Chapter 45: The singing opponent
The tournament square was buzzing with energy. Everyone wanted to know who Li Ming would face next.
"After the sword genius and the scholar, who could it be now?"
"I heard this opponent is... strange."
"Strange? What do you mean?"
The stone board lit up with glowing names.
Li Ming versus Liu Song.
The crowd looked confused. "Liu Song? Who’s that?"
Suddenly, a man in bright yellow robes jumped onto the stage. He carried no weapon. Instead, he held... a lute.
"Yes!" he shouted. "I, Liu Song, shall defeat you... with the power of music!"
The crowd gasped. "Music?!"
Li Ming blinked. "Wait, wait. Are we having a concert or a fight?"
---
The referee looked unsure, but finally raised his hand. "Begin!"
At once, Liu Song strummed his lute. Twaaang!
"♪ My sword is sharp, my Dao is deep, ♪
♪ Li Ming’s face looks half asleep! ♪"
The crowd burst out laughing.
Li Ming rubbed his eyes. "Are you... singing about me?"
"Indeed!" Liu Song twirled dramatically. "My Song of the Dao will shatter your spirit!"
He strummed again, sending waves of qi through the air. The sound shook the stage like thunder. Some disciples even clutched their ears.
"Wow! His music has power!"
"It’s a sound attack!"
---
Li Ming, however, simply tilted his head. "Not bad. But the lyrics are terrible. Who rhymes ’deep’ with ’asleep’?"
Liu Song froze. "W-what? You dare mock my art?!"
"Yes," Li Ming said seriously. "If you want to beat me, at least sing something catchy."
The crowd roared with laughter.
---
Liu Song’s face turned red. He strummed furiously.
"♪ Feel my rage, my burning flame, ♪
♪ Li Ming’s talent is all just... lame! ♪"
He sent another wave of sound qi. The arena shook. Dust rose.
But Li Ming simply clapped his hands to the beat and said, "Not bad, not bad! But you forgot rhythm. You’re off by one beat."
The crowd howled with laughter. Even the referee struggled not to laugh.
---
Liu Song shouted, "Enough! I’ll finish this with my ultimate technique—Heavenly Death Song!"
He plucked his strings so hard that the lute glowed with golden light. Waves of sound qi shot out like invisible swords. The air hummed violently.
Everyone leaned forward. "This is it!"
Li Ming yawned, stretched his arms, and said, "Alright, my turn."
He suddenly began humming.
"Hmm, hmm, hmm-hmmm~"
It wasn’t even a proper tune—just random humming.
But somehow, his humming completely drowned out Liu Song’s Heavenly Death Song. The glowing sound qi wobbled, turned crooked, and then collapsed like a broken kite.
The entire arena went silent for a moment.
Then Liu Song dropped his lute and fell to his knees. "N-no... my years of musical cultivation... destroyed by humming?!"
Li Ming scratched his head. "Well, I told you, rhythm matters."
---
The referee raised his hand. "Winner—Li Ming!"
The crowd exploded with laughter and cheers.
"He won with humming!"
"Even music can’t beat him!"
"This man is unstoppable!"
Li Ming left the stage scratching his chin. "Now I’m hungry again. Do they serve snacks here?"
---
Bonus Bit
That night, the sect leader was drinking tea with the elders.
Elder One said, "Li Ming beat the sword genius."
Elder Two said, "Then he beat the scholar."
Elder Three said, "Now he even beat the musician."
The sect leader rubbed his forehead. "At this rate, what’s next? Will he fight a chef?"
At that exact moment, a disciple ran in. "Sect Leader! We just received the list for tomorrow’s matches. Li Ming’s next opponent is... the sect’s top chef!"
The elders spat out their tea in unison.
The sect leader muttered, "Heaven help us all."
To be continued...