Both worlds are like dreams

This Xuanyuan Terrace was originally a place for worshipping Beiling Chengtian. Emperors of all dynasties used this place to worship heaven and earth, praying for heaven's protection, freedom from war, and prosperity for the country.

It is huge in scale and magnificent in appearance, and can be regarded as the top place for sacrifice in Beiling!

It is built entirely of bluestone, square in shape, covers a vast area, is several hundred meters long and wide, has a total of eighteen steps, and is divided into four sections of steps around it, each connected to four slightly smaller altars.

Each altar is carved with mythical beasts, or human figures, as well as totems behind the mythical beasts, making it look solemn and dignified.

Next to these mythical beasts and totems, there are two pillars, each with a relief sculpture of a coiled dragon engraved on it.

All the reliefs were carefully carved by the best craftsmen of the time, and the patterns on them are still as exquisite, gorgeous and lifelike as ever.

At this time, many pavilions were temporarily built on the open space around Xuanyuan Terrace, and each pavilion was full of people. These pavilions were used for the Xiyue delegation and Beiling nobles and officials to watch the battle.

The seats for the royal family and nobles were in the north, and Xiyue was in the east. Because each pavilion was blocked by a curtain, it was impossible to see who was in the other side.

On the west side of Beiling, there are officials below the third rank in the court, as well as people from the Ministry of Rites and the Honglu Temple. There are fewer people on the south side, and most of them are imperial guards.

Xue Huang followed Mo Xingyue all the way to the pavilion in the north. The two of them didn't want to attract attention, so Mo Xingyue had someone tell them in advance that they didn't need to greet them with courtesy and just pretend not to see them.

The two of them walked past Xuanyuan Terrace in a low profile, but with their looks it was hard not to attract the attention of the Xiyue delegation.

In the middle pavilion on the east side, a young man in a dark yellow python robe and a jade crown was lazily leaning on a chair drinking tea. When he saw the two of them coming from afar, his eyes suddenly became meaningful.

Next to him sat a man in blue-gray Confucian robes, who looked to be about fifty years old, with gray hair on his temples. He was holding a sword with his eyes closed, but his aura was so fierce and intimidating that he gave people a feeling of being unfathomable.

"Master, do you think there is anyone in Beiling who is worthy of your sword?" the young man asked.

"Yes, but no one can be my opponent."

"I have no doubt about Master's swordsmanship, but why do I feel that there is such a person?"

"If there really is one, then my sword will certainly be very excited."

The young man smiled and followed Xue Huang's gaze until their figures were blocked by the curtain.

Xue Huang sat down in her seat and looked towards the Xuanyuan stage. The four smaller altars were located in the southeast, southwest, northwest and northeast directions. They were home to Li Qingyu, Qin Ji, Lu Chen and Fu Yunshen, all of whom were fighting against others.

Gu Qinglan was in the southwest position, playing Go against Qin Ji.

Xue Huang was in a higher position and could see that their chessboard was already full of chess pieces, but she couldn't see the situation clearly. She could only judge from Qin Ji's slightly frowned brows that Gu Qinglan was in the upper hand at this time.

"Don't worry, Brother Lan is known as the chess saint of Beiling, he will definitely win." Mo Xingyue said.

"Of course I believe him," Xue Huang said, "but he can only win this one round. You can't let him compete with Qin Ji in singing and dancing, right?"

"can not you do it?"

"Of course I won't." Xue Huang rolled her eyes.

"I've been racking my brains these past few days, thinking about how to beat them, but unfortunately I'm such a loser that I feel like I can't win anything."

Xue Huang glanced at her and said helplessly: "Can you be a little more confident? I have never seen anyone as self-aware as you. You are so rude when it comes to insulting yourself."

"I am telling the truth."

"At least you are prettier than them. They can't compare to you in this respect." Xue Huang said with a smile.

"I feel like you're the one doing me a disservice."

"Honestly, you really don't know anything?"

Mo Xingyue took a sip of tea and said, "That's not the case. I also have some knowledge of poetry, music, singing and dancing, but I can't compare with them."

"Can you play the pipa?" Xue Huang asked.

Mo Xingyue nodded, "Yes."

"I once had a melody in my dream. It was beautiful and moving, as if it played out a century of prosperity. As the princess of Beiling, it was appropriate for me to play such a song."

"In a dream?"

"Get a pen and paper."

Mo Xingyue asked someone to bring paper and pen with doubt, then watched Xue Huang close her eyes as if recalling something, and then wrote a song neatly on the paper.

Mo Xingyue's hands moved unconsciously. Although she didn't hear the music, she could feel that this song was absolutely shocking.

"You should memorize it as soon as possible and find time to practice it. This song is best played with drums, which will make it more powerful." Xue Huang said.

"What's its name?"

Xue Huang thought for a moment and said, "There is no name. You should study hard."

"I'll practice when I get back." Mo Xingyue immediately began to memorize the music.

Mo Ruilin also brought Wei Yunzhou to Xuanyuantai at this time. As soon as they met, he asked: "Who do you plan to challenge?"

"I haven't decided yet," Xue Huang said, "The princess brought me in."

Mo Ruilin and Wei Yunzhou sat down and watched the competition on the stage together.

"Many martial arts masters have come to Shangyang City in the past few days, so the Xiyue delegation had to send Fu Yunshen and Lu Chen." Mo Ruilin said.

Wei Yunzhou didn't say anything, his eyes were always on Fu Yunshen's swordsmanship.

Xue Huang was also paying attention to the competition on the Xuanyuan stage. Li Qingyu won again, and Fu Yunshen and Lu Chen were evenly matched. However, the final result was one win and one loss.

The man who defeated Lu Chen was the young master of the Jiangbei Duan family, who was very famous in the martial arts world. It was said that his name was Duan Fei, and he was a young man who was both civil and military, and had a talent for swordsmanship.

So after he defeated Lu Chen, he did not challenge Fu Yunshen again, but left.

Xue Huang could see that Duan Fei did not want to buy some buffer time after a big battle, but Fu Yunshen's swordsmanship was superior to his, and even if he tried his best, he still had no chance of winning.

She looked at Wei Yunzhou, "Second Uncle, with your swordsmanship you can definitely beat him, do you want to consider taking action?"

"He has consumed too much energy in the previous battle. If I take action now, how is that any different from taking advantage of him?" Wei Yunzhou said calmly.

Xue Huang knew Wei Yunzhou's character, so she said no more and continued to pay attention to the contest between Gu Qinglan and Qin Ji.

Seeing Qin Ji's troubled expression, Xue Huang knew that Gu Qinglan was sure to win. Sure enough, after another half-hour of stalemate, Qin Ji admitted defeat.

The people from the Honglu Temple immediately announced with great joy, "In the Go competition, Young Master Beiling Qinglan won."

As soon as these words were spoken, all the officials of Beiling smiled happily, and when the news spread to the people watching outside, they also cheered.