### Chapter 7: Harpist Academy (6)
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“What… How is this possible?
How can there be such unbelievable methods in this world? She doesn’t even need a four-string harp to conjure harp music out of thin air!”
“Could it be some kind of dark magic we don’t know about?”
“But… that sound just now was like it was playing in our hearts, so pure and without a single flaw. How could it be created by someone with ill intentions?
This defies all logic!”
As soon as those notes rang out, the three female judges found themselves embroiled in a heated debate.
In the heat of the moment, they forgot to order the soldiers to step back.
Thus, the guards, following their original orders, were still prepared to drag the veiled foreign woman away to face consequences.
And at that very moment, something even more shocking occurred—simple yet soul-stirring notes burst forth, cutting through the air with the precision of a razor, instantly shattering every soldier’s weapon into pieces.
Miraculously, none of the soldiers were injured; the sheer accuracy was jaw-dropping.
This stunning display of strength was indeed overwhelming.
While it was said that S-rank harpists could perform such extreme maneuvers, it was rare to find someone as swift and precise in their execution as this woman.
In that moment, the arena fell completely silent.
The originally intimidating soldiers, who had been ready to swarm the foreign woman disrupting the test, suddenly found their weapons transformed into mere scrap metal in an instant.
Meanwhile, the masked woman stood undisturbed, her posture still elegantly poised as if strumming strings.
But a deadly aura, sensed only by those who had experienced the battlefield, enveloped their hearts.
It felt as if, in the next second, if they made one more wrong move,
their heads would roll to the ground like shattered swords, “thunk, thunk.”
The soldiers dared not twitch a muscle; the scene froze in place.
The audience around them couldn’t help but gasp collectively.
This moment felt like the climax of an action movie, indelibly etched in their minds.
Some recalled the rude comments they had made earlier and wished they could shrink into their pants, terrified that the woman would notice them and put a sword to their throats.
“Withdraw the guards,” commanded the lead judge.
The soldiers, caught between a rock and a hard place, felt as if they’d received a reprieve and quickly retreated from the testing area.
Seeing the judges change their tune, Lisa immediately shut her mouth, sensing that if the foreign woman truly mastered a unique harpist ability associated with the demon race, her identity must be anything but ordinary.
Moreover, she noticed that Trissa had summoned her four-string harp, seemingly willing to sacrifice her reputation for the sake of that woman.
She needed to observe further.
The lead judge glanced at the registration materials Lisa had handed her concerning Lin Nan and then looked back at Lin Nan.
“Lin, can you tell us how you managed to launch an attack skill without a four-string harp just now?”
Lin Nan crossed her arms and cast a cold gaze at the judges.
“I said before, the Harpist Academy today hasn’t transmitted even one-tenth of the skills from back in the day. You feel offended, but that is the truth.”
As she spoke, her right hand’s fingers slowly opened,
and to everyone’s astonishment, a shimmering golden string appeared between her thumb and forefinger.
Then, with just a flick of her left index finger as if plucking a harp string, beautiful and simple notes filled the testing room once more.
“Wow…”
The three female judges simultaneously stood up in a frenzy, their chairs screeching against the floor in protest.
“What… What is this?”
“Is this really a harpist skill?”
“Why does she not even need a four-string harp? How can one string yield the same effect?”
A barrage of questions rattled through their minds.
Though the demon woman hadn’t produced any harp typical of the harpist profession, it was clear that the string shimmering at her fingertips and her plucking technique screamed authentic harpist.
Yet her method was like a legendary master swordsman, simplifying the intricate motions into something pure, substituting flower-picking for swords and spears.
In other words, this woman’s harpist skills might have reached an exceptional level of mastery.
But… she looked so young; just from her visage peeking from under the veil, one could feel her extraordinary beauty. Could she really be a peerless grandmaster, on par with the dean?
The judges exchanged glances.
Could the skills she possessed truly be the lost arts of the long-gone Harpist Academy?
Clearly, they couldn’t draw a final conclusion, but based solely on her stunning performance in the testing area,
she had indeed earned the right to participate in the forthcoming series of harpist ranking evaluations.
After some deliberation, the judges unanimously raised the whiteboard symbolizing the highest rating currently available at the Harpist Academy.
A resounding “SSS” grade.
The crowd erupted into cheers, louder than they had ever been, perhaps trying to express their apologies, making such a ruckus that it drowned out the noise from other testing areas.
Maybe only in this way would this esteemed foreign harpist temporarily forget their earlier foolishness.
“Those who spoke out of turn and spewed garbage, if you kneel now and beg for my forgiveness, perhaps you might leave here alive.”
But clearly, Lin Nan had no plans to let them off easy.
Facing her “SSS” test rating and the three judges’ shift from arrogance to humility, the onlookers could no longer ignore the fact.
The woman they had mocked so thoroughly was, in fact, an unassuming high-level harpist.
In the Empire, insulting a noble was already a grave offense.
Let alone a noble among nobles—one who was a harpist?
Struck by a natural fear of nobility, Lin Nan’s verbal threat caused the once-derogatory crowd to tremble in fear.
“Esteemed Harpist, please forgive us!”
“We were blind and foolish; we’re the most stupid people in this world!”
“We are guilty; we deserve to d*e!”
“Waaah, we implore the esteemed Harpist to forgive our rashness and loose tongues! We’ll never dare again!”
Lin Nan replied coolly, “Insulting and maligning seems to have become your go-to weapon against the weak or anyone you deem a target. I just want you to remember that regardless of others’ status or identity, you must show them at least a modicum of respect.”
“Yes, yes!”
The crowd fell to their knees in terror.
