She Was the Treasure All Along novel Chapter 736

On the panel, Professor William frowned slightly, while Vice Chancellor Eirene just looked exasperated. They already knew exactly how this was going to end for the students.

Loyce's expression remained perfectly neutral. She leaned into the mic, her voice crisp. "Go ahead."

Jude sauntered over to a backup piano on the side of the stage and began to play effortlessly.

The melody wasn't overly complex, but it was bizarre. It featured leaping notes with a hint of blues, laced with unorthodox chromatic progressions, all set to an erratic, shifting tempo.

Less than fifteen seconds later, he stopped and shot Loyce a challenging smirk.

The hall fell dead silent. Every single pair of eyes locked onto the fourth seat of the judges' panel.

Without even a second of hesitation, Loyce spoke the moment Jude's hands left the keys. "The melodic skeleton is based on a G blues scale, but the third and seventh degrees are microtonally raised, carrying shadows of the Middle Eastern 'Maqam' system. Harmonically, you're implying a dominant seventh sharp nine flat thirteen over the V chord to create intense tension and color. As for development..."

She paused just long enough to see Jude's smirk falter, then continued. "If it were Bach, he would use strict polyphony, treating your melody as a ground bass or subject, developing it through intricate canons or fugues across the voices. Beethoven would likely isolate a tiny rhythmic cell from it, aggressively developing it through dynamic extremes and drastic modulations..."

She delivered the analysis methodically, then looked at Jude. "Do you need me to continue?"

The rebellious arrogance had vanished from Jude's face, replaced by absolute shock and a trace of deep shame.

Loyce hadn't just perfectly decoded his improvisation; she had, in a matter of seconds, provided a flawless, historically accurate breakdown spanning multiple eras! This wasn't just rote memorization—it was a terrifying, visceral understanding of the very soul of music.

"N-No, that's enough," Jude managed to croak. He quietly retreated back into the crowd, his swagger completely obliterated.

The first challenger: instantly destroyed.

Every S-Tier student knew exactly how brilliant Jude was. Seeing him crushed so easily wiped the smug grins off their faces. The atmosphere shifted drastically.

"My turn!" A girl with gold-rimmed glasses and a scholarly aura stepped forward. It was Sarah, a music theory prodigy. "Professor Loyce, please analyze Webern's Five Pieces for Orchestra, Op. 10, No. 3. Specifically, how is serialism integrated with Klangfarbenmelodie (tone-color melody), and how does that impact the structural integrity?"

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify