The heavy blackout curtains isolated the dormitory's disturbances, creating a small world belonging only to Lin Feng. He took a deep breath and awakened the system interface in his mind.
A pale blue light screen unfolded on his retina, and the settlement page jumped out immediately.
[Dao of Posturing · Special Task Settling...]
[Rating: S (Perfect)]
[Evaluation: With unbelievable psychological quality, the Host successfully awed a group of self-important underground musicians and established the band as the "Absolute Ultimate of Deconstructionism." More importantly, the Host successfully survived under Ren Yichen's nuclear-level Shamate Aesthetic Mental Pollution without suffering any side effects of SAN value plummeting wildly, still maintained rationality and demeanor, without collapsing on the spot. This is great perseverance, great wisdom.]
[Reward: Lucky Wheel Draw Ticket x1 (Special Welfare Version)]
Seeing the words "Special Welfare Version," the gambler's fanaticism instantly ignited in Lin Feng's eyes, which had originally been calm as an ancient well.
According to the system instructions, this version of the wheel had removed all garbage options like "Fat Otaku Happy Water" or "Thank You for Your Patronage." The guaranteed bottom line was a Bronze-grade item, and there was even an extremely high probability of a Silver Legend appearing! Most of the area on the wheel was bronze-colored, accounting for about 85%; among the remaining 15%, there was an extremely small gold area, and the rest was the extremely tempting silver area.
"Come on! Give it a gamble, bicycle becomes a motorcycle! Gold... no, too greedy. Give me silver!"
Lin Feng roared in his heart, his consciousness fiercely pulling down that virtual lever,
The giant wheel spun thunderously in his mind, emitting a pleasing humming sound that only he could hear. The multicolored lights wove together, looking like a crazily rotating kaleidoscope. Lin Feng stared dead at the pointer, his heartbeat accelerating gradually as the rotation speed slowed, his eyes becoming slightly red.
Gold... passed by. Silver... is coming!
The wheel's speed became slower and slower, the pointer slowly sliding past large patches of Bronze areas, approaching that tempting Silver sector.
Still three grids... two grids...
Lin Feng's breathing was about to stagnate.
The pointer was still moving; it crossed the boundary line between Bronze and Silver!
"Stop! Stop for me!"
However, the laws of physics seemed to remain effective in this cultivation system. That pointer tremblingly climbed up to the Silver area, but seemed to have exhausted its last trace of kinetic energy, getting stuck on the metal pillar of the divider bar.
It hung there awkwardly, appearing to hesitate whether to flip over or slide back.
Lin Feng's eyes widened, praying frantically in his heart: "Go over... go over! Newton, don't manifest your spirit at a time like this!"
Unfortunately, cruel gravity defeated luck.
After the pointer stayed on that pillar for 0.01 seconds, it ultimately failed to flip over that hurdle, sliding powerlessly back into the previous grid along with gravity.
[Ding!]
[Congratulations Host for obtaining: Ancient Rhythm Sacred Constitution (Bronze)]
"Grass."
Lin Feng could not help but curse a dirty word in his heart. It was just that tiny bit away! That damn centrifugal force!
He looked somewhat dejectedly at the reward whose name sounded very bluffing, but was actually just a Bronze guarantee.
"Ancient Rhythm Sacred Constitution... the name is quite domineering, but this is just a Bronze skill."
Lin Feng dispiritedly selected [Claim].
In the next second, there was no anticipated golden light pouring into his head or the severe pain of body modification.
A strange sensation instantly flowed through his whole body, like electricity gently and numbingly passing through his cerebral cortex once.
Lin Feng was stunned.
The world... changed.
To be precise, the sound of the world changed.
Before this, as a guitarist who rose through the ranks by relying on livering, Lin Feng's understanding of rhythm relied entirely on rote memorization. 120 BPM to him was 120 mechanical clicks per minute; he was a precise metronome, but merely a metronome.
But now, he suddenly "felt" it.
It was outside the curtains, the sound of Old Zhang typing on the keyboard.
Da, dada, da...
Previously this was just noise, now in Lin Feng's ears, this was a complex rhythm full of syncopated notes. The weight of Old Zhang's fingers varied, the space bar was the downbeat, the enter key was the accent; this wasn't playing games, this was clearly an improvised percussion Solo!
Listen carefully again.
Cheng Yu, who was applying hair gel in front of the mirror, was humming that song he prepared to sing to his ex-girlfriend.
Although Cheng Yu was singing out of tune all the way to Siberia, Lin Feng keenly captured the intervals of his breathing, the acceleration of his heartbeat, and even the subtle vibrations of his foot anxiously tapping the beat on the floor.
All these sounds automatically wove into a gigantic, rhythmic net in Lin Feng's mind.
He no longer needed to deliberately calculate time values, no longer needed to count beats.
Rhythm was flowing right in his blood.
Lin Feng looked at his own hands in shock. He tried tapping the bed board twice with his bare hand.
Dong, ta.
Two simple sounds, yet they seemed to contain some indescribable magic, precisely stuck on that invisible rhythmic point in the air, sounding incomparably comfortable, even making one want to shake their leg along with it.
"Is this the world of the talent party..."
Lin Feng muttered to himself, the disappointment in his heart swept clean away.
If the previous him became a technically perfect robot by relying on endless practice and System provided robotic skills, then this [Ancient Rhythm Sacred Constitution] was the final puzzle piece that endowed the robot with a soul!
From now on, he was no longer imitating rhythm, he was rhythm itself!
Moreover, this was merely the effect of "Bronze."
If upgraded to Silver level? Or even Gold level? Wouldn't that mean as soon as he stomped his foot, the whole world would have to rock along with his rhythm?
Lin Feng calmed his agitated mood and opened his personal panel again to check his current total assets.
[Host Panel]
[Name]: Lin Feng
[Age]: 20 years old
[Skills]:
Eternal Padlock (Silver): Bound Target—Shen Linyin (Favorability locked, cannot decrease, Cap 60)
Absolute Pitch Eye (Bronze): Even if taking one look at the ghost talisman score, can precisely restore the notes.
Ancient Rhythm Sacred Constitution (Bronze): All things have rhythm, and you are the King of Rhythm.
[Music Dao Cultivation]:
Guitar Dao: Mortal Stage (Paused)
Vocal Dao: In Cultivation (Hellish torture is proceeding like a raging fire)
[Warehouse/Items]:
Hyperbolic Time Chamber Admission Ticket (Bronze) x 1
Lucky Wheel Draw Ticket x 7
Fat Otaku Happy Water (Bronze) x 4
"Hyperbolic Time Chamber..."
Lin Feng's gaze landed on that item.
Since he had the blessing of the [Ancient Rhythm Sacred Constitution], plus this cheating device that could extend the flow of time, it was also time to thoroughly solve that "male duck voice" problem that made him socially dead.
He closed his eyes, and his consciousness touched that admission ticket.
"Let's start. If I don't practice vocal music to a 'listenable' level tonight, I won't come out!"