Everyone knew that the second symphony of ‘Rebirth of the Galaxy’ was the most difficult. The melody was murky but hurried, for it was narrating the destruction in darkness of the galaxy.
Avril nervously clenched her fists as the tune gradually became gloomier. She knew that the moment Xia Fei was really put to test had arrived.
Even though Avril had been learning from the best teachers in the alliance, she still did not have the confidence to complete the second symphony of ‘Rebirth of the Galaxy’. After all, she was still too young and it required a lot of practice as well as experience to play the galaxy piano.
Musicality, even Avril with the best teachers had yet to master it. Could Xia Fei possibly do it?
The melody became gloomier, like black clouds looming over a city right before a storm.
Xia Fei’s range of motion was getting bigger. He was using all his might to press the keys. His body shuddered as if he could sense a darkness creeping into him. Even his gaze became extremely focused.
An experienced warrior would be familiar with it. It was a natural reaction when they were facing a strong enemy and their lives were being threatened.
The melody was stirring up everyone’s emotion.
A musician would perceive every note with their heart, feeling happy when the music was lively and grieving when the tone was sorrowful.
A piece could only touch its audience when it was played with emotions. The people surrounding Xia Fei felt that a stormy cloud was looming over them together with a strong sense of death, as if a powerful enemy was approaching in the storm.
The people were astounded. Xia Fei was pouring his heart into his performance—pouring the feelings in his heart into the galaxy piano with his clumsy technique, which was then transmitted to the others listening to the piece.
Everyone perceived the same music differently. ‘Rebirth of the Galaxy’ was known for its gloominess and darkness, yet Xia Fei was focusing on the sorrow of life and the darkness of death. Each note was striking the crowd’s ears like huge rocks.
Some of the vulnerable women clenched their hearts, worried that these might jump out of their chests, for the gloominess and the irresistible death, which Xia Fei was narrating through his performance, felt too real to them.
The people of the upper society rarely experienced darkness and death, but Xia Fei was using his music to show them the true essence of death.
It was the end of everything. Nothing in the world could ever be comparable to it, not to mention that Xia Fei was narrating the destruction of the galaxy, which was several times more impactful than the death of a single life.
Sobs.
Silent tears.
The sobs that one tried their best to withhold.
It was akin to a person who could not make any sound even when they were dying. They could neither resist nor deny it.
One.
Two.
Three.
The crowd soon began to shed tears of discontent.
The whole Sunset Villa was immersed in sorrow as if their end was right before them.
Tai, the silver-haired admiral, frowned. Among the crowd, Thuram and he had been on the brink of death multiple times, yet he was still deeply influenced by Xia Fei’s performance. He could not help but admit that even he would struggle to narrate death so perfectly. He was more concerned about what Xia Fei had been through, for him to be able to narrate the breath of the God of Death so precisely.
Tai gathered his strength and broke the crystalline glass in his hand.
The crack was not loud, yet it clearly reached everyone’s ears.
The crowd quickly wiped their tears and pretended that nothing had happened, seemingly having just woken up from a dream.
Most people quickly left the scene without even bothering to come up with an excuse. More importantly, their fragile hearts could no longer endure the cruel darkness further. They were unwilling to even stay for a second more.
Xia Fei, who was totally carried away by his own performance, slowed down his fingers significantly. The melody was no longer giving the crowd the unbearable pressure.
Xia Fei knew that Tai had broken the glass at a particular moment when his control over the instrument was the weakest. Tai had sharply picked up the weak point and produced just enough sound by breaking the glass to wake him up. Only an opportunist with strong musicality could do it.
Xia Fei twisted his lips and unwillingly adjusted the melody to an acceptable extent for the crowd. The truth was, even Xia Fei was indulged in the thrill of having a showdown with the God of Death. The scenes of life and death he had been through flashed through his mind rapidly.
Unfortunately, Tai’s intervention served as a breakpoint, and the melody gradually calmed down, too.
Avril let out a relieved sigh with a pale face. She was shocked by Xia Fei’s performance, but she too was under suffocating pressure due to his improvisation.
The third symphony, Rebirth, soon began. The joyful music brought the crowd’s thoughts back to spring, the season of life, the time when all creations grow and multiply endlessly.
Li Guan and Li Mo exchanged glances. The son’s eyes were filled with fatigue. The cowardly man had long lost his will to fight. Xia Fei’s marvelous performance had completely destroyed the last glimpse of hope in him and he was in very low spirits.
If his father was not around, he would definitely have ran from the land of disappointment to somewhere far away. He did not want to see Xia Fei ever again.
Li Guan’s eyes were filled with disappointment. He was not a coward. He would not admit his defeat so easily, yet he was displeased by his son’s behavior.
He looked up at the old man with a goatee, who was wiping his tears with a handkerchief. He almost broke down mentally after listening to Xia Fei’s improvisation.
The old man quickly collected his thoughts when he noticed Li Guan looking at him. He nodded heavily and pretended to be glaring at Xia Fei.
However, he was simply putting up an act, while his heart was actually still pounding heavily.
“Being able to play the galaxy piano doesn’t necessarily reflect a person’s qualities. Some people have been playing the galaxy piano for their whole life, yet they’re still living in ignorance. Some people have never had the chance to listen to music, yet they’re able to play the strongest note of life,” Xia Fei said calmly with a smile while playing the instrument as if he was narrating a story from a long time ago.
Xia Fei’s voice merged perfectly with the music. His voice was not loud, yet it was able to reach far away and enter everyone’s heart. The crowd was extremely quiet, for everyone was listening to him attentively.
“If a person doesn’t have music in their heart, they can only make a fuss about nothing, even when they’re given the most expensive instrument in the world, but for those with music in their hearts, they can play the most touching piece with a single piece of leaf.”
The sentence ended together with the final note. The crowd was still lost in their thoughts. Whether it was because of the music or Xia Fei’s speech, everyone was holding their breaths. It was as if they were afraid to ruin the mood.
Xia Fei looked around him before setting his eyes on the father-son pair of the Li family. He said in a calm voice, “Mr. Li, I wonder if you’re satisfied with my performance?”