Chapter 187 - Multiple Versions of Changes

The Old President of the Silvermoon House liked Canon, and had even ordered two pianos!

This matter was far more shocking than Gu Hai playing the piano. Countless cultivators who came from Silvermoon City, after seeing a sea of people competing to sign the pre-sale contract first outside the This Street's First Zither house, immediately rushed up as well.

It's not worth it!? The Old President thinks it's worth it, and you think it's not!? If you aren't buying, don't block me!

Canon isn't good!? If even the Old President likes it, then you can take your appreciation level out of Silvermoon City!

A dozen zitherists that were invited by the World's First Zither House had already made their escape in dejection.

If they stayed behind, all they would attract was public outrage.

Just a moment ago, a fair number of cultivators were  thinking of buying a piano, and a group of zitherists used their prestige to stop them. Now, many cultivators were lining up in the queue to buy a piano. Those dissuaded cultivators were already cursing them!

Each of the zitherists that had escaped now had a bitter look on their faces.

"This time, the World's First Zither House put us into a jam!"

"Yes, we have taken their money! My reputation, argh~!"

"Why did the Old President send someone this time? Why is Gu Hai so lucky?"

"This is retribution!"...

The Zither Grand Daoists went into hiding in resignation.

At the This Street's First Zither House...

Tides of customers were lining up downstairs to buy a piano.

Upstairs, Grandmaster Liunian, Shangguan Hen, and Long Wanqing all had pleased smiles on their faces. This was a good start.

Mu Chenfeng, on the other hand, had his gaze focused on that pa.s.s in Gu Hai's hand. He looked completely baffled. "Why is it like this? I play so well, yet I have not received a pa.s.s after testing nine times. Yet this Gu Hai who thinks of it like nothing even had a pa.s.s sent over by the President of the Silvermoon House himself!

This is not fair, he can't even play out any conception!, Mu Chenfeng shouted in his heart, depressed. But that pa.s.s in Gu Hai's hands is the genuine goods. Furthermore, it was personally sent over by the Old President himself. Why is he so lucky?

"Gu Hai, congratulations! You can also partic.i.p.ate in the Zither Conferring a.s.sembly!" Long Wanqing congratulated Gu Hai as a smile bloomed on her face.

Gu Hai broke into a wry smile as he replied, "Actually, I can't play that well, it was only a tune, there was no conception. It is wasted in my hands. How about I give you this pa.s.s?"

The nearby Mu Chenfeng rolled his eyes at Gu Hai. How can you give that pa.s.s to anyone so casually? Uhhh, he gave it to me just like that, too! Thinking of this, Mu Chenfeng was even more at a loss.

"I don't want it, I can't play well!" Long Wanqing shook his head.

"How about you go, Grandmaster Liunian, I don't have any interest!" Gu Hai once again tried to hand it off to Grandmaster Liunian.

"Throne Master Gu, it would be better for you to go!" Grandmaster Liunian shook his head.

The nearby Mu Chenfeng's eyes burned with resentment as he cursed in his heart, What a hypocrite!

Finally, under Gu Hai's insistence, the pa.s.s was forcefully handed to Grandmaster Liunian.

"Throne Master Mu, I also didn't expect This Street's First Zither House to have such a good start. Therefore, I want to ask you a favor!" Gu Hai said.

"Throne Master Gu, please speak!" This time, Mu Chenfeng was a lot more polite. However, he was still somewhat dissatisfied in his heart.

"For some time, This Street's First Zither House will be very busy. My few dozen subordinates will not be able to handle too many things, they might not be able to manage it by themselves. So, I want to borrow some people from you. Rest a.s.sured, they won't work for free, I will pay them!" Gu Hai stated.

"This is not a problem, how many do you need?" Mu Chenfeng curiously asked.

"A thousand!" Gu Hai stated.

"Uh?" Mu Chenfeng looked at Gu Hai in astonishment. So many!? But finally, he nodded his agreement. "Alright!"

---

The news of the Silvermoon House's Old President ordering the piano immediately disseminated throughout Silvermoon City. Countless cultivators curiously rushed over to see what this piano looked like. The people who didn't get to hear the Canon also rushed over to this area, hoping to feel what was so good about this Canon that even Old President praised it.

At the same time, the price of the piano had caused the eyes of countless cultivators to widen. A hundred high-grade spirit stones!?

Although with the Old President buying the piano, no one would say that it was expensive, they still wondered why it was so expensive.

At this time, the cultivators on this street pointed at the Ultimate Zither and its price tag before they vividly recounted the details about how the World's First Zither House swindled Gu Hai's money.

"What!? The World's First Zither House is a black shop!?

"If we go with too much money, they will rob us? They wouldn't, would they?"

"How could the World's First Zither House do this kind of thing?"...

At first, countless cultivators simply didn't believe it. But, even if they didn't believe it, many people swore that they saw it with their own eyes. They had no choice but to believe it.

Go and buy zithers there? Many people shook their heads.

Although there were countless cultivators coming and going on the street, only a few were entering the World's First Zither House.

The World's First Zither House and the This Street's First Zither House were like two completely different worlds.

On one side of the street, it was a hubbub of voices. You had to pay first to buy the piano you wouldn't receive now. People were lined up into ten queues, constantly signing the contracts and paying their money.

But the spirit stones weren't put away, no, all of them were piled up next to the piano on the terrace, now amounting to a small mountain.

In contrast, the World's First Zither House was simply desolate. Occasionally a few cultivators would go in, but would soon come out. The huge World's First Zither House was totally empty.

Young Master An and Jiang Tianyi were looking across the road with ghastly faces.

"Young Master An, I noticed that this Gu Hai is selling the piano, not just to make money, but is doing this to get rid of our World's First Zither House. He is discrediting us, forcing us into a corner!" an ashen-faced Jiang Tianyi stated.

"Business rules?" Young Master An blurted out as his face turned gloomier.

"Yes, by playing Canon every day and piling those spirit stones into a mountain, Gu Hai is just advertising. If we employ unfair means, we will be cast aside by the whole industry!" Jiang Tianyi stated his opinion with an unsightly look.

"Congratulations, you are our seven thousandth customer! Mister Gu said that this Ultimate Zither, which was brought from the World's First Zither House, will be given away as a complimentary gift to you!" The Great Han official's voice resounded from across the street.

"Hmm?" Jiang Tianyi furrowed his brow as he looked ahead.

He saw a Great Han official handing out the Ultimate Zither, which was worth a hundred middle-grade stones, to a customer who had a contract in his hand.

On the terrace, the spirit stones had already been piled up into a mountain.

Gu Hai, standing on the terrace, cracked a gentle smile as he faced Jiang Tianyi.

Then, with a flip of his hand, all the spirit stones were stowed away in the token's storage s.p.a.ce.

"Seven thousandth customer on the seventh day!? Seven hundred thousand high-grade spirit stones!? Gu Hai hasn't lost anything!?" Young Master An's face turned ashen.

"What a business genius! Seven days! Haha, Young Master An, we sure have encountered an extraordinary opponent. He has made all the money he lost to us back in seven days!?" Jiang Tianyi bitterly mused.

"I don't care whether he is a business genius or not, hmph! No one had ever made me so aggrieved! Jiang Tianyi, don't you have any way to get rid of his zither house?" Young Master An said as his voice grew colder.

"Young Master An doesn't need to tell me, I too can't watch the World's First Zither House going into depression like this. However, Young Master An, you don't need to worry too much about this. The way I see it, his way of doing business has advantages and disadvantages!" Jiang Tianyi said with a chuckle.

"Oh!?"

"First, he has no supply, no craftsman, no guqin, or any other instruments. How is he going to compete with us? After his shop is finished with renovations, without any other goods to sell, will just the piano be useful? Even if he has the supply, their heritage is lacking. The instruments sold by them would definitely be worse than ours. Therefore, they can't compete with us.

"Second, this piano!? It is selling like hot cakes for now. After some time, everyone will calm down, will they be willing to spend so much money to buy a piano? The rich are in the minority, after all. A hundred high-grade spirit stones just to buy an instrument crafted from non-spiritual materials!? Hahaha, fewer and fewer people will buy the piano over time!”

"By then, This Street's First Zither House would be totally spent. They will have to close down!" Jiang Tianyi stated with a smile.

"I have to slowly wait? I don't want to wait!" Young Master An said coldly.

"Then, our zither house needs to seize the momentum, please invite Zither Grand Daoists to play and attract the crowd to our zither house. We need to spend a lot of money to keep inviting Zither Daoists, and challenge them!" Jiang Tianyi stated in a deep voice.

"Alright, invite them!" Young Master An gave his approval in a heavy voice.

"Yes!" Jiang Tianyi replied immediately.

As Jiang Tianyi expected, the people ordering a piano started to slowly lessen over time. Nevertheless, This Street's First Zither House was still surrounded by a crowd of people every day.

Meanwhile, the counterattack of the World's First Zither House began.

In the past, the Zither Daoists would only play from time to time. But starting today, the Zither Daoists came to play just about every day.

As they played, their powerful conceptions immediately gave an urge to the cultivators on the streets to stop.

Different Zither Daoists played different conceptions. In a flash, this street seemed like a grand event was being hosted here.

Listening to the Canon every day, not to mention feeling dull, it had lost its feeling of freshness already.

Meanwhile, the World's First Zither House's popularity was quickly increasing once again.

In a renovated room of the This Street's First Zither House, just as Mu Chenfeng anxiously barged in, he happened to saw a shocking scene.

Gu Hai, taking out five hundred thousand high-grade spirit stones with a flip of his hand, handed them to Shangguan Hen.

"Whatever you want to eat, buy it. Don't be reluctant to spend the money!" Gu Hai said in an earnest manner, looking at Shangguan Hen.

At the sight of this scene, Mu Chenfeng completely forgot whatever it was he wanted to say. At this moment, his face was plastered with a baffled and complex look.

This Water Throne Master is too generous!? Pocket money of five hundred thousand high-grade spirit stones just for his subordinate to eat, five hundred thousand high-grade spirit stones... Heavens! You are killing me! I too want to eat!

Mu Chenfeng looked at this local tyrant with an aggrieved look.

"Grandmaster Liunian, Shangguan Hen is going to buy some things to eat, it might not be too safe for him, will you please look after him!" Gu Hai looked at Grandmaster Liunian.

"Don't worry, I will protect Shangguan Hen, you just look after Hall Lord well!" Grandmaster Liunian nodded to Gu Hai.

"I will!" Gu Hai nodded in return.

"Grandmaster Liunian, don't worry, nothing will happen to me!" Long Wanqing also smiled and said.

As Grandmaster Liunian nodded, Shangguan Hen used a storage tool that he had just bought to take away the five hundred thousand high-grade stones. Then, just as he turned around, his eyes fell on the flabbergasted Mu Chenfeng.

"Uh, Mu Chenfeng, what's wrong?" Long Wanqing asked, uncertain.

Only at this time did Mu Chenfeng return to his senses. He anxiously stated everything at once, "The World's First Zither House across the street has invited many zitherists. And just today, two zitherists played in turns. Many of the customers have been pulled by the opposite shop!"

"Don't worry, a gra.s.shopper at the end of autumn would not jump for too long. Wait till my zither house is renovated, his World's First Zither House will be closed down!" Gu Hai said with a smile.

"Ah!? But you don't have any goods!" A confused looked showed up on Mu Chenfeng's face.

Gu Hai might not care much about it, but he once again made his way to the terrace on the third floor.

Mu Chenfeng and Long Wanqing followed him together immediately.

As expected, chimes of zithers could be heard coming the from the zither house across the streets once more. The chimes were extremely melodious and carried a powerful conception. All around, leaves were dancing as a resplendent glow covered the surroundings. Many cultivators were drawn to the World's First Zither House by the music.

Gu Hai, on the other hand, slowly made his way to the piano once more.

"Start the Sound Amplifying Array!" Gu Hai ordered.

"Yes, Your Royal Majesty!"

With a thrum, the Sound Amplifying Array was activated, drawing the attention of many cultivators immediately.

"Look, Gu Hai is about to play once again! Is he going to play Canon once more? Although it is quite pleasing to hear, I have listened to it too many times!"

"Can the piano only play Canon?"

"As many times I might have listened to it, I still want to listen to the piano. When all is said and done, other instruments don't have this feeling!"...

Many cultivators turned their heads to look at Gu Hai.

Melodious tunes from the piano gradually spread in the air.

"Uh! It's not right, this is not Canon!?

"Uh, no, it's Canon, but why do I feel it's different?"

"This is Canon's tune, but it's different in some places. Has Gu Hai played wrong? Furthermore, it's faster!"

"This is also very pleasing to hear!"...

A special Canon slowly spread in all directions.

Everyone in the city who heard this tune looked confused.

"Is this Canon? Why is it different?" Many people revealed surprised expressions.

Once the Canon had been played halfway, Gu Hai's voice suddenly wrong.

"Canon is a musical form, it's not just a tune. It can be ever-changing. Everything can be changed. Everyone who likes music, starting from today, I will no longer repeat the same Canon as I played in the beginning. Today, this is one version of Canon, I call it Canon Rock Super Crazy Piano Version!" Gu Hai's voice resounded through the sky.

"Canon Rock Super Crazy Piano Version!?"

"Rock? What is rock?"

"Super Crazy Piano Version!? What does it mean?"...

While everyone's curiosity was piqued, the changes of the Canon were getting faster and faster. At first, it was very similar to the Canon that Gu Hai had played earlier. But slowly, when it reached a certain time, it was different. At least, it gave off a very different feeling.

Earlier, it used to rise here and fall there, gave a feeling of continuous repet.i.tion. But now, it was like roaring waves.

It was like a flood was.h.i.+ng away everything. A violent flood crashed forth like the sluice gates had been completely opened, suddenly cras.h.i.+ng into your heart.

With a piano used to imitate rock music, that intense music immediately lit up argent flames in countless cultivators' hearts.

Burning, just this one word could describe what everyone was feeling!

As if a flame was intensely burning in their hearts. Waves after waves of music madly crashed into everyone's hearts.

The intense piano music suddenly made countless cultivators feverish.

"This.. this is Canon!? I am not hearing wrongly, am I? This is a variation of Canon!?"

"I also want to learn this tune, it's too fierce!"...

In the blink of an eye, countless cultivators became frantic at the feelings brought by this music.

The cultivators that were listening to the Zither Grand Daoists in front of the World's First Zither House were suddenly jolted awake. As they woke up from their respective dreamlands, surging waves of enthralling music echoed in their ears, pulling them away from the World's First Zither House and drawing them back to Gu Hai's zither store.

"This… is this Canon Rock Super Crazy Piano Version!? So the Canon can be changed!?" Countless cultivators looked at the playing Gu Hai in shock and joy.

The excitement that had withered down over these last few days was ignited once again. Along with this intense music, notes madly danced in their minds, one after another.

In a nearby courtyard...

Fairy Wan'er, looking at the distant Gu Hai playing the piano, furrowed her brow once more. "Canon Rock Super Crazy Piano Edition!? Its realm is far worse than the Canon played in the beginning, but it is filled with a new power!? Pa.s.sion!? It indeed is super crazy!"

Silvermoon House...

The Old President waved his hand and immediately, Gu Hai's playing also reverberated here.

"Canon Rock Super Crazy Piano Edition!? Hahaha, it sure is filled with endless vitality! Youth, huh, it's good to be young!" the Old President marveled.

The super intense piano suddenly blasted away all the plans laid by the World's First Zither House into shambles.

Even if the Zither Daoists played different realms, can they actually best this crazy playing of Gu Hai!?

Jiang Tianyi and Young Master An looked at the crazily playing Gu Hai, stunned. Gu Hai's fingers were already leaving after shadows behind. Watching that hand speed, listening to that intense music, the duo's faces grew ghastly.

And at this moment, Silvermoon City was infected by this changeable Canon tune. Countless cultivators suddenly seemed enlightened.

"Modify!?"

"Right, the Canon is constantly repeating, you can play faster, you can play slower, you can even alter it a lot!"

"I can also change the Canon?"

"Canon, as long as the main part isn't changed, it can be ever-changing!?"

"Canon Rock Super Crazy Piano Version, so intense!"...

Countless cultivators looked astounded as ideas popped into their minds.

Back on Earth, Gu Hai had heard the cla.s.sical version and several other versions of Canon in various tv shows and movies. Depending on the different environment, you could change it around. After the changes, it had a different charm.

The crazy Canon swept through Silvermoon City once more.

At the World's First Zither House across the street, Young Master An's face turned ashen. "Canon is actually a form, it can constantly change!?"

"d.a.m.n, Gu Hai has attracted the attention of everyone. He has once again piqued the curiosity of everyone! Canon can be changed! As long as any zitherist likes Canon, he would not be able to help but create a Canon of his own! How… how exactly does his mind work?" Jiang Tianyi's expression also changed.

Indeed, as Jiang Tianyi had guessed, with Gu Hai playing the Canon Rock Super Crazy Piano Version, countless zitherists in the city immediately starting playing their own version of Canon with their instruments.

Speed could be changed, some notes could also be changed. Suddenly, unique versions of Canon began to emerge everywhere, constantly resounding through Silvermoon City.

A changeable tune was very attractive to a zitherist. Playing a song that you created was more exciting than playing someone else's song.

Canon was just like that, it let you change it, let you bring forth a different charm. Suddenly, everyone was extremely excited.

In a flash, a new era of Canon blossomed in Silvermoon City. Canon enthusiasts were creating their own works everywhere.

In a flash, the Canon became more and more famous.

It was very easy to change. After changing, it was also quite pleasing. It was like everyone had turned into a great composer.

Everyone liked the Canon!

In a flash, the zitherists at the World's First Zither House who were preparing to put up a fight became completely listless. Their audience had gone off to create their own tunes, where would they find the time to listen to others playing?

The first attempt at publicity by World's First Zither House ended up in failure!