Chapter 157: Dao Struggle

Mu Yanxi shared all these questions with Ruo Xuan, and Ruo Xuan offered an explanation. “That Music Path genius had a very high personal charisma.”

“She convinced a portion of the members to challenge the status quo. The two sides competed in qin technique. The senior sisters who shared her philosophy supported her, and she even challenged the club president at the time.”

“Only qin technique?” Mu Yanxi asked. If it were a cultivation duel, or even just a Music Path duel, the third-year president could definitely overpower the first-year genius through sheer cultivation level.

But in a pure qin technique contest, a genius from the Chu Sect of the Music Path with exceptional innate talent would likely have the upper hand.

“The president at the time was clever too. The contest method she proposed was for all the wind instrument club disciples to listen to the two of them simultaneously perform a secret celestial music piece passed down by the Bell Moon Sect.”

“That piece, combined with the Bell Moon Red Dust technique, could pull people into an illusion. Whichever side could make more people fall into their own illusion would be the winner,” Ruo Xuan said.

“So, she was confident her mastery of the Lingyue Art was at a higher level than the new disciple’s, and that she was more proficient with the secret piece from the Spiritual Moon Palace, guaranteeing her victory, right?” Mu Yanxi immediately guessed the president’s scheme.

“Right, but she still miscalculated. First, that Music Path genius possessed a second-grade zither divine artifact, which greatly enhanced her Music Path abilities. Furthermore, her realm in the Music Path was also higher than the president’s,” Ruo Xuan explained.

“So, that Music Path genius won? If she won, then the club should have followed her direction, right?” Mu Yanxi asked. In the cultivation world, whoever had the bigger fist called the shots. The Music Path should be similar.

“If it had been an overwhelming victory, it would have been fine. But she didn’t achieve absolute dominance; she only won by a narrow margin.”

“At that time, the president still held high prestige, and many senior sisters aiming for bands also opposed her strict measures,” Ruo Xuan said.

“I heard they argued fiercely back then. The president’s supporters said the Music Path genius only won by a slim margin thanks to her divine artifact, making her victory unfair and her actual skill inferior to the president’s.”

“The genius’s supporters argued that the president maliciously chose a contest method favorable to herself, daring her to use the same instrument or compete with a publicly known celestial music piece.”

“That’s it, then. That’s already a conflict of The Dao,” Mu Yanxi shook her head. Both sides had valid points.

Attaching oneself to a high-level cultivator’s band after graduation, and aiming for a Great Sect or even the Sect’s grand orchestra, were both valid paths forward, but they couldn’t be pursued simultaneously.

“Yes. Although that Music Path genius won, forcing the wind instrument club to form an orchestra according to her vision, the senior sisters who didn’t support her all slacked off, training lazily. Such an orchestra had no chance of winning awards in a major competition,” Ruo Xuan continued.

“After all, she was just a first-year disciple; she couldn’t possibly suppress those senior sisters. Unless the disciples supporting her within the wind instrument club were enough to form an orchestra themselves. What happened later?” Mu Yanxi asked.

“Later, the conflict between the two sides intensified until it finally erupted. They directly fought in the music assembly hall.”

“This time, it alarmed the teachers, who punished all disciples involved in the brawl with fifty strikes of the ruler. The president and the Music Path genius each received one hundred strikes,” Ruo Xuan sighed.

“To think it ended like that in the end. But that only forcibly suppressed the overt conflict. The rift had already formed and couldn’t be mended. So, they just split?” Mu Yanxi asked again.

“After the punishment, both the president and the Music Path genius felt deeply humiliated. The president took her band and the disciples who supported her and directly quit the club.”

“After all, they had already learned what they needed; the band could practice on its own and find good placements after graduation,” Ruo Xuan said.

“As for that Music Path genius, she also left, taking her former Chu Sect classmates and some supportive senior sisters to form an independent ‘Light Music Club.'”

“She could no longer form a full orchestra, only a scaled-down band to participate in some amateur competitions, where they did win some awards.”

“Then the wind instrument club was ruined, right? All the disciples skilled in the Music Path from both sides left. Those remaining must be the ones who just go with the flow, without clear goals or plans, and with little Music Path cultivation,” Mu Yanxi said.

No wonder the earlier celestial music ensemble was so terrible. Mu Yanxi wasn’t joking; in her previous life, any team of maidservants responsible for playing music at banquets in the Magnificent Truth Sect played better than them.

“Right. After the split, the wind instrument club was downgraded to the wind instrument department. It’s now almost completely defunct.”

“The new department head is utterly incompetent, the other disciples muddle along, and it has even become the best choice for disciples who don’t want to participate in club activities. There are no rules or club activities. It’s even nicknamed the ‘Go-Home Club,'” Ruo Xuan said.

“You’re suggesting I join this kind of club?” Mu Yanxi frowned slightly. The first impression the wind instrument department left on her was just too poor.

“Yeah, shouldn’t this perfectly match your needs, Yanxi? No club tasks, you can improve yourself. Although the wind instrument department is defunct, all the old music scores are still there.”

“Members can browse them freely, the instruments are readily available, and there’s no need to flatter anyone,” Ruo Xuan said.

Mu Yanxi was taken aback. That was truly impossible to refute. It completely matched her needs: freedom of action, practice when she wanted, and indeed resources for cultivation and improvement.

Also, learning the Music Path didn’t require flattery at all. The employment prospects for Music Path cultivators were very broad. Not just high-level cultivators, but also large companies, hotels, and exclusive clubs all needed musicians.

“Um, if you’re not too comfortable with it, Yanxi, how about I go with you to check it out and join together?” Ruo Xuan asked quietly.

“How could that be? This is my own matter, Ruo Xuan… You don’t need to accompany me into a club. You should join one you like,” Mu Yanxi immediately shook her head.

“It’s fine, really. I actually haven’t found a club I want to join yet either. Besides, the Spiritual Moon Sect rules state disciples must join at least one club, but not that they can only join one.”

“The upper limit is three clubs, and you can quit anytime you don’t like it, with no impact at all,” Ruo Xuan said.

She had indeed mentioned earlier that the wind instrument club president quit.

Not only that, but that Music Path genius also left with many disciples to reform the Light Music Club. It seemed clubs really could be joined and left freely, with no rule about having to stay.

“Well then, I’ll gladly accept your offer,” Mu Yanxi smiled. She could see Ruo Xuan wanted to repay her. Since it had no negative impact, and this small gesture could make Ruo Xuan feel less indebted, Mu Yanxi readily agreed.

So, the two walked back to the wind instrument department. By now, that chaotic celestial music had stopped. Mu Yanxi had just experienced the genuine feeling of ‘listening to celestial music makes one temporarily deaf.’

Mu Yanxi was also surprised to find that quite a few new disciples wanted to join the wind instrument department. It seemed sparse earlier because people were scared off by the performance.

Now that the music had stopped, the new disciples wanting to join had returned. It seemed this uniquely lax “Go-Home Club” was still quite popular.