Su Yu clearly saw on the lounge screen that the pale scholar, with his capo set to mimic a G-key fingering for a C-major chord, was actually playing in E-flat. Though the difference was only a semitone, with Mo Yan’s professional ear, he would surely notice. By claiming it was D-major, he was already testing him.
The pale scholar, as the original composer, not only didn't refute but kept nodding along, which was rather intriguing.
This was the most basic music theory, like a high school student struggling with single-digit multiplication.
"Don't play the 4-5-3-6-2-5-1 progression, play another way," Mo Yan continued.
The pale scholar looked confused, "Play what?"
"Play the VI chord."
After Mo Yan finished speaking.
The pale scholar thought for a moment, then began to play.
He pressed several chords and then looked at Mo Yan.
"I only need one chord," Mo Yan said with a faint smile.
The pale scholar’s hands began to tremble.
He pressed another chord.
Then he stammered, "Is it… is it the kind for chord transitions?"
At this moment.
The atmosphere in the venue had dropped to freezing point.
Mo Yan was testing him on the absolute basics.
Yet, he played several, and none were correct.
This wasn't a matter of skill; he simply didn't know.
Sensing the mood, the pale scholar grew even more flustered, "I… I really don't know."
He finished speaking, his face instantly flushing red.
Fortunately, he was wearing a mask, which served as a fig leaf. If it were removed, he would probably have burrowed into a crack in the stage.
Meanwhile.
Li Yuan's fans began to complain.
"Isn't Mo Yan deliberately making things difficult? A song god testing someone with such tough questions."
"Exactly, Mo Yan is definitely doing it on purpose. He just doesn't want Li Yuan to stay on stage."
"Li Yuan's songs have hundreds of millions of views on short video platforms. Can Mo Yan compare?"
As these fans grumbled indignantly, nearby audience members couldn't stand it.
"What an idol, what fans. Aren't you ashamed to say that?"
"Haha, these brainless fans really amuse me. Mo Yan can't compare to Li Yuan, tsk tsk, are you afraid Li Yuan won't fade away completely?"
"Hmph, anyone with eyes can see Mo Yan is targeting Li Yuan!"
Some fans were still being stubborn.
The audience members who understood music theory couldn't hold back and stepped forward to explain.
"Let me give you brainless fans an example."
"The question Mo Yan asked Li Yuan is like asking an English learner to recite the 26 letters of the alphabet, A-Z."
"And Li Yuan's answer to Mo Yan was 'okay, thank you'."
"Later, Mo Yan emphasized again that he just wanted Li Yuan to recite the 26 letters. Li Yuan said he really didn't know. If he doesn't even know this basic thing, how can he write songs?"
"Brainless fans, do you understand this analogy?"
Someone explained with great expressiveness.
Only then did Li Yuan's fans realize how simple Mo Yan's questions were to the pale scholar.
They were instantly rendered speechless.
Then, many other audience members chuckled.
"Brother, you're awesome. Your explanation is thorough and easy to understand."
"Haha, even I know how to play that from a summer class. How can an original singer not know this?"
"You say Mo Yan is targeting Li Yuan? I thought Mo Yan was going easy on him earlier. I never expected Mo Yan overestimated him…"
"Give me a chance, I really know how to do this problem!!"
"Haha, with this level of skill, he dares to call himself an original singer?"
"Isn't this asking for a slap in the face? You lost, just take off your mask and leave. But you wanted to struggle a bit, and now you've ended up in a dung pit, haven't you?"
As the crowd buzzed.
The atmosphere in the venue heated up.
The previously silent Faceless Knight suddenly raised his hand, "Teacher Mo Yan, I'd like to improvise a song with you. I know the E-flat scale and the VI chord…"
As he said this, the venue instantly fell silent.
The space seemed to freeze.
Then, a collective gasp of cold air swept through.
This was not just enough to slap Li Yuan’s face, but also to slap his fans’ faces?
He was hammering Li Yuan into the ground!
Had Li Yuan provoked this Faceless Knight at some point?
Or perhaps, seeing that he was about to lose but couldn't accept it, he became angry?
If so, then this Faceless Knight was truly a hot-tempered guy.
Unprovokable, unprovokable.
No one expected that Mo Yan, usually steady, would nod with a kindly smile after a moment of surprise.
"Alright."
He finished speaking.
The Faceless Knight walked up to the pale scholar, "Could you lend me your guitar?"
The pale scholar was stunned. What kind of contestant was this?
You're slapping my face, and then you ask me to lend you my guitar?
Squatting on my head to defecate, and then asking to borrow toilet paper???
"Here."
Even though he was very angry inside, he couldn't afford to appear petty on the show again.
He took his guitar off his body and handed it to the Faceless Knight.
The latter took it and said with a smile, "Thank you."
Then, he tested the tuning, and handed the capo back to the pale scholar, "I don't need this thing."
After saying that, he didn't care what expression the pale scholar had; it wasn't important. He turned to Mo Yan, and both nodded.
An improvised accompaniment began.
The Faceless Knight started singing, his gentle and sunny melody instantly captivating the entire audience.
This was an improvised song in a light and cheerful style. The cooperation between the Faceless Knight and Mo Yan made the audience feel as if they had been working together for a long time.
Generally, it was difficult to keep up with Mo Yan's improvisation speed, but the Faceless Knight didn't appear to be struggling much.
Soon, with skilled fingerwork, the Faceless Knight concluded his performance.
When he returned the guitar to the pale scholar, the latter shakily took it.
"Holy cow, this Faceless Knight is amazing!"
"Improvisational creation is this good? Is he also an original singer??"
"You guys think, could this person be Gu Yun?"
"The voice doesn't match, but it's not impossible. After all, he can cooperate with Teacher Mo Yan, so it's plausible it's Shen Jinghong."
"I don't think so. Shen Jinghong showed his singing skills in the city finals. If he had this level of singing, why wouldn't he use it in the city finals?"
This episode not only saw Dark Night Rabbit gain fame by winning the King of Songs, but the Faceless Knight also stole the spotlight.