sounds of the Dao’s operations, sounds of celestial movements, sounds emitted by mountains and rivers, and the murmurs of all beings (▼へ▼メ).
All sounds of beings in Heaven and Earth flowed from the chaotic imprint, entering Zhang Chen’s Primordial Spirit, a sound as profound yet subtle as if presence and absence intertwined.
After a while, Zhang Chen opened his eyes, staring at the starry sky with a face of astonishment, his heart full of bewilderment: "How strange, why would the Blood Sea Dao include the Law of Sound?"
Zhang Chen found it somewhat difficult to comprehend, yet he had already experienced the extraordinary nature of the Law of Sound. Spiritually, he vaguely sensed the sound of laws operating in Heaven and Earth. The mysterious principles of Heaven continuously flowed from afar, endlessly washing over Zhang Chen’s Primordial Spirit. He seemed to hear remnants of the Grand Dao echoing from the heavens, each note consolidating his Primordial Spirit one step further.
"The mystical notes emanating from the operations of Heaven and Earth’s laws, even if fleeting, are sufficient to benefit me infinitely, saving me a month of arduous cultivation," Zhang Chen exclaimed.
Of course, capturing a single note was not straightforward, and Zhang Chen could not guarantee he’d always succeed; it was all tinged with luck.
"This world is truly fascinating." Standing in the courtyard, Zhang Chen listened to all the sounds within - the rustling of leaves, the crawling of insects in the soil beneath his feet, and the dreamlike murmurs of ants carried by the wind.
Then, his ears twitched, and countless chaotic sounds from within a radius of ten miles surged forward—though chaotic, each was vivid and clear; if he focused on any particular sound, he could hear it completely.
Even the sound of air flowing was deafening to Zhang Chen’s ears.
Suddenly, Zhang Chen made a grasping motion towards the courtyard, and a moment later, the courtyard fell into complete silence, as if devoid of sound. In Zhang Chen’s palm, there seemed to be an inexplicable presence.
"I can gather all sounds from a given area, causing total silence as they vanish, or I can emit high-frequency sound waves to shatter objects," Zhang Chen remarked as he grasped at the void, capturing all sounds within ten miles. Those invisible sounds transformed into a mystical resonance frequency in his hand, landing on a piece of grit, which instantly pulverized.
"The Law of Sound is powerful, as fierce as the Eastern Emperor Bell resonating through three thousand Hongmeng Worlds, yet in some sense, it is weak because my current Eighth Tier strength is not enough to unleash that kind of world-destroying force," Zhang Chen muttered to himself.
Zhang Chen withdrew his Divine Techniques, and sounds returned to the void. Turning, he entered the house and lit the oil lamp with a firestone, gazing quietly into space, pondering the connection between the Blood Dao and Sound Dao.
"How many people died in the Northern Land? How many beings perished along the Yellow River banks? My Blood Control Technique somehow managed to be forcibly elevated to the Eighth Tier—a truly inconceivable and astonishing achievement," Zhang Chen’s heart was filled with amazement.
After sitting in the room for an hour, Zhang Chen gestured with a finger above the candle, and a sound wave soared through the void, extinguishing the flame instantly. Then, Zhang Chen stepped into the Spiritual World, Third Heaven, continuing to refine his God-Beating Whip.
As daybreak arrived, after a night of absorbing the information from his Eighth Heaven Blood Control Technique, Zhang Chen increasingly felt the terrifying nature of the sound-based Divine Technique. There were many mystical aspects waiting for him to explore.
For instance, transforming into sound waves, mastering ultrasonic waves, or creating sound waves that could captivate the mind—all needed Zhang Chen to comprehend and master.
"I believe to harness the bloodline power of sound, I need to craft a sound-based magical artifact. Only thereby can the sound wave’s power be brought to Extreme," Zhang Chen mused, tapping on the desk, contemplating where he might create a sound-based magical artifact.
Though he could manipulate sound waves, he couldn’t create them from nothing nor conjure them out of thin air.
Yet even so, it was enough for Zhang Chen to gain a significant advantage in conflicts, for whoever made a move would inevitably produce sound, and any sound would be captured by Zhang Chen.
"If only I had the legendary Eastern Emperor Bell now, its sound wave could truly shatter gods and destroy buddhas," Zhang Chen knew that if anyone ever wished to whisper secrets, it would be difficult, as he’d inevitably catch wind of it.
Zhang Chen executed the Escape Technique, appearing on the street among the bustling crowd. His ears twitched, capturing all sounds within ten miles; whatever he wished to hear, nothing could escape his notice.
Among the whispers in boudoirs, reprimands of thieves, and quarrels between couples, all entered Zhang Chen’s ears, understood by Zhang Chen.
"Interesting." Zhang Chen listened to the sounds of the street, hoping to find some useful clues, but unfortunately, despite how he turned his ear, it was difficult to hear anything valuable.
Zhang Chen walked towards the direction of the Book Academy. Upon arrival, he found that the various reading sounds within the academy were much more pleasant than the noisy sounds of the outside world.
Zhang Chen’s ears twitched, he heard the chattering sound of Zhou Qiucheng’s teeth, as the cold made his jaw quiver uncontrollably.
"Zhou Qiucheng already has cold affliction deeply rooted in his bones, I couldn’t have imagined his condition would reach such a state. Unfortunately, my Sun True Flame is too dominant, it cannot alleviate the cold within him," Zhang Chen thought to himself with a helpless sigh.
If he were in the outside world, his Sun True Flame could easily dispel the cold affliction, but now that it’s within the human body, the body cannot endure the Sun True Flame any more than it can withstand the cold.
Just as Zhang Chen was about to retract his ’Thousand-Mile Ear,’ he heard a familiar voice: "Master, I’ve brewed some ginger soup, selecting thousand-year ginseng, paired with some potent herbs to enhance the Yang Qi in the body to help you combat the cold. You should drink this soup."
"The cold affliction in me originates from the Innate Divine Spirit, ordinary herbs and trees are useless to me, don’t waste your silver," Zhou Qiucheng replied to Jiang Nan.
Outside the mountain gate
Zhang Chen closed his Thousand-Mile Ear, his face full of surprise: "Jiang Nan has impressive tactics, she managed to become Zhou Qiucheng’s disciple through Zhou Zhen. How did she achieve this? This woman is truly not simple."
At this moment, Zhang Chen felt that Jiang Nan’s cunning and tactics were somewhat terrifying.
Though puzzled, Zhang Chen was too lazy to bother with such trivial matters. He stepped forward, heading towards the mountain, and finally arrived at the Exquisite Tower, where he saw the disciples gathered had already dispersed, leaving the entire tower empty.
"Strange, why is there no one in front of the Exquisite Tower? Wasn’t there always a crowd of people waiting to curry favor?" Zhang Chen wondered to himself.
"Below the mountain, Yellow Heaven Dao is recruiting students, everyone rushed to partake in the selection," Zhou Zhen’s figure appeared behind Zhang Chen.
"Yellow Heaven Dao is recruiting students?" Zhang Chen was taken aback: "Do those of noble birth take notice?"
"It’s just an excuse! The news that Chen Sanliang is challenging all major academies in Jiangnan somehow got out. Countless students were scared and rolled up their bedding to head home directly," Zhou Zhen said.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen fell into silence. Recalling the sudden elevation of the Blood Sea Dao last night, Zhang Chen realized that the place where Chen Sanliang discussed Dao would definitely stir up a bloody storm, otherwise, those noble family offspring wouldn’t flee overnight.
"Don’t worry, experts have already gone to stop Chen Sanliang. Chen Sanliang has been rampant among my Human Race, we cannot tolerate it," Zhou Zhen said.
"Chen Sanliang has already reached the eleventh tier, that’s not easy to deal with. Just like moths drawn to the flame," Zhang Chen muttered to himself.
The two walked towards the steps, and as they approached ten feet from the Exquisite Tower, Zhang Chen found that the Divine Techniques derived from his Law of Sound were suppressed and could not be deployed at all.
"By the way, your cousin Shen Qiu has good Creation, he took the first step in mastering the mysteries within the Exquisite Tower, connecting with the mysterious rules inside, becoming the only disciple among us with the means to sense the legendary mysteries," Zhou Zhen said to Zhang Chen.
"Is there any pattern?" Zhang Chen asked.
After a brief pause upon hearing Zhang Chen’s question, Zhou Zhen then said: "I’ll tell you the pattern, but you cannot spread it. My father, after mastering this Treasure Tower, has studied and discovered some key rules. To engage in mystical resonance with the bizarre phenomena sealed inside seems connected to the emotions in one’s heart. Shen Qiu has undergone great changes, and emotional fluctuations must have caused the mystical resonance."
"So that’s how it is, what a pity..." Zhang Chen said half a sentence of pity but swallowed the words back.
Because he practiced to the level of Primordial Spirit, the Technique based on emotional fluctuations doesn’t suit him.
"Rest assured, I’ve already spoken to my father. He will choose suitable mysteries for you and create an opportunity for you to merge with them. However, even though my father is the master of the tower, it still takes time to subdue those mysteries, so you might have to wait here for a year or two," Zhou Zhen patted Zhang Chen’s shoulder, comforting him: "Don’t envy others, your part has been long prepared for you, you just need to wait calmly."