How to become a Taoist priest starting from a brothel

The applause lasted for a quarter of an hour. People's enthusiasm seemed inexhaustible. Their eyes were fixed on Liu Yin, who was bowing. The patriotic fervor that the pipa music had stirred in them had now turned into admiration for Liu Yin.

Liu Yin calmly accepted the praise from the public, but her eyes still revealed excitement. She never expected that she could complete a work with a decent level of completion in such a short time, and that this work would be so loved by the public.

Everyone in the audience seemed to be cheering for Liu Yin, but Master Xu was sweating profusely and hesitated to go on stage for a long time. He glanced at Madam Xue, who didn't even give him a second look, and then looked at Liu Yin before gritting his teeth and going on stage. After calming himself down, he said to the crowd below, "Thank you both for the wonderful music. We will wait a moment for the judges' decision."

Everyone turned their attention to the referee's area, eagerly anticipating their announcement of the result. However, the referee's area was now filled with heated arguments and a fierce debate.

The magistrate spoke first: "What a kindness, what a kindness! Master Xue's life-saving grace is truly touching."

The prefectural magistrate chimed in, "Indeed, when it comes to favors, how can anything compare to the debt of saving a life? Moreover, in terms of music, story, and singing style, Master Xue's work is far superior."

The abbot of Wenyuan Academy glanced at General Liu beside him. General Liu squinted as if he were resting. He looked at the other party's list again, and a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes when he saw the name on it. Then, as if he had thought of something, he said, "In the end, although Instructor Liu's work is less complete, its style is unique and the story is captivating. In terms of emotion and singing, it is slightly better than Master Xue. I think Instructor Liu wins this first round."

Master Li, Master Zhang, and Master Lin looked at each other in bewilderment. Unlike the others, the three of them were fully aware of the person behind them and had always maintained a tacit understanding. At this moment, they looked at the list in their hands and then at the three arguing people. After hesitating for a moment, they all wrote down the same name.

Master Xu and Master Qian seemed to be lost in thought, and after looking at it for a while, they seemed to remember something and wrote down a name. Xue Xiucai was the first to finish writing and hand in the form. After handing it in, he seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and sat there wiping his sweat.

After most people had finished writing, the three who were arguing finally realized what was happening and hurriedly wrote their forms and handed them over. By the time Master Xu received the results, a while had already passed.

Looking at the results in his hand, a look of surprise flashed in his eyes. Without waiting for anyone to urge him, he stepped onto the stage and announced the result: "The first match is a draw."

"What?" Everyone was surprised and couldn't help but exclaim. After all, in most people's eyes, Liu Yin's work was much better than Xue Dajia's work, so how could it be a tie?

The murmurs of the people were naturally heard by the referees and those on the platform. Xu Yuanwai's face was slightly flushed. Although he didn't know what had happened, the first draw meant that Madam Xue was more likely to win.

As for the referees, although their expressions remained normal, surprise flashed in their eyes. They had never expected it to be a draw. Not only them, but also Prince Choi and the others were full of surprise.

Especially the already somewhat impatient Prince Cui, after suspiciously examining the prefect, and then looking at the headmaster of Wenyuan Academy and Governor Qian, narrowed his eyes to conceal his sinister and suspicious nature, and couldn't help but laugh and say: "It seems that this competition is more interesting than I imagined."

The other three smiled but didn't respond. The prefect, in particular, was staring at Madam Xue as if he was thinking about something. Prince Cui didn't pay any attention to it, assuming that she was thinking about his stepfather.

At this moment, the start of the second round of the competition was announced on stage. Master Xu smiled and looked at Liu Yin, saying, "Instructor Liu, it's your turn to ask the second question."

Liu Yin pondered for a moment. The draw in the first game was somewhat unexpected, but when she saw the intrigue in the referee's area, she had a plan in mind. Although she didn't know what the person who set this up was after, she would have to see if she was willing to step on her to get ahead.

She hesitated for a moment. The lyrics and music of this era were mainly circulated in brothels, and the lyrics and music of brothels were naturally related to love. She was somewhat reluctant to compose such a piece. It would be difficult for such a piece to stand out in such a short time. Moreover, she looked up at Madam Xue and knew that in terms of experience, she was still somewhat inferior to her. As her eyes flickered, she suddenly thought of a theme.

War, a theme rarely written about in this era, and given her experience writing "Ambush from Ten Sides," it wouldn't be surprising to anyone that a sheltered young woman who had never traveled far from home could write about battlefield stories. So she immediately began to state her topic.

"War..." Madam Xue was somewhat surprised to hear this topic. She glanced at Liu Yin in surprise, then frowned as if she had thought of something before calming down and saying to Liu Yin, "Master Liu's musical style is unique. I didn't expect the topic to be so unexpected as well."

"I simply thought that with the frequent border wars these days, I wanted to write a song of commendation for those soldiers who protect the country," Liu Yin replied with a smile and a slight bow.

Upon hearing her answer, a hint of smugness flashed in Madam Xue's eyes. She then felt relieved and said to Master Xu, "Since Instructor Liu has already set the questions, let's begin."

As soon as Master Xu announced the start, Liu Yin immersed herself in the creation. This time, unlike the first time, she did not think for a long time. Instead, she directly picked up her pen and wrote down the lyrics that she had already thought of in her mind.

This question surprised not only Madam Xue, but also the others, especially the four members of the Cui family. The Cui family member raised his eyebrows and looked at Liu Yin with great interest, his hand unconsciously stroking his chin, seemingly lost in thought.

The prefect frowned slightly, staring at Liu Yin as if he had some objection to her. The headmaster of Wenyuan Academy nodded repeatedly with great appreciation. Governor Qian clapped his hands and laughed loudly, "What a fine Liu Yin! What a commendation! Just for this one thought, she deserves to win."

The headmaster of Wenyuan Academy seemed displeased with his bluntness and rolled his eyes at him, but Governor Qian didn't mind and laughed even harder.

The ten judges in the referee area didn't react as strongly. Instead, they secretly observed each other, seemingly trying to figure out which people had chosen Liu Yin and which people had chosen Madam Xue.

In particular, the prefectural magistrate and his subordinates had been closely monitoring Madam Xue's support under the prefect's arrangement. Moreover, they believed that their own five men would definitely support Madam Xue, and a draw was not impossible under normal circumstances.

The magistrate had just seen General Liu write down the name of Instructor Liu, which meant that one of the remaining five people supported Madam Xue. But Instructor Liu's music was clearly superior, so why was that person the source of the problem causing them both such a headache?

If things aren't cleared up, there's a risk of further complications between the two of them.

Although the others had different ideas, they all had similarities and were also trying to find out. Only Xue Xiucai lowered his head and seemed to be thinking about something after hearing Liu Yin's question.