"That won't do, don't pay any attention to him," Yu'er kindly advised.

"Miss Yu'er, it's alright. Anyone else who's not convinced, feel free to come up. Since you think my guqin is so powerful, you're welcome to give it a try. If anyone can break the Heaven-Shaking Stone, I'm willing to relinquish the title of first place," Gu Changqing said with a slight smile.

He thought to himself that even if he let them use this Heaven and Earth Soundless Zither, it would be in vain, a waste of effort, and they would only benefit him.

Upon hearing this, the crowd exchanged glances, and after a moment of thought, several more people stepped onto the arena.

The reason they came up was not only because they were unwilling to give up, but also because they wanted to try out the guqin in Gu Changqing's hands.

Seeing this, Gu Changqing immediately handed the guqin to the black-clad man who had first expressed his dissatisfaction.

The man in black excitedly took the guqin, carefully held it in his hands, examined it closely, and touched it from head to toe, looking as if he couldn't put it down.

"It is indeed a fine zither. With this zither, I am certain that I can also break the Heaven-Shaking Stone," the man in black said confidently.

He was so confident because if Gu Changqing hadn't participated in the competition, he would have been number one. Now that he was forced to be number two, he was still somewhat resentful and unwilling to accept it. He felt that he was really unlucky to have run into a dark horse like Gu Changqing.

He believed he was the best, and only he knew how much effort he had put in and how many days and nights he had spent working to achieve that first place. He felt that if Gu Changqing hadn't relied on the guqin, it would have been impossible for him to break the Zhentian Stone.

"Stop talking nonsense and get started," one of the male judges urged impatiently.

There was a reason why he was so impatient. The competition should have ended, but this whole mess added a lot of trouble and wasted time. He wanted it to end as soon as possible so he could go home and rest.

The man in black dared not say anything more after hearing this. He quickly composed himself, took a deep breath, and prepared himself to get into the right mindset.

After getting into a good state, he skillfully plucked the strings and, without saying a word, rushed towards the direction of the Heaven-Shaking Stone.

In an instant, a powerful pressure swept over, and the attack of the zither music slammed into the Heaven-Shaking Stone.

Surprisingly, the Heaven-Shaking Stone remained completely still!

Fearing they might misunderstand him again, just as they had misunderstood Gu Changqing, the crowd waited a while longer, but the Zhentian Stone remained motionless.

The man in black was somewhat bewildered, staring in disbelief at the scene before him. He plucked the strings a few more times, but the Heaven-Shaking Stone remained motionless.

Just then, one of the judges on stage said impatiently, "Get off the stage right now. The Heaven-Shaking Stone didn't even flinch. You've already lost, you know that? Don't you have any self-awareness? Do you think everyone is like Young Master Gu?"

Only then did the man in black hand the guqin to the next challenger, walking off the stage with a look of utter despair, muttering to himself, "How is this possible? Why? Where did things go wrong..."

The man in black couldn't understand why he still lost so badly despite using the same guqin. His skill was hundreds of times better than the man's, yet the result was still the same.

Immediately afterwards, another challenger picked up Gu Changqing's Heaven and Earth Sound-Suppressing Zither and began to strike the Heaven-Shaking Stone, attempting to knock it down even a little bit.

But the Heavenly Stone remained unmoved, standing there like a stubborn child.

Unfortunately, just like the previous man in black, it ended in failure.

The people below the stage shouted, "Get off! Get off!"

Amidst the jeers of the crowd, the challenger slunk off the stage.

"Next," the judge on the stage called out emotionlessly.

The sound of the zither struck the Zhentian Stone, but not a single wave rose.

As expected, it ended in failure, just like the previous place.

"Next."

"Next."

…………

After a period of challenges, only one man remained on the stage who had not yet challenged anyone.

Without exception, none of the previous challengers succeeded; they couldn't even budge a hair on the Heaven-Shaking Stone.

"Next..."

"Judge, please stop shouting. I'm not challenging anymore. I concede." The man in blue suddenly interrupted the judge and said directly.

He knew his own limitations and believed that any challenge would only make him a supporting character, highlighting others, so he might as well end it quickly.

Then, without waiting for the judges to speak, he left the arena.

"Is there anyone who still disagrees?" Gu Changqing said with a faint smile.

The crowd looked at each other, speechless, and shook their heads.

After this round of challenges, everyone realized their shortcomings and also realized that Gu Changqing was truly talented, and the title of the world's best zither player was rightfully his.

"Since no one objects, I hereby declare Gu Changqing the winner of this challenge." The sect leader stood up and announced loudly.

"Young Master Gu is so young yet possesses such abilities; he is truly a promising young talent, and congratulations!" one of the judges praised with a smile.

"There's no reward for first place, so what's the point of this competition?" Gu Changqing asked, puzzled, without mincing words.

"Look at my memory, I completely forgot about this. I prepared a reward long ago, Yu'er, go and get it." The sect leader slapped his forehead, suddenly realizing.

A moment later, Yu'er came over with the reward and handed it directly to Gu Changqing.

"What is this?" Gu Changqing asked.

"This is the top-tier qin score of my Qin Yun Sect. Previously, only the sect leaders of each generation could access it, making it extremely precious. Every qin lover wants to possess this score. With it, one can play any kind of qin. It can perfectly address the shortcomings in your qin skills, young master. With your intelligence, I believe it won't be long before you become the most skilled qin master in the entire Central Continent," Yu'er explained patiently with a slight smile.

"I see. I will certainly keep it safe." Gu Changqing said with a smile.

He was actually quite speechless. This thing didn't seem to be of much use to him. He wasn't good at playing the zither and wasn't particularly interested in it. He just wanted to come and test the power of this Heaven and Earth Soundless Zither and show off a bit.

However, since we already have this sheet music, we might as well keep it. Who knows, maybe one day I'll suddenly feel like learning the guqin. At the very least, it's good to give it to Qingcheng and the others. It's free stuff, so why not take it?

The sect leader then awarded prizes to the second and third place winners, but none of their prizes were as valuable as Gu Changqing's.

Then the challenge officially came to an end, and everyone left one after another.

Seeing this, Gu Changqing also planned to leave with Bai Xue.

Just then, a voice suddenly called out to Gu Changqing.

"Young Master Gu, please wait!"