Longevity starts from having a daughter in old age

Chapter 225: Chapter 194: The Court Musician_1

“Brother Xu, how confident are you about this selection process?”

A member of the Sea Race, clad in a splendid robe and whose large head was covered in black and yellow tiger stripes, his petite body similar to a deformed child, was continuously blowing bubbles as he spoke to a slender and tall figure in front of him.

The figure turned around revealing a mouth full of sharp, fanged teeth, and a constantly moving snake tongue. The voice was low and harsh: “Probably around thirty to forty percent! Although the odds aren’t great, I still have to try. After all, the benefits within the Imperial Palace are famously good!” The slender and tall figure was none other than Xu Mu, who had transformed into a member of the Black Water Xuan Snake Clan.

The deepness in his voice wasn’t intentional, but rather a result of merging with the Blackwater Xuan Snake bloodline, which had changed his voice to such effect.

The reason for giving up on the Phantom Thunder Silver Shark bloodline, and merging with the Black Water Xuan Snake bloodline again, was simple – to avoid attracting attention.

The Blackwater Xuan Snake was a high-ranking member of the Sea Race, not only were their clan numbers huge, but they were also very scattered. As such, no matter where he appeared as a Blackwater Xuan Snake, he wouldn’t draw much attention.

However, the Phantom Thunder Silver Shark was different. Belonging to the King Clan, its appearance anywhere would attract a lot of scrutinizing looks.

Using the identity of a Silver Shark to infiltrate the Imperial Clan would be too difficult, so it took a lot of effort to switch to the Xuan Snake bloodline.

The Sea Race member who was talking to him was known as Tang Lin, belonged to the Tiger-head Fish Clan, which was also a common species in the sea. He was one of the friends that Xu Mu had made during his years undercover in the imperial capital.

Not long ago, when they heard that the Imperial Clan was recruiting, the two of them decided to apply together.

“Yes, the Imperial bloodline is profound. As long as you can join, not only are the benefits generous, but you also get permanent residence rights in the imperial capital! Most importantly, you no longer have to serve in the front-line military!”

The last sentence was said in a low voice by Tang Lin, for fear others might hear.

The reason being that if people listened in and reported it, he might suffer fleshly punishment.

Unlike the Human Clan, the Sea Race doesn’t consist of Sects but rather a nation, governed by strict imperial laws.

Those who violate the law will be sanctioned.

What Tang Lin said was considered to be a criticism of the government’s orders. If he were caught, he would be in trouble.

The main reason the Sea Race and the Human Clan could maintain unity was due to bloodlines.

In the Sea Race, bloodlines are highly respected. Those with powerful bloodlines easily become strong, while those with weak bloodlines face limited achievements no matter how hard they work.

The reason why the imperial clan has been able to rule the entire Sea Race for thousands of years is because they possess the bloodline of the True Spirit Kun Peng.

Thanks to the True Spirit bloodline, they cultivated a large number of powerful individuals to suppress the Sea Race, leaving them with no room to resist.

Given the constraints of the imperial law, even the Sea Race members at the Foundation Establishment Stage could only obediently submit and not resist.

Military service meant joining the army and fighting against other alien races on the front lines, which had high casualty rates. No Sea Race member would be willing to go unless they were oppressed by the Empire.

“Indeed!”

Xu Mu merely responded and did not continue the topic. He didn’t want to invite trouble upon himself.

They chatted casually as they followed the slowly moving queue, gathered together after registration.

“Those participating in the Musician Mansion selection, come over here!”

A Sea Race member with a blue robe and full of warty flesh on his face stood in front of the crowd and shouted.

“Brother Tang, I’ll head over first,” Xu Mu greeted Tang Lin with a bow.”

“Brother Xu, go for it! I believe you can succeed,” Tang Lin smiled broadly.

“I would like to also congratulate you in advance for joining the Royal Cuisine Room.” Xu Mu also smiled.

This Imperial Clan selection was not only for one department. Apart from the Musician Mansion and the Royal Cuisine Room, there were also the Palace Gate Mansion, the Ceremony Mansion, the Inner Attendant Mansion, the Apothecary Temple, the Dancing Lady Mansion and others. Basically, they were all departments serving the Imperial Clan.

To put it nicely, it was a position, but to say it bluntly, it was a recruitment for servants.

After Xu Mu and Tang Lin greeted each other, a group of people followed the blue-robed, warty Sea Race member, separated from the crowd, and headed towards the inner part of the Imperial Palace.

The voices of other department managers calling out their respective candidates, could be faintly heard from behind.

“Those in the Palace Gate Mansion, come over here!”

“This way for the Ceremony Mansion!”

“This is the selection for the Inner Palace Attendants!”

“Royal Cuisine Room!”

“Apothecary Temple!”

Following the blue-robed steward of the Musician Hall, Xu Mu walked along the long corridor. Only now did he have the chance to take a close look at this grand palace.

Unlike the human race who constructed buildings with bricks, stones, and wood, the Sea Race’s palace was built entirely from a type of semi-transparent crystal. Under the erosion of seawater, it emitted a faint glow, the surface was smooth and shiny, capable of reflecting one’s shadow.

A large number of colorful coral seaweeds were planted at the corners of the walls and became even more spectacular under the reflection of the crystals.

In the air, there were small fish emitting white light. They occasionally gathered together, looking like a lantern, and scattered as if they were all over the sky like stars, very breathtaking to behold.

The current scene before his eyes reminded Xu Mu of the Crystal Palace he read of in a novel from his past life. In fact, the two were not very different.

As Xu Mu walked along, he carefully observed and memorized the situation in his surroundings. A group of close to a hundred people passed through crystal buildings until they arrived in front of a courtyard with the placard of the Musician Hall.

Around it, there was a light curtain formed by an array acting like a transparent bowl, overturned on hundreds of houses and buildings.

“Goin!”

The blue-robed steward used his identity jade token to open a gap in the defensive array, gesturing for everyone to line up and walk in.

As soon as Xu Mu stepped into the courtyard, before he had time to observe his surroundings, he already heard various delightful tones coming from the buildings behind.

There were drums, guqin, flutes, pipas, xiao, yangqin, guzheng, and harps, among others.

Just by listening, it was clear that each had profound accomplishments in music. The originally relaxed crowd became tense immediately, feeling significant pressure. Only a select few with great confidence remained calm.

Xu Mu was one of them!

With the help of the system, it wasn’t too difficult for him to learn music. Coupled with the various musical scores from his past life, he was confident that few could compete with him in this world.

If he didn’t have this confidence, he wouldn’t have chosen to sneak into the palace as a musician.

As for why he infiltrated the palace, his goal was simple: to get in touch with the members of the imperial clan, find out the location of the Imperial Mausoleum, and learn how to enter it.

Blocking out the sound of those instruments, Xu Mu started to observe his surroundings.

The courtyard had an area of nearly five hundred square steps. It was spacious enough to easily accommodate hundreds of people. The surrounding area was also planted with corals and aquatic plants. In the center of the courtyard, there was a cluster of giant colorful corals that were taller than a person. The luminescent fish swam around in the corals, making the scene exceptionally beautiful.

At the top of the colorful coral formation, near the steps of the inner corridor, there stood five members of the Sea Race with extraordinary auras, all watching the people entering the courtyard.

Among the five, four wore blue robes, just like the steward who brought them here, and one wore a purple robe with two whiskers at the corner of his mouth, standing in the middle of the other four.

That blue-robed steward who brought them here bowed to the one in the purple robe. Only after the latter nodded did he turn back and shout at Xu Mu and the rest.

“Line up in groups of ten, and go forward for the assessment in order! Those from the Divine Music Academy, come first!”

“The Divine Music Academy? You’ve got to be kidding me! What rotten luck!”

Upon hearing the blue-robed steward’s instructions, a group of people standing next to Xu Mu couldn’t help but complain.

Divine Music Academy?

Xu Mu’s eyes flickered as he turned to look at a corner of the courtyard. Before they had entered, there were already a dozen sea people standing there, all dressed in the same green uniforms with a conch pattern embroidered on their chests, clearly marking them as of the same origin.

Having lived in the imperial capital of the Sea Race for many years, he had naturally heard of the Divine Music Academy. Simply put, it was an institute devoted to training musicians. It was said that eighty percent of the court musicians were from the Divine Music Academy.

Many of the teachers at the Divine Music Academy were retired court musicians. Also, some of the current court musicians would occasionally give lectures to the students there.

One could rightly say that the Divine Music Academy was a training camp for court musicians.

The connection between both parties was very deep; hence their chances of being accepted were much higher than those of the other musicians. No wonder the other people were complaining.

The admission quotas were originally limited, and now they had to compete with a professional academy, the difficulty could be imagined.

After the line was arranged and the people from the Divine Music Academy started their performances, the area below was filled with cries of shock—the difference between them was just too large.

Some people’s faces already showed the color of resignation. Xu Mu stood in the middle of the line, remaining silent without uttering a word.