In the Dream Crystal.
Rewind time to fifteen minutes ago.
Luigi's challenge to Gulaimo had finally ended.
This challenge was very important to Luigi. This would determine whether he could obtain the title of "Star". Only by obtaining the title of "Green Star" would he be able to stand out in the Great Tesman Empire.
Only by obtaining fame would Charlotte think highly of him and allow him to step onto the "stage of dreams".
Hence, Luigi attached great importance to this challenge and racked his brains to think of a way to win.
Now, it was up to Mulloy to give the result.
This time, the Star Climbing Challenge didn't reveal the result after one round. Instead, the score would be hidden and Mulloy would announce the result after the two rounds.
The original Star Climbing Challenge didn't have such rules. The reason why the rules were changed was mainly because of Gulaimo.
Before the challenge started, Gulaimo said, "If it's a draw, it's my loss."
This meant that as long as Luigi won the first round, there would be no need to fight the second round. Because winning the first round would be equivalent to a draw.
However, the Star Climbing Challenge had to go through the process. If the second round wasn't completed, it wouldn't be considered a Star Climbing Challenge.
Hence, in order to make the result more suspenseful, Mulloy and Gulaimo discussed and changed the scoring rules.
Gulaimo and Luigi would fight two rounds first.
After each round, Mulloy would hide the score.
After the two rounds, Mulloy would announce the final result.
At this point, the two rounds had already ended, and it was time for the final result to be announced.
Mulloy walked to the center of the courtyard and coughed twice to attract their attention. Clearly, he already had the final answer.
Before announcing the result, Luigi glanced at Gulaimo, who wasn't far away.
Gulaimo's expression was very calm, and no one could tell what he was feeling.
However, from Gulaimo's twitching eyes and the exposed veins on his arm when he clenched his sleeves, it was enough to show that his heart was actually fluctuating.
Luigi frowned and recalled the two pieces of music that Gulaimo had performed with him.
The first was "Poem of War".
This was a piece that Gulaimo had chosen himself. It described the grand epic of war, and it was majestic and surging. Furthermore, Gulaimo had used the harp to simulate the rhythm of "drumming", which had scared Luigi silly.
It was Luigi's first time witnessing such an amazing technique.
The war drums beat, the flames of war rose, the war was in full swing!
The drumbeat was like a chain that locked Luigi's heart. Every time the drum beat exploded, the chains would tighten around his heart.
However, it was also because of this tight feeling that made Luigi feel the adrenaline rush brought about by war even though he had never been in a war before.
It could be said that this was a song that made one's blood boil unconsciously.
Luigi asked himself if he could perform such a difficult, high-level, and technical harp song.
This was because in Luigi's understanding of the harp, it could be graceful, sacred, or free and melodious. However, it could be hot-blooded and majestic. This was a path that Luigi had never imagined.
In the face of Gulimo's war song, Luigi ultimately chose to respond with "Grand Garden".
"Grand Garden" was not Luigi's original song, but it was the strongest song related to "flowers" that Luigi had mastered.
Yes, the reason why he chose "Grand Garden" was because this song described the scene of blooming flowers and tens of thousands of dazzling flowers.
This perfectly matched the other ability of "Fairyland Item: Grace and Flowertalk": Flowertalk.
Previously, Luigi had used "Language of the Wind" to perform "32 Chords of the Wind" and successfully subdued Mulloy and Gulaimo, obtaining the qualifications to challenge the Star Climbing Journey.
Even Luigi and Laplace, who were outside the dungeon, could feel the Feast of the Wind through the dungeon.
From this, it could be seen how terrifying the enhancement of the Grace and Flowertalk skill was.
However, after playing "32 Chords of the Wind", Gulaimo had vaguely reminded him that borrowing external forces was not the right way to go.
Clearly, Gulaimo had discovered that something was amiss.
At that time, Luigi actually had the idea of not borrowing the Grace and Flowertalk skill to challenge them. After all, if he wanted to step onto the stage of his dreams, he could not always rely on external forces.
However …
After listening to Gulaimo's performance of "Poem of War", Luigi's mentality immediately changed because he felt the gap between him and Gulaimo from "Poem of War".
If he did not rely on external forces, he would definitely lose to "Poem of War".
For the sake of the main mission and to step onto the stage of his dreams, Luigi finally chose to compromise.
He chose "Grand Garden" and activated "Language of Flowers".
"Language of Flowers: The fragrance of hundreds of flowers will lead the impetuous heart to sink into the land of serenity. When performing, it can greatly increase the audience's attention and immersion. "
It seemed that "Language of Flowers" was only an ability to increase focus, but it was the same as "Language of the Wind" in that it had a hidden mechanism.
When Luigi activated "Language of Flowers" and performed a song related to "flowers", there would be a magical enhancement.
And the enhancement of "Language of Flowers" to "Grand Garden" was … the fragrance of flowers and illusions.
When Luigi performed "Grand Garden", everyone smelled the fragrance of hundreds of flowers. However, this "smell" did not feel like something they could smell with their nose. It was a very mysterious feeling.
Everyone was immersed in the fragrance of flowers and saw the garden in full bloom in the illusion.
Everyone was immersed in the beautiful music.
Even Angor and Laplace, who were outside the dungeon, were attracted by the strange fragrance and drifted in the illusion. It was like a beautiful dream that brought them to a utopian paradise.
When the song ended, silence reigned.
It took a while for Gulaimo and Mulloy to regain their senses.
Both of them looked at Luigi with a mixture of astonishment at "The Grand Court Garden", but also with some inscrutable and inscrutable meaning.
Gulaimo, in particular, looked at Luigi with a gaze that was clearly sizing him up.
It seemed he wanted to see through Luigi completely.
The first match was over, and Mulloy was the judge of the final result. However, due to the change in the rules, Mulloy did not announce the result right away. Instead, he let the contestants proceed with the second match.
The second match would be decided by the opponent.
This gave the contestants room to maneuver.
If they wanted to win, they had to choose a difficult problem for their opponent. The best option was to choose the opponent's weakness.
After thinking for a while, Luigi gave Gulaimo a topic: Delicate Emotions.
Luigi did not know what Gulaimo's weakness was. However, judging from Gulaimo's performance of "Poem of War" in the first round, Luigi could tell that the man was very good at such grand epics.
Since Gulaimo chose "Poem of War" for the first round, it meant he was confident in such epic songs.
Luigi would not let Gulaimo continue with such grand epics.
After careful consideration, Luigi decided to let Gulaimo perform the opposite of grand epics — graceful epics.
"Delicate Emotions" was the core of graceful epics.
On the other side, Gulaimo was not surprised by Luigi's choice. He nodded and gave Luigi a topic: Natural Wonders.
Judging from the topic, Gulaimo did not give Luigi a hard time.
Luigi's previous performances, such as "Thirty-Two Quartets of Wind" and "Grand Garden", were all about natural wonders.
Gulaimo allowed Luigi to continue "Nature's Chapter". It could be said to be a pattern, or it could be said that he was confident in himself.
However, Gulaimo also increased the difficulty of "Nature's Chapter".
That was "Natural Wonders."
Previously, Luigi's performances of "wind" and "flowers" were neutral and graceful. In order to perform a "miracle," there was no doubt that a grand perspective was needed. Otherwise, where would the miracle come from?
In other words, their topics were actually swapped: Luigi gave Gulaimo a "graceful" one, while Gulaimo gave Luigi an "epic" one.
After both parties decided on the topic, they rested for a few minutes before starting the second round.
The song that Gulaimo finally chose to perform was called "The Woman Who Sold Camellias."
Luigi had never heard this song before, but after Gulaimo's performance, he roughly understood the story of this song.
This was a slightly sad and graceful poem.
It described the tragic life of the camellias. There was love, there was abandonment, there was betrayal, and there was disqualification.
Luigi couldn't describe the feeling that the entire song gave him. He was fascinated as he listened. It was as if he saw a woman with camellias in her hair, leading him into her world.
When the song ended, Luigi wasn't as engrossed as he had been with "War Poem," but tears inexplicably flowed from the corners of his eyes.
He actually wasn't that sad, just a little depressed.
However, this depression was forcefully catalyzed by his tears. Furthermore, it was catalyzed by his unknowingly.
From this, one could see Gulaimo's level.
Even though he was performing a graceful poem, he still made people unconsciously linger.
Luigi thought that Gulaimo was only good at grand narratives, but in fact, he didn't have any shortcomings at all. When it came to delicate emotions, Gulaimo could still sink into the depths of his heart.
After listening to "The Woman Who Sold Camellias," Luigi finally understood why Gulaimo could be the finale on the international stage.
High, as high as the sky.
Low, as low as the dust.
Gulaimo looked very noble, as if he was born into a noble family. However, from his music, it could be seen that his life experience was definitely not "unspeakably noble."
Because he didn't have the experience of living at the bottom, he couldn't interpret the emotions contained in "The Woman Who Sold Camellias."
Helplessness, indifference, sorrow, numbness. His heart was clearly far away, but he could only accept a mediocre life.
At this moment, Luigi only had one thought: Strong, too strong.
However, even if he thought that Gulaimo was a tall mountain, Luigi didn't intend to admit defeat. In fact, under the suppression of Gulaimo's "numbness," Luigi gave a powerful rebound —
"Galaxy Hymn!"
This was the song he had interpreted. It was his rebound and also his feedback to "The Woman Who Sold Camellias."
The main theme of "Galaxy Hymn" was: Praise for the starry sky.
It described the surging waves of the galaxy and also the shock brought about by the dense starry sky.
Without a doubt, this was in line with the title that Gulaimo had given: The miracle of nature.
Wasn't the starry sky the greatest miracle of nature?
However, this wasn't important. The most important point was: Who narrated the hymn to the galaxy?
People.
Who gave the feedback about the shock brought about by the starry sky?
It was still people.
The starry sky was the miracle of nature, and people were the main body that observed the starry sky.
Then what kind of people could look up at the starry sky?
The answer was that everyone could do it. Even non-humans could do it.
You were a high and mighty king. You looked up at the starry sky and thought of the boundless country. You were a scholar in the Celestial Tower. You looked up at the starry sky and recorded the trajectory of the stars.
You were the Camellias who had been beaten into the dust. You could also look up at the starry sky and see the boundless miracle and your own insignificance.
Even if you were an insect, a kitten, or an eagle, you could still look up at the starry sky and perceive the unreachable boundary.
Therefore, "Galaxy Hymn" was not only a description of the miracle of nature, but also a description of the many poems of human observation of the starry sky.
Under the strong pressure from Gulaimo, Luigi wasn't defeated. Instead, he became more courageous and perfectly interpreted "Galaxy Hymn!"
Moreover, he had a unique design.
In the middle of "Galaxy Hymn," there was an excerpt from "The Woman Who Sold Camellias."
This was a description of how the Camellias could also look up at the starry sky.
If you lowered your head, you could see the sixpence on the ground. If you raised your head, you could also see the stars and moon in the sky.
If "Magnificent Garden" was performed with a cheat, then "Galaxy Hymn" directly made Luigi a cheat.
The moment he finished his performance, Graimo's gaze on him finally turned from deep to clear.
Previously, Gulaimo might have felt that Luigi was somewhat contemptuous of him for using external forces to compete.
But in this round, Luigi truly displayed his strength. Furthermore, his performance was full of story. Just like his professional bard, he slowly but powerfully contained the beauty of the starry sky and the human culture in this piece of music.
He even had his own little design.
Although this design was suspected of being a trick, the fact that he could insert such a design in his impromptu performance was enough to show that he was skillful in playing the harp.
Because of "Galaxy Hymn," Gulaimo affirmed Luigi's strength.
If Luigi had used external forces this time, Gulaimo would definitely have started questioning him. But after this performance, even if Gulaimo lost, he was willing to accept it.
For this reason, Gulaimo gave Luigi a very high score.
In the second round, both sides also had to give their own scores for each other's performances.
Gulaimo was not selfish, and neither was Luigi.
Anyone with ears could hear the brilliance of "The Woman Who Sold Camellias". Luigi's tears showed that he approved of this piece of music. Under such circumstances, if Luigi gave a score against his own will, he would definitely cause public anger.
Therefore, Luigi also followed his heart and gave Gulaimo a high score.
Both sides recorded their scores on pieces of paper and handed them to Mulloy.
Now that the first two rounds were over, the results were all in Mulloy's hands.
Luigi, Gulaimo, Angor, and Laplace all looked at Mulloy.
The result was about to be revealed!
(End of Chapter)
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